Why did Alanis Morissette's career go straight down the shitter?

She tapped into lesbian angst, then went and got married.

"Jagged Little Pill" was almost too good. 6 singles off the album and all of them were on the radio constantly, and the non-singles are all great as well. Musically it tapped into the exact style that was popular in the mid-1990s and lyrically it is so stunning and mature, you cannot believe these songs were written by a 21 year old Canadian girl.

The down side to this is that she couldn't top JLP. It was too good.

Can't we all agree Alanis is extremely talented without shitting on Britney?

Shakira came along, who was a thousand times hotter, but could sing in that same "bleating goat" style, pero con RITMO y SABOR...making Alanis instantly irrelevant overnight.

Her Carters Jagged Little Liver Pills commercial was the start of the slide.

All of those aggressive female singer songwriters like Alanis and Meredith Brooks were riding the wave created by the riot girls of the late 80s. It was a fad.

White people were very angsty from 1992-1996.

Dating that guy from Full House didn't help.

The whole "angry girrrl" scene was played out by the time 2000s rolled in.

The fact she screeches like a cat getting run over is why. I cannot even listen to her Jagged Little Pill anymore. Once we found out who she wrote it for! She lost all credibility. I still love her song Uninvited though. That was very well produced.

The things in her song Ironic weren’t ironic.

And isn't THAT ironic r10?

R10, I first saw that clip on DL months ago and it still cracks me up everytime.

It's crazy to think that before Britney, there was Alanis, Mariah, Celine and Whitney dominating the 90s. When Britney came on the scene, that was the end of that!

Was she part of the whole Lilith Fair genre of singers?

Sabrina Mathews gets in on the action as well R10..

its a good clip y' all!

R13 It's not that strange. Madonna made Linda Ronstadt, Stevie Nicks, and Pat Benetar irrelevant in 1983.

Her success was very much the result of an aggressive marketing campaign, ridiculous levels of hype and exploiting a trend for all its worth. The Grunge fad was still going strong and she rode the wave of the "angry youth whose hopes have been dashed by Reaganomics, is tragically sensitive but poisedly unconventional, passively rebellious and fiercely individualistic", that Nirvana, Soundgarden and Pearl Jam, among others, had created.

Her career simply floundered when Grunge stopped being relevant and a more inoffensive, superficial pop sound became fashionable. Her pretentious lyrics that always said 'I'm so special because I'm tormented and angry', hideous nasal bleating and aggressive rock arrangements suddenly stopped being cool. And then, people started seeing her for the one-trick pony that she had always been because, let's face it: when you're an overmpampered millionaire with very little talent who merely was in the right place at the right time, it's difficult to keep the "I'm an angry kid with no future and SUCH an amazing inner life" façade.

Just because she's not making chart topping hits anymore doesn't mean her career is dead. "Jagged Little Pill" the musical was nominated for like 14 Tony Awards this year. While the Broadway iteration felt a little fatigued, the tryout in Boston was sold out with unanimous praise.

Hated all the whiny singers of that era. Every angsty maladjusted grrl walking around with a huge chip on their shoulder and acting like some incredibly evolved intellectual and emotional being. Fuck off, Daria.

R10 Meeting the man of your dreams and then meeting his beautiful wife is ironic.

R19 I loved Daria.

Gen X is the coolest generation.

Did you ever think that her career is exactly where she wants it? She has a pretty solid fan base. She releases an album every couple of years. They do well. She tours. She’s married and has kids. They live comfortably. She was 19 when JLP came out and she made more money off of that album then she could spend in 10 lifetimes. She’s fine. Don’t worry about her. She seems to have her head on straight and loves her life.

Why do people like OP think someone needs to be on the top of the charts constantly or in your face constantly or their career is in the "shitter"?

R22: Don't forget she was a teen pop singer in Canada and a child actor. She's good.

Dave Coulier told her to CUT IT OUT

R16, the difference being Britney is far, far, far inferior to those artists.

Why did OP's life go straight down the shitter?

There was 0 chance Exile in Guyville would sell beyond 500,000 copies....so in steps Alanis as grunge was on its last legs and BAM, it's a hit.

