Bruno Mars - The perfect example of an artist who successfully changed their fanbase without alienating their original fans

It’s unfortunate but the case with Shawn Mendes is that his fan base is growing up and moving on. He’s no longer a teen heartthrob

Chloe Bailey was the first artist that came to my mind. When Chloe and her sister first started off, they attracted and ult r&b fanbase, however, it seems like her record label is pushing for/ trying to capitalize off a more urban audience based off her recent collabs, music, and who she surrounds herself with (Gunna, Chris Brown). It’s sad because the audience she is trying to appeal to are the ones that tear her apart the most.

The problem with Shawn, was the moment he started dating Camila he became cringe. The hate Camila got rubbed off on him. And they were EVERYWHERE, we got sick of them. 😅

Usher : He was hailed as the King of R&B but abandoned his mantle to chase EDM hits in the early 2010s. His pivot to dance music was commercially successful but alienated fans of the genre he was supposedly king of. Once the EDM trend died down he returned to his R&B/Soul roots but by then his core fanbase had been eroded by the jaded fans who had checked out.

Me personally, I love a good rebrand or change in genres. I was there for Bruno mars, Miley Cyrus, Taylor Swift, Rihanna etc. The songs need to be good and much your public persona without changing how you interact with fans

i love her so much and still support her, but at times I feel like Normani has all but abandoned her fanbase. not necessarily with her music choices, but more so with her presense. she used to have such a clear drive and passion to want to push her new music out, but now I rarely ever see her share updates regarding her music. I understand that she's probably just tired as it's mainly on her label, but it feels like she's just given up on pushing her music/album as of lately.

I think Shawn Mendes' problem is just his music getting stale. Like no one has ever gotten super excited about a new Shawn Mendes single coming out. He's just not exciting, and I'm noticing that pop music is veering a bit more towards more interesting pop acts like Doja Cat, The Weeknd, Bad Bunny, etc. His willowy, sadboy radio-pop made sense in like 2018 when pop music was at a low point and all of the biggest acts were sadboy hip-hop acts like Juice WRLD and Post Malone, but now? Not really. Maybe if he takes some time to find inspiration for a new sound, he can rebound successfully, who knows

As someone part of the LGBT community, I don’t think every criticism of Sam Smith’s rebrand is necessarily homophobic. Personally, I think it just looks try hard and contrived lol

What Shawn is missing is a PERSONALITY. He has a couple good songs but the rest are pretty boring, he dated someone I find equally as boring as him. I think what his management and publicists forgot to give him is that he's more than just a pretty face with a good voice.

Adele has stated herself that she refuses to dumb down her music for the "tiktok generation", she's always been loyal to her fanbase consisting of people around her age and older. This is why she's still well respected. Sam Smith, on the other hand, is making a fool of themselves for gen Z by being an attention seeker and releasing shitty tiktok bait music. All the while constantly being made fun of by the very generation they're trying so hard to appeal to.

Coldplay fits perfectly into this topic. They started out as a more alternative rock band, with ballads and some touchs of pop. Now they’ve become a colourful and happy bubblegum pop band. As a fan of their first few works, the last few years have been quite hard on me…

Sam's new image is giving Shane Dawson in his beauty guru era

As someone who is/was a huge fan is Shawn Mendes (so much so that I went to his concert in 2019 and would wake up and listen to his songs immediately when they dropped) I definitely agree with what you said. I also think he was over exposed during his relationship with Camilla. The public got sick of them and the focus was more on them as a couple than their respective projects. Which is sad because I would really like another album from him. Maybe something more R&B adjacent like Lost in Japan or Where Were You in the Morning. Or maybe Pop Rock like In My Blood.

