40. When Reinvention Goes Awry

The B-Sides

This week, we return to flophood but with a Halloweentown twist. Because the flop eras we’re talking about this episode involve artists who felt compelled to enter eras and try on identities that are aesthetically creepy, at the very least. We dare you to take a side-by-side look at the cover art for Christina Aguilera's Bionic and Katy Perry's Witness...

But the larger story here is about what happens when a pop star reinvents themselves for a new era of their career and, instead of a natural evolution or next step, it seems forced and goes badly. After all, reinvention is a double-edged sword: it can really elevate an artist’s career, help them grow and express themselves in new ways, and even change the direction of pop music, but it can also usher them into flophood. There are a lot of variables at play that can determine whether or not these pivots are successful, but often there’s just sort of an “it” factor of like...does it seem genuine? And then we have to ask why or why not...

We'll also touch on Madonna's role in setting the tone for reinvention and what it means to be a dynamic, longstanding pop star.

Xtina + Bionic starts at: 6:40, Katy Perry + Witness starts at: 46:00 ish

There were two sort of obscure clips we discussed in this episode: here's Xtina's Bionic interview and Katy Perry's Part of Me doc (~2:30)

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