Alanis was a little twink from the CBC. It's a good album, not great.

The real hallmark is that in between 1995 and 1997 Canadian women RULED the world of music. Shania had what would become the biggest selling non soundtrack album of all time for a female artist. Come on Over.

Celine Dion. Titanic. Her heart went on and on, week after week. Second biggest selling single of all Time. Oh, Let's Talk About Love, the album too. One of the 50 top selling albums in any genre, of all time! We love you Celine!

And Jagged Little Pill from that cool chick Alanis Morissette. Right time and place. Signature album and vocal style. Madonna's empowerment stamp. Alanis is more a Ray of Light to be honest.

And in 1997 - Sarah McLachlan started a little festival named Lilith Fair.

It was a good time.

R29 Shania Twain and Celine Dion = 🤮

This is the last song I remember of hers. Had to be 2002/2003 since I got it off Napster.

Her album she released last year is fantastic.

She was good on ‘Weeds’

She got Ryan Reynolds dick

R34 don’t tease me

R30, Canada has produced so many horrible pop stars for such a small country. But also lots of good rock artists. Hmmmm.

Celine Dion is one of the greatest voices of all time. An astounding vocalist in her prime. Alanis Morissette sang with broken vowels & hiccup affectations and one of the most atonal voices to ever hit it big. She's not rock or pop. Just a bad singer who old gays think was edgy. Because of .....Maverick. Alanis is as radical as spirulina.

Jagged Little Pill was her third, not first, album.

Celine Dion is a very good singer who sang horrible English songs with very odd phrasing.

Celine Dion is a gorgeous singer. The overtones, the most superior resonance you've ever heard in a pop voice. With laser fast runs, a four octave range, gorgeous pitch and coloratura flourishes - always with the most beautiful tone. She had problems phrasing in English for a time, but it didn't stop her from becoming the second best selling female artist in history and the number one selling French language recording artist of all time! Her voice is so unique and beautiful that some older gays trained on inferior talents don't recognize the greatness that is Celine. She's not a mezzo like Streisand or Aretha or Whitney. A true soprano with the most amazing range and vocal gifts. Her voice is more similar to mountain singers and monks than it is to regular pop divas. A most unusual instrument. *listen*

I saw the concert that was on the back of her second album and it was so disappointing. Everyone was all hyped up and expecting her to bash out her rock anthems. She sang Eastern/Indian acoustic version of all her hits and it was the most boring concert I have ever been to.

It has always stunned me that actors/musicians become famous for one thing, then go and do the opposite for their next move and do it badly. It's just basic common sense that you need to give the fans what they want for a bit before moving onto something else. By that stage, fans are ready for change and will follow you there.

She’s a full blown frau who “unschools” her children.

Jagged Little Pill has sold 33 million albums to date (10 million in 1996 alone). Does anybody sell that many albums these days?

She was to Liz Phair what Ugly Kid Joe was to Nirvana. A dumbed down, hausfrau-friendly version of the original.

Because it was a jagged little pill (swallow it down). It feels so good (swimming in your stomach). Wear it out (like a three-year-old would).

[quote]It's just basic common sense that you need to give the fans what they want for a bit before moving onto something else.

Start and end with your hits, just like your mama taught you.

Celine Dion is akin to Babs...great voices but fucking not one ounce of passion or soul behind them.

Alanis has soul and a grit to her. Her music is her. Celine and Babs just bray out other people's songs and it has the same effect on me as elevator music.

The main problem for Morissette was that "Jagged Little Pill" was so good, so timely, so different and so popular and she couldn't top it or even come close to it.

And by dominating the charts/video/radio play for so long, she became over-exposed and over-played and so the public reached peak Morissette and that was the end of her career. Finito!

A similar thing happened to Lorde (but nowhere near the stature of Morissette).

[quote] Her first album was great. I was a pre-teen and loved almost every song on the album.

For an answer to your shitter question, reread your second sentence. Maybe "pre-teen appeal" is not a good predictor of long-term success.

I still think her two pre-JLP albums are the best.