I personally think Demi Lovato fell off with her fanbase too

Shawn's whole personality is Camila, and no one else is in love with her that way, so no one relates to his songs. According to him, he wrote everything with Camila in mind. 4 whole albums. His whole inspiration is her. Talk about a one-dimensional artist who's stuck in a teenage love phase 😂

I really hate when fans aren’t liking the direction of their favorite artists careers & get met with “you’re just a hater!” Unless you’re being awful, a troll, or just mean, you’re allowed to not like something and not be called a hater for it. I like that you’re discussing this topic

Taylor and Beiber both changed their music and offered something different. Shawn has stayed the same for year - his songs blend together and that only really works for a few people like Ed Sheeran and Adele.

One that breaks my heart, even though she never got as huge, is Saweetie. She started off so different, rapping about real female empowerment we don't hear often. She rapped about being a boss and working hard and investing her money. It was refreshing. Then she totally sold out and now she sounds like every other female rapper. Reminds me of how Lana Del Rey's label hated Ultraviolence and wanted her to sell out into more upbeat and feel good pop that was all the rage in 2014. But Lana stuck to her true self and is now an icon. Vs. if Lana had listened to her label she probably would have become a one hit wonder.

Latto has been “ up and coming” for a while now, her breakthrough from the rap game with big energy was a bit of a shock for those who were a part of her fan base as it was a shift from her gritty Atlanta songs like b from the south and he says she said. It seems pop has become more of her alleyway as these are the songs that bring her the most revenue and attention. This isn’t bad but when you promote yourself as a rap artist and most of your more recognizable music is pop it can be a bit confusing. Latto hasn’t had a steady fanbase besides some supporters and this was kinda exposed with her beef with Nicki where most of Twitter agreed and liked her back-and-forth tweets ( 100k plus) but we’re mute when it came to ftcu, nasty songs, and all music leading up to lottery. Goes to show that internet success does not lead to real life. I think securing a genre that works best for her alongside versatility and a steady fan base would benefit her most as ignoring pointless Stans on Twitter ( under the wear situation).

I really want you to make a video about longevity in the industry. People like Shakira having top 10 hits 30+ years into her career, Mariah owning Christmas, Beyoncé everlasting impact and influence. And how some of the new generation seems to have that same power. I'd live to see that.

Can we talk about Ed Sheeran going from being a flamed-hair troubadour soulfully singing heartfelt acoustic guitar ballads, to making lyrically empty four-on-the-floor thumping dance-pop for the radio programmers - “Bad Habits” was such a departure that alienated OG fans of “Guitar Ed”. I remember them complaining. I remember when ‘BH’ first dropped his team had to release statements saying “don’t panic there’s more lyrical stuff and guitar based music” on the album 😅 ‘Bad Habits’ and ‘Shivers’ were still huge successes regardless. I do believe his upcoming “subtract“ album is going back to the guitar à la Taylor’s “Folklore” era.

Sam Smith is an amazing singer, but the last couple of years he’s become more and more cringey. The Grammy performance was tasteless and he’s gotten a lot of negative feedback for it. He’s appealing to a certain demographic, it’s shock value, it’s selling records, I get it. All pop stars are not really as authentic as their fans think they are. They are managed by huge record labels and they are a product intended to sell.

Shawn didn't capitalize on his star power when he had the chance, and now he is slowly fading from relevancy. I also think that both Justin and Taylor managed to create some memorable bangers, Shawn had good songs and popular songs, but he never had a song for people to come back years later.

The best exemple is CIARA ,she tried to go pop so early and failed ,her original fan base didn’t support her either

Some of these artists need to realise that without a fanbase there's no support there's no relevance or existence of their career

Honestly seeing Shawn not get as much recognition for his newer work hurts as a long-time fan considering I feel that Wonder was some of his best and most authentic work. We finally get to see him break out of his shell a little bit more as he becomes more comfortable in adulthood, and we ALSO finally got an album full of HAPPY love songs instead of sad ones (even though it was short lived). I honestly think after his and Camila's relationship was so publicized, people got so sick of him, and also bullied him to death, that nobody gave a shit about his actual work.

I think the whole "shock value" thing doesn't really work that much anymore. This isn't like the 80s when people were burning heavy metal CDs over "satanism." Nowadays it all seems more tryhard, and complaints are more tame and are often labeled as "bigotry."

