10 Biggest Letdowns of 2012

 Yay! Starting off our yearly countdowns on a negative note! This way, if the world ends tomorrow, at least everyone who disappointed me this year will know it! Kidding, of course! I did this list first because it's the only one I have time to type out today. Expect the rest of the list before the week is over! As always, let us know your thoughts in the comment section.

- No New Music From Shakira - 

Call me selfish! I don't care! I just wish Shakira could have waited a year or so to have a baby! Congratulations to her, because I know this is a life changing and beautiful experience, but deep inside I seethe because I didn't get new Shakira music this year.  Now, we'll probably get the same music she was going to release this year and it will sound dated... which is my biggest problem with albums being pushed back.

- Nelly Furtado's Album Sucks - 

I think everyone agrees that Loose is Nelly's best album. I can see why she would not want to replicate that album, but why does she have to stray so far from the sound? If it helps you understand how boring this album is, the only songs I can bare to listen to now are "Parking Lot" and "Waiting For The Night," which coincidentally made it onto our "Top 100 Songs of 2012" list.

- Lindsay Lohan Gets Worse -

How is this possible? I mean, she's not the same drugged-up and drunk Lohan we've watched sink lower and lower over the past 5 or so years. Still, she's somehow managed to be as bat shit crazy as ever.  She's like... stealing shit and always about to go to jail. When are you supposed to give up on someone? Like, how do you decide when enough is enough? I guess it depends on how much Scary Movie 5 sucks.

- No New Music From Hilary Duff - 

I thought it would happen this year. Dignity is one of my favorite pop albums ever and stands far out against the rest of Duff's catalog. It's one of those unique albums we get maybe 1 of a year, like Gwen Stefani's L.A.M.B. or Fergie's Duchess. It's scary because you have no idea what to expect, but you're super excited because you know it will slay lives. If the world ends on 12/21 and I don't get a new Duff album before I die, I'm going to be pissed. As pissed as an incinerated corpse can be.

- X-Factor's Young Adult Group - 

X-Factor itself was quite boring, but it's boringness was not match for the epic disappointment that is the Young Adult group. I wouldn't say Demi is a bad mentor, per say, but I'm extremely confused at why they all sucked. Willy, who was the best singer of the bunch, went home super early because they pretty much wanted him to be a pop star and not a country singer. Paige was a carbon copy of Rita Orihanna. Cece was an overly cocky wannabe Ke(y)$ha. It was just all bad. I feel like looks were a big determining factor in the fate for a lot of them.  Who cares, Carly Rose Sonenclegend or Tate S. are destined to win regardless.

- Nicki Minaj Forgets About "Va Va Voom" - 

Yeah! What the fuck, Nicki? Easily the best song from the album. Easily the worst promoted. I don't know if Nicki felt pressured to be more urban, but this made me sad. Even without promotion this song propped itself up to be a smash hit. If I recall correctly, it made it to the Top 40 on radio without any of Nicki's help. The slightest push would have made this her first #1 single. I imagined this song to be massive. All over radio. Top video on YouTube. Crazy remix with some rapper. Performances on award shows...

Sigh. A martian can dream.

- Christina Aguilera's Sales - 

Where. Do. I. Begin.  ???????

It was just the album. I mean, the album wasn't terrible. It's so much more. It's how she over-hyped it herself. It's how she gloated about how the world basically didn't understand how progressive she was. It's how she mishandled the promo. It's how none of her contemporaries seem to be having this problem. I obviously need to move to LA and handle her next album myself because her having creative control is not doing it for me. I want her to do well SO BADLY!  I think everyone does. She's just because some awkward and hard to like that it's become hard to do more than just want it. Usually when you want someone to do well, you support them. I can't see myself supporting her until something changes.

- Rihanna & Chris Brown Drama Continues - 

Need I say more? They're dating. They're not dating. They're fucking. They're fighting. They're doing music today. They're smoking weed. What probably started out as a plot to gain some controversy-driven publicity has turned into an annoyance factor. I don't even click links regarding the topic anymore. I've always said let them live their lives how they want, but now it's time for them to keep it to themselves.

- Marina & the Diamond's U.S. Struggle - 

I feel like a disappointed parent. I had such high hopes for Marina in America, but my dreams never came true. Instead, I got barely-there radio play and promotional performance. I wasn't even aware of most of the talk show performances until I saw them on the internet the next day. It always seems to artist I like from the UK. Maybe they think promoting in the US will be as easy as it is across the pond, but you have to be willing to fight for it. The US market loves its popstars, so the normally dominate the airwaves. It's unusual that we have breakout hits like "Somebody The I Used To Know." The formula for Marina should have been as simple as this: "Perform. Interview. Perform. Interview. Perform. Interview. Perform. Interview. Perform. Interview." I needed to hear Marina on the Ryan Seacrest Show early in the morning followed by Good Morning America, then Ellen and a night interview with David Letterman. 

In the early 2000s, artist used to have to promote like this to sell records. Now we only get a fraction of it.

- Madonna's Single Choices - 

A lot of people didn't care for MDNA, but I thought it had a nice amount of good dance music on it. I also think this is where the album would have done better on the radio. Radio ban or not, Madonna made a horrible choice actually making "Give Me All Your Lovin'" the first single and not just the song for the Superbowl. "Girl Gone Wild" would have done a lot better even without the massive radio deal put in place for the first single. After the deal was over, the song sunk like a rock and radio didn't even try to pick up any of her other singles. "I'm Addicted" should have been sent to radio as soon as "Girl Gone Wild" started to drop. From there she would have at least had a strong enough presence on radio to have "Turn Up The Radio" do well on it's own. It would have also positioned her to sell more albums in the US. Doesn't seem like that big of a change, but the label dropped the ball with the first single.