That's absolutely terrible R50. It was terrible at the time and it's terrible now. Embarrassing.

It seems like all those great artist from the 90s weren't able to stay relevant in the aughts, and as the MTV generation went increasingly digital. Its like they could never live up to the hype and acclaim of their debut or singature releases. The quickly eveolved into relics, even while still reciving airplay on MTV. it was like they were the false prohpets of times past of gerat singer songwriters from the 60 and 70s but never. Meanwhile all the poppy artists had these larger than life personnas, tat even when the music was wack, they could one upping themselves with huge events, or spectacles a la Britney kissing madge at the VMAs. The only acclaimed artists from the 90s who eveolved into icons DIED.

Folks are just embarrassed they went gaga over that trash way back when.

r10, And thats what makes the song Ironic. Brilliant.

r13, Bitch please.

"Jagged Little Pill has sold 33 million albums to date (10 million in 1996 alone). Does anybody sell that many albums these days?"

Well shortly after that, yes, some albums did sell more than 33 million copies.

r43, No

Definitely one of my favourite artists of all time.

Jagged Little Pill just really tapped into the zeitgeist of the time and was a monster global hit, it would be almost impossible to stay at that level long-term.

As others have pointed out, she's released a lot of successful albums (even though the sales were obviously a lot lower than JLP and they didn't have radio 'hits') she's acted, she's made a family, she's toured the world (I've seen her live - she's amazing) and has a successful Broadway show to her name. I really don't think she's too concerned that some people think her career went down the shitter - on the contrary, she's living her best life. She never was a 'pop' star.

Nobody thinks it went down the shitter. Just one lame, uncreative troll here does.

The problem was her next album had a stupid title and no radio friendly songs.

She had that ridiculous song about thanking India and video w her walking around naked, showing us her huge box that everyone laughed at.

She traumatized an entire world appearing naked in that Thank U video.

R61, didn't see your post first, I swear!

Even most lezzies barfed a lil in their throats seeing Alanis' unctuous box. Unctuous in the sense that she never bathes and looks as dirty as a ho.

Isn't it ironic?

Ironic how all these grrls ultimately settled for traditional fraudom

IT’S NOT FAAAIR! lol.

Fiona Apple is still eccentric and off-beat. But it's most likely due to being abused and battling addiction and depression.

R67, I liked her cover of the Willy Wonka song that played in Chipotle commercials some years back, lol.

She had songs that were softer and highlighted her talents (beyond the grunge trend) even on the Jagged album -- "head over feet" comes to mind. Maybe her voice and style aren't for everyone, but it's unfair to treat her as some talentless, manufactured, one trick pony.

There's a lot of famous singers that can't play instruments, can't read sheet music, and/or lip sinc everything supposedly "live".

R55, that's dumb. Beyonce was never anywhere near the other women I listed. Not even close. To give you an idea of how big Shania Twain was--she outlsold Janet Jackson by releasing only two or three albums!

R43, the only person who did that recently was Adele. 21 was HUGE--bigger than Like a Virgin or True Blue if that gives you any indication.

[quote] the only person who did that recently was Adele. 21 was HUGE--bigger

Just like her waistline at the time.

Are Tori and Alanis in the same generation of female singers?

I loved her back then. Was a huge fan. Miss the 90s sa bad...

^So bad

R2, Wow! 6 singles? I can remember 2 - and one of those two was actually probably Meredith Brooks...

r67 Ugh, Fiona Apple is/was the worst and the whinest of these women. Still can't stand her. Pompous, sanctimonious, fake-deep twat. "I'm always the victim! Everyone hurts and abuses me! Me Me Meeeeeeeee!"

r19 Agreed.