Seriously artists only need their fans to create hype, sell merch and concerts, support their brand. Other than that, they just want to be left alone, and socialize with other celebs in their mansions. When they say "I love you all", it means "I love the support, keep working those streams/keep your wallets open". That's all there is to it.

my friend recently ran into sam smith while waiting to meet up with someone and said he was too scared to approach them or say anything besides a quick “I love unholy” while walking past because of the reputation sam now has for not liking fans coming up to them

Shawn had momentum at the beginning of his career but it never really came to anything. He started off being a good looking white dude with a guitar who can sing but he never grew more than that. I feel Niall Horan is the same. They have potential to be big artists but they need to put in something more to stand out.

Sam’s new music basically shits all over the messages of their earlier music. Prior to Unholy, Sam was known for “torch songs” ie sings about unrequited love, heartbreak, etc often from the perspective of someone who had been betrayed by their lover. So Sam’s initial fanbase was made up of people who identified with those messages and related to Sam’s emotional vulnerability. Then Sam’s does a total 180 and sings the a song glorifying cheating, the same type of person who caused all the hurt and betrayal that they sang about in their earlier works. So I can see why somebody who identified with Sam’s earlier songs would get whiplash and feel let down. Take “I’m Not the Only One“ and “How Do You Sleep” for example, these songs that describe the pain of being cheated on, and then “Unholy” takes the side of the cheater who caused all that pain.

Shawn Mendes is an unproblematic king and I’d love for him to stay that way

Shawn Mendes is the equivalent of eating raisin brand cereal, it’s okay but it’s very bland and forgettable once you’re done eating. There’s plenty of more interesting artists in his field that it’s rare to see anyone who is a fan of him. His fanbase grew older but he’s making the same ole teenager music…

Miley Cyrus is someone who is always rebranding. With Plastic Hearts, it felt like she finally found her sound in rock music. Her voice fit it so well and I thought she would stick with it. With Flowers, it seems like she is bouncing all over the place with different genres again. I don't really get it

I’ve been a fan of Shawn since the beginning, but his very public relationship with Camila didn’t do him any favors and he hasn’t done much musically since. I think at this point modeling would be a better career for him

Sam gave me "In The Lonely Hour" and "The Thrill Of It All" that's enough for me to ignore what they're doing.

FINALLY finally someone is talking about this!!! I was talking about this with my friends the other day but none of them understood where I was coming from, now I'm gonna show them this video so they can finally come to their senses!

His relationship over shadowed his music. He did not benefit from it.

Sam could honestly backtrack to an more softer image and perhaps win some people back but honestly they don’t owe anything to anyone, and stay being successful, Sam just won their 5th and long overdue Grammy and Unholy still in the top 10 isn’t an bad thing currently.

I’ve always thought Shawn should have transitioned into an actor instead and join fellow Canadians like Ryan Gosling & Ryan Reynolds. He looks more of an actor than a singer.

Yes I 100% agree with the Sam and Adele comparison!!! Also I do not like his new stuff, but still listen to his og music.

I’d add Chloe Bailey to isolating her fanbase recently. “Have Mercy” was a great debut. It was just the right amount of sexy and everyone was excited for debut, but I feel like her team is all over the place image wise. She seemed to be forcing her image a bit and it can come off as cringy sometimes, but at the same time we give grace to her paler contemporaries. Her fanbase seems to want more songs that play up her vocals in a pop manner, but none of her songs since “Have Mercy” really stuck with her fanbase. Plus, this collab with Chris Brown is…not a good move for her just budding career which is sad cuz I want to see Chloe, as a young, black pop star to succeed. But she needs to consider the next single she releases for “In Pieces.” I think a song for the summer is so much more necessary instead. I think she needs to tap into her “Have Mercy” roots.

Adele proved that she can do other songs and genres just listen to “30”. She ATE “Oh My God” UP!!!

