In today’s world surrounded with social media and cancel culture, artists are coming and going very quickly. They come to fame incredibly fast, but they seem to slowly fade away into the background. This could be due to the nature of social media like TikTok, with many musicians promoting their new music and growing fame there; however, once the artists get big their sound clips get used more and more on social media and people get bored, it’s so much easier to be overplayed today and become a one hit wonder. We’ve seen this recently with artists Chappell Roan and Benson Boone but also in the past with artists such as Lizzo.
Roan began making music in 2014 with her song “Die Young.” She reached peak popularity this year around April, however, when she released the song “Good Luck, Babe!.” TikTok blew this song up, and it now is her top streamed song with over a billion streams on Spotify alone as of Nov. 29. Roan grew in popularity with her other songs gathering millions of streams as well, her song “HOT TO GO!” close behind “Good Luck, Babe!.” “HOT TO GO!” grew popular through TikTok with a dance and lots of trends parodying the song as well. After a few months, however, TikTok moved on. People began complaining about Roan’s attitude after videos of her at a music festival shouting at the VIP section for not fully participating surfaced online. While she didn’t get canceled, her hype was gone. Of course, Roan has not completely disappeared, many still listen and enjoy her music.
A larger example of this is music artist Lizzo. She began making music around 2012. In the summer of 2019, Lizzo grew popular with the release of her third album, “Cuz I Love You.” The music festival, Austin City Limits had already booked Lizzo to perform on a smaller stage. Since her popularity increased drastically after being assigned to the small stage, however, her performance was incredibly overcrowded, but it was a great example of her quick ascent. After that, Lizzo continued to stay popular until an incident on social media where she was accused of mistreating her backup dancers in 2023. The backup dancers filed a lawsuit, and word quickly got out. After this Lizzo’s on-demand audio streams dropped 21.7%, according to Billboard magazine, and she lost thousands of followers across all social media platforms.
Similarly to Lizzo, musician, and now ex-husband of Kim Kardashian, Kanye West was also canceled and lost a multitude of his followers. West faced widespread cancellation in 2022 after releasing a series of anti-Semitic remarks in interviews and over his own social media. This caused him to be banned on social media platforms such as Instagram and X, and he lost many brand deals. Followers and collaborators distanced themselves from West and his downfall, allegedly, led to his divorce. West has been unable to regain this fame after his mistakes.
It’s not just music artists either. Other performers whose entire platform is based on social media are taking the risk of losing their fame just as quickly. Charli D’amelio, for example, got famous for her dancing videos in 2020, particularly for a video of her doing the “renegade” dance. D’amelio had 41.4 million followers on TikTok in March of 2020. Her following has since grown to 155 million followers. She has not lost her following, but she has lost her traction since then. D’amelio has taken her fame to her advantage; however, and is now dancing and performing for Broadway.
In today’s social media-driven world, artists rise and fall at unprecedented speeds, their success often hinging on fleeting trends and viral moments. Platforms amplify their reach but also expose them to relentless scrutiny and cancel culture. The same online communities that propel them to fame can turn against them just as quickly, fueled by controversies, missteps or shifting public sentiments.
So, I think that, because of how artists promote themselves, their music, their lives and how they establish platforms, that puts them at a greater risk of losing it all quickly. While this is simply becoming just a way of life, I think if we help encourage new artists to share their music in other ways, through live performances, radio and attempt to make things less overplayed, the effect of social media could be limited. Artists could make their work last, working on establishing authentic connections with fans and people who view their product, whether that be music or another form of art.