It's just funny how we went from Alanis, Tori, Hole, Lauryn, Meredith, Fiona, TLC, SWV, Erykah and Bjork to Spice Girls, Britney, Christina, Destiny's Child, Avril, Pink, J. Lo, Jessica and Mandy. The former seemed to come up organically and connected to the right audience while the latter were cynically manufactured and their success seemed pushed through heavy marketing. The transition happened by 1999. So the decade ended up with a bubblegum pop sound reminiscent of the late 80s. It really shows how cyclical things are

R78, some of the names on your list don't make too much sense since they were never THAT big to begin with. Really, we went from Madonna, Whitney, Mariah, Celine,, TLC, Alanis, Shania and Jewel to Destiny's Child (actually Beyonce featuruing two girls but htey had some good songs), Britney, Christina...and then Nora Jones....and then Beyonce (as a solo artist)....and then Rihanna, Katy Perry and Lady Gaga. I would argue even Katy Perry made better pop singles than Britney and Christina. And I think she's kind of a joke.

Tbh Fiona was molested as a child and had mental health issues to battle. You'd be whiny too.

Also, I dont find any of the 90s alternative female songwriters pretentious because they had something to say and did adequately and didn't overstay their presence either. Now, if you want pretentious look at Madonna, Lady Gaga, Pink, Mariah, Beyoncé, Christina Aguilera etc.

I like Fiona, she has a very unique voice (to me). And I actually really liked that MTV speech. It was actually a giant "fuck you" to MTV trying to package, sexualize and sell her as a pop star. And it worked. She was made fun of a lot but seriously, when you have Demi Lovato posting about how a yogurt company needs to "do better" just to keep desserts out of her face, who the fuck cares?

Katy does suck but one thing I give her credit for is writing her own material. Britney was just a mouthpiece for producers and Christina oversang too much and when she has creative control her albums are bloated and pretentious.

When Britney and NSync and co. were pushed as the Next Big Things, music really suffered. Acts like Alanis were over. The Industry just didn't promote them anymore, it became all about teen pop garbage.

R82, as someone who great up in the late 90s/00s, I genuinely HATED teen pop and still do. I have 0 nostalgia for it. It sounded cheap and derivative then and it sounds like that even moreso now. I actually viewed Rihanna, Katy Perry and early Lady Gaga as a relief from those people. And at least Rihanna, Lady Gaga and (for the most part) Katy didn't fucking rely on fucking Max Martin, the most derivative, repeititve producer on earth.

Alanis and Tori were raped as well, but they're not professional victims nor have they made being a victim their brand/personality the way that Fiona has. She's like the Lena Dunham of music for me.

R85, can kind of see where you are coming from, but Me and a Gun was talked about and discussed by fans of Tori for a lonnnnnnnnnng time. And it's not even a good song. And wasn't From the Choirgirl Hotel made partially as a response to her miscarriage at that time? I think calling Tori is a victim is probably a stretch, but she definitely has made her pain part of her art.

R78, Destiny's Child was formed organically, TLC was created by a music exec married to LA Reid. You are so ill informed. Pink didn't sell big time and become a respected artist until she took control of her career and sound. They wanted to make her a ghetto Britney Spears. You can't just speak what you THINK to be true. I guess perception really is reality.

Alanis was raped? Gross. They'd have had to plug their nose and do it quick before she screeched like her horrible songs lol.

[quote] It's just funny how we went from Alanis, Tori, Hole, Lauryn, Meredith, Fiona, TLC, SWV, Erykah and Bjork to Spice Girls, Britney, Christina, Destiny's Child, Avril, Pink, J. Lo, Jessica and Mandy. The former seemed to come up organically and connected to the right audience while the latter were cynically manufactured and their success seemed pushed through heavy marketing.

Actually, Liz Phair was interviewed for The New Yorker only a week or two ago. She actually said that, these days, it's easier for women in music since you don't have to go into a record label executive's office and quietly accept that you need to suck his dick (or, something along those lines) in order to be able to release your music. Let's not kid ourselves, back in the mid-90s, male or female, you couldn't make that next level jump from college radio to MTV and Top 40 radio without playing the game and sucking those dicks, literally or figuratively. It's just that in the late 90s/early 00s, the "authenticity" wasn't selling as well as in the (post-) grunge era and technicolor pop became flavor du jour once again.

[quote] (or, something along those lines)

I can actually see Liz using those exact words.

let's not mention Meredith Brooks anymore. She's a super right wing hack who is in coronavirus denialism too

And she only had one hit song, it's not like she was a somebody.