It’s kind of sad that being quiet, low-key and staying out of drama and controversy is what makes an artist like Shawn Mendes fall off. It would be nice to see a more chill artist who wasn’t constantly getting into scandals have actual staying power.

I enjoyed Sam Smith a lot in the beginning and I miss it… He use to make me cry listening to him but now… his music doesn’t hit me the same like before

I was a really big Shawn fan prior to his really public relationship with Camila. It was super over exposed and shoved down our throat. Like every damn thing about Shawn at that time was tied in with Camila (IG post, news, quarantine song, etc.). Then all of the Wonder album was pretty much dedicated to her. I literally caught the ick 💀

Shawn completely went downhill. I don’t see him gaining that momentum back. He lost his teen fans and they didn’t grow with him instead. It’s hard to go from teen heartthrob to adult artist. Justin Bieber and Harry Styles are the best cases for turning around that image. Shawn couldn’t do it

Tbh I'm not sure if any of these people had a dedicated fanbase in the first place,it seemed to me like they had more of a general mainstream appeal , I kinda like what Sam is doing , it seems more distinctive than singing break up ballads eventhough I think that their new album , "Gloria" is not very cohesive.

Shawn Mendes lost his appeal for me when he got with Camilla and he stayed with her after the racist tweets came out and as a black fan it made me feel like he was racist too because obviously if you stayed with her and tolerated it you didn’t care, so I immediately stopped listening to his music

Shawn once said he wanted to write and record "arena songs." He excelled at that. He's stopped writing them. Period.

Shawn cancelling his tour def didnt help. Ik it was for his mental health, but didnt help his relevance

For Shawn Mendes I’ve always seen his music as boring & super ONE NOTE so I’m not surprised he faded away

Wait, Shawn released an album?!? It took me 3 years to figure that out 💀

I was such a big shawn mendes fan when i was 14-15, i feel like i have not heard of anything about him after senorita-

Ironically Sam and Shawn are 2/3 of my all time favourite artists, and I've been with them both since the beginning, excited for new music from them both!

Shawn is a funny example. In a way Shawn really did abandon his core fanbase by refusing to play into their wants and needs from him as a popstar. An easy thing he could have done which doesn't even require much artistic change is have an SNL skit where he kisses a guy / makes fun of his gay rumors, but he literally refuses to do anything but take himself seriously. It's really boring and he doesn't have the sound and audience for that. He's an artist that would have benefited from the tabloid era, as an air of mystery is greatly needed with him. Alanis Morissette changed her entire sound. The Black Eyed Peace changed their sound twice (rap to funk to EDM) Katy Perry started out as a Christian Rock-Pop singer. Her switch to bubblegum wasn't sudden as For The Boys is still pop rock, but by the time she released Teenage Dream I doubt much of that audience was left.

I really feel like Sam Smith didn't do his musical and stylistic change for money and certainly didn't mean to alienate anyone. I feel like he's now being fearlessly and proudly himself. It's a big shift, but if it's what makes him happy, that's what matters. He doesn't owe anyone anything.

You forgot Muse, who went from Radiohead/RATM inspired rock to more electronic and 80s inspired sound upsetting their entire fanbase album by album

i think the perfect example of transitioning perfectly even in this braindead tik tok age is bruno mars. i think he fits perfectly between not alienating his fans too much (like sam smith) but also not just keep putting out the same style (kinda like sean mendez). the silk sonic album made me realise that he can really capture any audience with his vocals even he switches from pop/slow love ballads to this cool 70s inspired soul sound

I’m an og sam smith fan from the nirvana ep era and seeing Sam abandon the little sailors and a basically jump to what’s popular has honestly sucked. I understand that artists grow and evolve but you’d think after love goes being a flop and whatever this Gloria era is that maybe we’d regroup but idk, just hope we receive move ballads and lonely hour vibes

I feel like Sam's change has a lot to do with their freedom and confidence ...they started to appeal to everyone but while growing they just became more confident in who they are and now are trying to appeal to the people they always wanted, does it make sense?

This video was absolute perfection!!

