Social media has paved the way for pop artists to stick around a lot longer, and maybe a little too long? It wasn’t ages ago when the artist had to prove themselves to an audience with songs and performance. Their careers would slowly dissipate if they failed to deliver. Today, we see a plethora of artists that haven’t released a meaningful song in a decade and are still hogging the spotlight. All they need to do is put their face in front of their iPhone and upload it on Instagram and TikTok with a crafty caption.

Let’s be honest, many of these artists that emerged 10+ years ago and who are still taking up media real estate wouldn’t have been around prior to the advent technology. It would have been like “Do you remember that girl swinging nude on a ball? Oh Yeah! I remember, where is she now?”

I understand trying to extend the shelf life as long as possible, but yesterday’s pop artists can really milk the system, more so now than ever.

Katy Perry scored an American idol gig to play music judge for $25 million. Kelly Clarkson spins around The Voice chair for reasonable pay. Moreover Instagram used these artists to dominate the platform to achieve a level of growth.

To succeed in football, a player must deliver. When a player stops performing , so does the career. Whitney Houston rose to fame with songs and performance. When she released mediocre material coupled with disastrous live shows her career began to unravel. If that trajectory continued, she would have been a faded photograph that brought memories of bygone days.

Today, an artist can stay somewhat relevant even when they are no longer on top of their game because of social media, the iPhone camera, and TV deals.

I’m not here to sour on artists that don’t deliver the goods. I have more or less discovered that it’s the emerging talent that have less of the spotlight when the aging artists refuse to leave or just want to hog the spotlight with shenanigans. The spotlight isn’t big , it’s a small. It should shine its light on the players who are performing, not bench sitters who refuse to leave and who photobomb themselves into the limelight with selfies.

Do artist have a moral responsibility to pass the baton to the next generation of artists? Really, one has to ask oneself, when is enough is enough?

The Judge ruled in favor of Dr. Luke over his defamation case against Kesha. Kesha texted Lady Gaga claiming he raped Katy Perry. That’s false. Katy Perry was never raped by Dr. Luke. New York Supreme Court Judge made the ruling after stating there was no evidence to support Kesha’s rape claim. The judge ordered Kesha to pay $374,000 in interest on royalty payments she failed to pay – a breach of her contract.
Kesha accused Dr. Luke of sexually assault and harassment. Dr. Luke sued Kesha in 2014 for defamation, claiming she faked the allegations in order to get out of her recording contract.

A one-off special issue of Smash Hits Mag will be distributed to central London Underground stations on November 4th in partnership with the West End launch of new musical & Juliet, which features the music of songwriter-producer Max Martin. The mini issue will include a feature on Max Martin as well as interviews with NSYNC and Britney Spears. The show feature songs from Backstreet Boys, Justin Timberlake, Britney Spears and Katy Perry.

Katy Perry just rolled another track titled “Harleys In Hawaii” as well as the video. She co-wrote the song with the in-demand Perry Charlie Puth as well as Johan Carlsson and Jacob Kasher. The video has Perry riding a Harley on a Hawaiian highway and singing karaoke at a tiki bar and playing along a shoreline. This is her third single release but the label hasn’t announced an official album – they are probably trying to find a place for her in the streaming era. The newest single is definitely the strongest compared to her previous releases – ‘Never Really Over’ and ‘Small Talk’.

Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter Cara Hart released the new song “Glitter”. It has a Katy Perry feel but updated. The latest track was produced by Dwilly (Kiiara, Grey, NOTD). Hart says, ” I went through a really dark moment last year, had to cut out a lot of people, and slept in my car. My life collapsed overnight. I realized I had to take care of myself, and my life. I was ready to give up my dreams and book a flight back home when I got a call from a producer to record some new songs. That moment made me feel like I could take on anything, I was electrified. Glitter represents that moment, I didn’t want the magic to stop, so I didnt.”
Press: Born Music & Cultr
Online: 60k Spotify streams of her debut single Break Habits