R91, I guess she wasn't kidding when sang about being a bitch.

I do think mid to late 2000s pop was a step up from the turn-of-the-millenium teen pop spearheaded by Max Martin. The urban and electronic sounds of Neptunes, Will.I.Am and Timbaland aged much better.

Adele gets huge album sales because she's one of the very few singers who appeals across all generations. Granmothers to teenagers. That's rare.

Alanis claims EVERY woman in music has been blah blah blah. Quite the overstatement. I seriously doubt that claim. I can see maybe 25% being for sure raped, assaulted. And who was fucking her when she was 3 years old? Did she press charges or confront the rapist (later as an adult)? Probably her father or uncle.

R3's "bleating goat" is perfect.

A craftsman!

Stevie Nicks was the original bleating goat. It's not exactly an original description.

R88 lmao. You’re awful! 😆

Don't trust anyone who marries a white rapper. S'all I'm sayin.

Are we forgetting her debut LP, before Jagged Little Pill? It was very pop & dancy (the first single was Too Hot & she had hair the size of late ‘80s Julia Roberts). For me, the whole angst/pseudo grunge was as put on as she claimed her debut album was. She never pinged as authentic to me.

R100 When did Ryan Reynolds rap?

Alanis did an amazing interview with Howard Stern to celebrate the 25th anniversary of JLP

She seemed super down to earth. I once attended an album promo appearance she did (maybe 200 people in attendance) and she did an interview and a few songs on guitar---seemed down to earth and honest about how much she loved and appreciated all the money she's made and the life it affords her (in terms of a joke about how so many artists claim they dont care about the money--she likes it).

“Bitch” by Meredith Brooks spawned an entire generation of moody and entitled Karens. You know their hubbies wouldn’t want it any other way!

R94 How dare you put will.i.am over Timbaland!

[quote] When did Ryan Reynolds rap?

He was in LFO didn't you know.

What about that massive milk titty? Alanis is an icon, she can be funny in interviews. I don’t care that Fiona Apple is still so crazy I just don’t like how ugly she’s let herself get.

My favorite Alanis song is "Unsent". It captures the heartbreak of failed relationships and unrequited love.

Alanis is one of the nicest celebrities I've had the pleasure of meeting. And that was in 1998/99 when she was a true A-list pop/rock star.

[quote]Why did Alanis Morissette's career go straight down the shitter?

eight easy steps!

Gay? Married? Both? Ironic?

R108 Are you a fucking moron? There are only 500 million songs about unrequited love and failed relationships. Good fucking christ.

R112 yes, but we're talking about songs by Canadian chanteuse Alanis Morissette.

"Fucking moron."

R113 You're truly the biggest brain dead turd on here. Jesus fuck.

R109 can you tell us about your meeting with her?

R101 That's unbearable to watch.

Because she’s not pretty enough.

Wasn't that part of the appeal of Alanis and the other female singer-songwriters at the time. That they weren't sex kittens or bellowing divas. They had a more earthy look.

r102 She's married to a white rapper named Souleye, not Reynolds.

Everyone knows that Ryan Reynolds is married to Scarlett Johansson. No need to be pedantic R119.

Oh, no. That was a few years after Alannis. Black Lively is his wife. Currently. She used to be an actress. They are besties with Taylor Swift.

Alannis is fine, doing what she wants to do and thrilled to be rich. Married with Children. This is not a bad outcome. She's a very lucky bitch. Because she's not that talented but she hit with a BIG record at just the right time. Yes, I said a RECORD. A CD. Ha.

I love that Bey covered You Oughta Know. For her whole tour. Very well too.

Two songs. One message. Our girl in all her fierceness. Beautiful Beyonce. You can find cleaner versions of this performance from all round the world - but here is the ish. The raw talent, the all girl band, the up your nose camera and her full commitment to a song that she probably has lived more painfully than Alanis. Mrs. Carter, for sure.

I guess she should've used a bucket instead.

Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie is very underrated. It's weird and overstuffed and pretentious but I love it.

r120.121 is the "ancient white fags" troll.

R120 is smart. With good taste. Good looks. A BIG functional dick. R124 is THE ancient white RACIST F@G.