I've been following shawn ever since vine, I always listen to his albums like one or two years later but I always discover him again, I personally do not care about his relationship with Camila I'm here for his music and whoever it is written for I always resonate with him, he 's an amazing song writer and musician and we should just enjoy his music and appreciate him. Take it from someone who used to be a big kpop fan. Being a fan is overrated. I just want to enjoy the artists I love and uplift and respect them, no need to come to the rescue all the time or always praising them or getting invested o' their personal lives. Let's not forget that they have their personal shts going on too, I don't even want to imagine all the shts Normani had to get through with her label, it's not always their choice to make bad moves.

I would say on the opposite side of things, demi lovato is doing a great job at the moment for rebranding herself, pleasing her fanbase, and gaining a new audience while changing genres and staying true to herself.

Shawn is just boring, lol. He barely shows any personality, his music is not groundbreaking... literally the only conversation left of Shawn nowadays is people questioning his sexuality and labeling him as gay for not being a macho man. Also, I think even people in the stone age showed more chemistry than Shawn and Camilla did. They were absolute cringe and they always looked so fucking awkward.

Hello honest! I'm always here for your new videos.

The edit of videos playing in reverse is so cool, I agree with every statement

As artist grow they tend to show that vulnerability to fans and thats what makes the work compelling. Shawn has been hiding himself more as time goes by. its been difficult to connect to his music. It does not seem like it comes from a genuine place.

I’ve been a fan of Shawn since he first started releasing music. I still like him, but his lyricism still needs work, and I know he’s doing other things like movies and modeling rn, but I’m just waiting for him to actually release music? And music that isn’t just the same pop hit over again.

You’ve been on point recently

Ooooh I like the new additions to the intro!

I've always been a huge Shawn fan, ever since his days in magcon. I saw him open for Austin Mahone in 2014 and then again in 2016, and all of his albums up until self titled were probably my most played albums the years they came out. I did really like wonder on first listen, but barely listened to it after that. I just got bored of it really fast. compared to plastic hearts, which came out in the same month and I still love, there's a huge difference. I don't even mind artists that don't change their sound a lot, I hate when an artist changes their sound so much I don't even like their music anymore. but something about his music just doesn't grab my attention anymore

Shawn Mendes faded away

The problem with all three of them and some other artists too is that they lack a personality and their own identity. Their songs are good but anyone could sang their songs and it wouldn’t change a thing. But it can’t be said the same for example for Beyoncé, Rihanna, Nicki etc there is no person that could give the same personality as them in their songs

I’m not feeling the devil imagery either 🙅🏾‍♀️ or other shock value stuff.

Wonder was genuinely a good album, I really enjoyed it, however I feel like he kinda just.. didn’t care about the era itself. We got videos and then moved on, and the best songs got zero attention. Teach me how to love is a bop.

Shawn Mendes fanbase used to be so big, not saying that it isn't still big today but I rarely see Shawn fans on social media anymore. I think after he started dating Camilla it got a bit too cringe or too much for most people, I know they're broken up now but it's safe to say I agree most about Shawn Mendez.

Shawn mendes feels so fake right now, it's like he doesn't even know who he really is

Kid LAROI!! Because a lot of his success was a part of juice wrlds legacy, its rlly surprising to see that hes become another version of Justin bieber.

NORMANI

Y'all pretending like Sam Smith making club music is a new direction. Latch. Dancing with a Stranger. How Do You Sleep. Diamonds. Promises. The only difference is Unholy, which is just Dollar Store Montero.

