Some bands and artists struggle to make a comeback in today’s music industry.
Dixie State University students discussed why they feel bands and artists struggle with their attempts at successful comebacks, and which groups they would like to see return in the near future.
With mainstream music, you hear more auto-tuning and less harmonizing. Too many artists strive to be mainstream and lose the identity that made them popular in the first place, said Kauni Kavea, a sophomore education major from Long Beach, Calif.
He said bands have a tough time with successful returns.
“I think they go right into mainstream,” Kavea said. “They do not go back to the roots of how they initially started. I think if they stuck to what they knew from the get-go, and built from that, then they would make a good comeback.”
Kavea said the band No Doubt made a good comeback, and artists who were unsuccessful at making another attempt are not worth remembering.
Most artists’ comebacks do not turn out well because they expect the same success they had in the past.
“Some artists are timeless, whereas others just get their 15 minutes of fame,” said Kari Hadland, a sophomore accounting major from Mesquite, Nev. “Those are the artists that should not try to make a comeback.”
Many past successes like The Backstreet Boys and The Spice Girls are groups that have tried to return and it did not turn out how they planned, Hadland said.
Some bands she would like to see make music again are Brand New, because their music is different and original, and Underoath, which broke up recently.
The low success of revived bands and artists could be altered if groups kept up with today’s audience expectation. Music trends are continuously changing, and a group must evolve with these changes.
But one Dixie State University music professor thinks success hinges upon today’s audience’s expectations.
Associate Music Professor Nancy Allred said, “You would have to adjust your strengths as an artist to what appeals to the audience that you are after.”
Flexibility is key to groups finding out what works and what does not, Allred said.
Along with flexibility, artists must be able to adjust from what they were before. The past can be fun to remember, but it is not enough to win over today’s audience.
“I feel like sometimes when they come back they try to do their stuff over again, and people have already heard things like that,” said Megan Hamilton, a freshman general education major from Roosevelt. “So it is not as exciting for people to hear that or as good as when they first came.”
Hamilton said artists who show their true passion through their work and connect well with their audience will be the ones who succeed with a comeback. If not, they will just be another blast from the past