Wow. R124 really is mentally ill. Very sick man. Chasing people around this site, just to harrass them. F&F him. He is a racist. Look at his posts! He proves it over and over. Get rid of it please Datalounge.

r125/26 needs to be banned. The "ancient white fags" troll has been a pest on DL for years. Every thread about a female singer and he's shitting all over it.

Praising Beyonce is not shitting all over anyone - except in the mind of the ancient white fag @ R127.

^^Muriel needs to do something about this shitstain.

R126 is DL's most relentless racist. He hates Beyonce and me. A black man with a degree.

Get lost R124/R127/R129. I ain't going nowhere.

Isolate this prolapsed antiquated posts. OLD man bitch. He is a vile pig and ancient white RACIST fag. There's no lie. So don't bother calling for the police old man. Go back to playing in your diaper. We know you love that. You have thousands of hateful insane posts on this site in just the last week. It's not hard to prove. Shut the fuck up and close what's left of your holes. You're also the SCAT troll. Wallow in it.

How repulsive.

It's easy to see that this man is a problem. He follows people around in some paranoid delusion. You are right R130. I agree that R127 is a racist and hateful. He has very thin skin like old white gay men do. But you should watch what you call him. It's better to be rid of his stain than to become like him.

R132 is the same poster as R130. He's talking to himself.

Beyonce is fantastic on this song too. Thanks R121.

We are not the same poster. You just prove your craziness more old man.

Where has the Alanis gone in this thread?

While I don't think Alanis could've maintained her same level of Jagged Little Pill-era success, I also think she sorta self-sabotaged her career in order to maintain her sanity. I've seen her talk in interviews a lot about not being able to handle that kind of fame/pressure and how it wasn't good for her to be that much of a superstar. I love Supposed Former Infatuation Junkie and think it's very underrated, but it's also deliberately much darker and less commercial/radio-friendly. There aren't a ton of singles on there like on JLP.

And here's the thing, Alanis now has a ton of money, is still relatively famous/well-known but not getting harassed every time she goes out, and still has a big enough fanbase that she can still release new music and tour whenever she wants. (She was headlining a big summer arena tour pre-Covid with Garbage/Liz Phair). Seems like the perfect level of success for an artist who's not aiming to be Beyonce/Madonna/Gaga/etc.

Ain't nobody like Beyonce. Ever.

The only pop stars from the mid 00s to now who sold like Jagged Little Pill?

Adele's 21 and 25 and Lady Gaga's The Fame Monster.

Adele's 21 is nearing 41 CSPS (I think. Maybe more now) and her 25 is around 30. Gaga's TFM is around 36 million CSPS.

I think Taylor's 1989 is next and that's at 12 million CSPS or so.

It's crazy how times have changed. Billie Eilash, Rihanna, Katy Perry, Lorde, Beyonce all have huge albums in the last 15 years, but the numbers are so dismal in comparison.

I think I've told that story here a couple of times, but here it is: a friend and I were on Queen Street West in Toronto, back in 1998 or something like that. My friend wants to go inside a New Age store (that was way before businesses like that were priced out of Queen West retail spaces) to get some candles. To our big surprise, standing there, talking to the owner - Alanis fucking Morissette!! I mean I liked some of her stuff but I wasn't a huge fan at the time and, to the best of my knowledge, neither is my friend. But, he starts gushing all over her like a fangurl, telling her how much he loves her music, how inspirational he is, yadda, yadda, yadda. By that point, I'm feeling uncomfortable and embarrassed for him, kind of expecting her to tell him to fuck off and step back in more polite terms. But, she actually starts chatting with him, telling him how much she appreciates what he's saying, they start chatting about fucking candles... I mean, she was extremely nice and friendly in a situation where I would lose my patience and shoo him away. Later on, I met more A-listers, mostly through my partner, a number of them very nice, but she was a real sweetheart that day. Not a scintilla of celebrity attitude.

I've met some people who met her and they all said she smelled horrible and clearly never showered. Maybe her horrible unclean smell is her defense. LOL.