4:57 Not "literally no one cared" idk why i'm laughing so hard at that??😭😭😭😭😭

i'm not a fan of Sam Smith's rebrand. sure when you're primarily known for ballads, it can kinda get boring, but a transition like that was too drastic. James Corden asked Adele about whether she's gonna start singing more upbeat songs and she responded with an "eventually yes" but that she wanted her fans to come on a journey with her, so basically she's taking her transition to upbeat songs a bit slow and focusing on her craft as a songwriter. Not to reiterate him as the "male version of Adele", but that is the exact approach Sam should've stuck with, it works for her, so it will work for him. He's a great singer, so he should've just let his talent do the talking. Some of the best vocalists are all better known for their emotional ballads: Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, Celine Dion, Barbra Streisand, Christina Aguilera, Adele. Dance-pop songs come and go, but some of the best songs are ballads and they mostly stay eternal. Singers who are mostly known for their upbeat songs and dancing, like Madonna, Britney Spears, Beyonce and Lady Gaga, regularly feature a ballad or two on their albums. It is a rare feat that artists like Lady Gaga and Beyonce are exceptionally good at performing both a dance-pop song and a ballad (often right after the other), cuz both of them are well-trained vocalists and brilliant stage-performers. and just for the record, non-binarism is a bunch of bullshit and i will continue to refer to Sam as he/him, cuz i see a man, not a thing. i can respect the LGBT community's choice of lifestyle, but don't argue with science. everything has a binary code, period. i prefer it when people rather challenge gender-norms than trying to change the nature of the genders.

Hi Honest can you make a video on George Michael's career , legacy , and musical impact (similar to a Documentary) please. Because he's a legend & icon from 1980's pop Era that doesn't get as much respect or recognition like his peers MJ , Whitney Houston , Prince , and Madonna

The problem with Lotto is that Big Energy is a cover of a cover (Mariah Cary, Fantasy) of an original song (Tom Tom Club, Genius of Love). Recycle the same songs too often and the new one sounds tired. Sam Smith’s new stuff sounds tired too. He only has controversy to sell it.

I have a feeling Shawn’s next album won’t debut at #1 on billboard. He can sell out his tours but when it comes down to releasing music it’s going to go down hill.

Now Doja Cat.....

I can't stand Sam Smith now. Ever since he came out as Non Binary, he's been so incredibly obnoxious, arrogant and so out of touch with reality that I just can't listen to his music any more or look at his face without rolling my eyes.

Great video honest

With Sam I think they are just being themselves and have probably waited a long time for their label to let them be this free with their identity. No artist owes their fans music or genres and I think it's pretty selfish to assume you preferred artists will stay in their lane for their entire career. Sam is living their authentic life, I don't think its for money I think people are just uncomfortable with someone else's comfortability and it'd sad

Latto is such a flop

Sam Smith chose recycled and unattractive.

Chloe Bailey is an interesting case- I was super interested in her solo music, as her vocals are amazing. I was thinking she'd continue the direct but melodic style of Chloe x Halle, but what we got were lukewarm collabs that seemed like a quick cash grab. And Im all for the girls expressing their fashion and sexuality and everything, but this drastic change honestly seemed kinda forced and unnatural. Borderline generic.

It has nothing to do with sam's weight or his looks it's just that he tries so hard to be "sexy" that it doesn't come of as natural but cringe. Lizzo is a big woman who got backlash for being "sexy" but it wasn't for her being cringe it was just because she was exposing too much while Sam isn't. When you had Rick Ross and Dj Khaled shirtless people didn't say anything they made jokes but that's was it so I don't understand why people want to push the fat phonic agenda onto this

Lmbo! I thought my girl Chlöe was gonna make a cameo, honorable mention at least. Still love her but the route her management is trying to push her towards it's... Interesting 🙃

Sam Smith really used to be a brooding soulful crooner, with blues and jazz influences like Adele, George Ezra, John Newman, and it worked coss they have the voice for it, and they had quite a lowkey and reserved image to go with it. Them becoming a Lady Gaga-esq dance pop girlie wasn't something that I saw coming, but I don't hate it.

Honestly, I kind of find Shawn Mendes songs to be quite boring and quite similar. I think he's the type of artist, that needs to experiment with different genres, perhaps starting with his b-sides, before making them to the actual title track. Also I think his relationship with Camila effected him negativ

Sam went from Male Adele to Male Madonna, current Madonna

Ed Sheeran is a good example of this working out, going from acoustic singer/songwriter indie to full on pop