I really don't get people saying she's inauthentic because she made teen pop music originally. She wrote her songs then too. People's musical interests change over time and the only thing it proved was how versatile Alanis was. It's kind of similar to Shakira. Plus you have to keep up trends if you want to maintain some mainstream success and have some income.

[quote]Plus you have to keep up trends if you want to maintain some mainstream success and have some income.

True. It's a business just like every other profession. A lot of people don't understand that. Grace Slick said she didn't care for the 80s Starship stuff, but she also said she didn't want to be an old woman dragging her ass out on stage for the rest of her life singing White Rabbit. Which is what happened to Paul Kantner and Marty Balin -they were doing the oldies circuit until they both dropped dead because they needed the money. Grace knew the Starship songs would be hits and she could make a lot of money touring with those songs, which is exactly what she did. She retired from the music business at the end of the 80s and has had a very comfortable retirement in the Malibu Hills ever since. She's never had to drag her old carcass onstage to make money.

Sometimes you just have to do what you have to do, because the alternative is just too depressing.

[quote] to Spice Girls, Britney, Christina, Destiny's Child, Avril, Pink, J. Lo, Jessica and Mandy.

I know some people made fun of Lilith Fair, but I'd take any of those musicians over the aforementioned above. Wow, my generation really had shit taste in pop music.

She’s here to remind you of the mess you left when you went away.

Beyonce sang it better and with better reason.

Well see her crappy earlier pop and knowing that Dave Navarro played guitar on You Oughta Know... She was manufactured and had help like Britney.

People got tired of the depressing sadness and wanted to be joyful. Britney allowed them to be happy. Even though she wasn't happy herself.

She was also on that show You Can't Do That on Television.

R13 Britney arrived, and pop music as a whole went straight down the shitter.

Alasdair is that Canadian spelling? Stephanie Chow, remember her, and Adam. Where’s Barf???!!!

Barf made me barf. The adults on that show were so creepy.

How many of these singers would have had careers without their parents pushing them on shows?

Fergie and Jennifer Love Hewitt on Kids Inc.

R142 What's versatile about Shakira? How is she in any way similar to Alanis?

Neither of their hips lie, R153.

Shakira was always pop but she had a more rockish and alternative sound in the 90s. She switched to more upbeat dance sound in the 2000s. But she was heavily involved and wrote many of her songs throughout her career. I would say Shakira is versatile like Alanis. Taylor Swift gets a lot of hate but she's also versatile in switching genres and still having songwriter credits.

[quote] She was also on that show You Can't Do That on Television.

The amount of Canadians in the US music industry and Hollywood is so surprising. You really wouldn't know unless you looked up their info (like Ryan Reynolds, Michael Cera, etc). Alanis even was on one of the most Canadian productions (YCDTOT) in the 80s. I wonder how many young Canadians who go into acting get trained to minimize their local accents.

I really hated when the record companies tried recreating a younger Alanis with Avril LaVigne. in the early 00s. It was clear Alanis must have been a big influence on her but Alanis is WAY better

Avril Lavigne is just a manufactured forgotten star. She was TOTALLY manufactured. On 20/20, they showed footage of her singing before she was famous. She was singing Sarah McLachlan crap. She was a less-talented version of Billie Eilish. The thing that irritated mme about Lavigne the most is that she seemed to genuinely thing she was punk And THEN she married that dude from Nickelback. Like, how it could it get any worse?!

Avril's music was nothing like Alanis.

Avril still dresses like she raided a Hot Topic and San Rio store. Her style has literally not changed in 20 years.

I had forgotten all about Avril Lavigne.

She should do pop again.

Meh, Avril only dresses like that because she knows her sales and streaming numbers are contingent on nostalgia at this point. People only care about her first three albums.

Billie is a better singer than Avril and Jessica. For one, Billie has control over her voice. It's a soft voice but she knows how to use it. People like to diss her on this site for being pretentious and annoying. I mean, she is but she has a promising future in music.

Who the fuck is Jessica?

I assume Simpson, but I’d be more interested if it was Rabbit.

And who would've thought, it figures, OP?

Well, life has a funny way of sneaking up on you.