Not every musician finds success after leaving their group. Join us as we explore those moments when band members stepped into the spotlight solo, only to find the path wasn't as golden as expected. From boy band breakouts to rock legends, these artists discovered that sometimes the whole is greater than the sum of its parts.
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00:00Welcome to Ms. Mojo and today we'll be discussing those times band members bet on themselves
00:11and lost. Life goes on without me. Lisa Blackpink. Fresh off the set of The White Lotus,
00:21Blackpink member Lisa has been making a name for herself outside the girl group's domain.
00:30Blackpink rode the Korean wave into global superstardom, becoming one of the most
00:36influential K-pop groups in recent years. But Lisa's 2025 solo project, Alter Ego,
00:42received rather mixed reviews. Though superfans rallied behind it, critics mostly pointed out
00:48a lack of cohesion and identity. The Guardian gave it 2 out of 5 stars, and Pitchfork scored it 5.2
00:55out of 10, writing that it, quote, presents Lisa as the most generic embodiment of a pop star.
01:08Blackpink was the first K-pop group to headline Coachella in 2023, and Lisa took the stage alone
01:14in 2025, receiving mixed reviews and complaints that her performance was unpolished. So while
01:20many are excited to see where each girl's career could go, perhaps it's the cohesion of the group
01:25that truly keeps Lisa at her best.
01:34Michelle Williams. Destiny's Child. The debut solo album from Michelle Williams was something
01:40of a big fish in a small pond situation.
01:50This was because Williams chose to create something personal and went gospel with her sound.
01:55Critics and gospel fans actually appreciated the move, but it certainly wasn't the sort
02:00of polished pop that defined Williams' latter years with Destiny's Child.
02:04Future solo efforts by Williams continued to do poorly on Billboard, but well within Christian
02:13and gospel markets. Unexpected was a return to form for Williams in 2008, and its follow-up,
02:20Journey to Freedom, did even better for the singer. So the case here isn't so much that Michelle
02:25Williams' solo career tanked, as much as it pivoted away from Beyonce-level stardom.
02:30Nicole Scherzinger. Pussycat Dolls. The solo careers of the various Pussycat Dolls saw a lot
02:44of band formations and sound collaborations, but only Nicole Scherzinger seemed to emerge
02:50as a viable breakout star. There was a lot of back and forth with regards to the production
03:02of her debut album, however, essentially requiring a refresh with 2011's Killer Love.
03:07That album underperformed on the U.S. Billboard charts and received mixed reviews from critics.
03:21Scherzinger's follow-up did even worse, failing to capitalize upon the goodwill Killer Love had
03:27received from some international markets. The ex-Pussycat Doll instead pivoted to movie soundtrack work,
03:33film, and television.
03:35Oh my gosh! Oh my gosh! You crushed it! You crushed it! Oh my gosh! Damn! I don't know what happened!
03:45AJ McLean. Backstreet Boys. It's fairly telling that none of the Backstreet Boys have been able to
03:51make any sort of real headway with regard to their solo careers.
03:54Oh my god, we're back again! Brother, sisters, everybody's same!
04:02Nick Carter tried, as did AJ McLean, but these boy band legends just seemed to work better together
04:08than apart. McLean's solo career in particular was a blink-and-you-misted affair, with Have It All
04:13being released in 2010 and not really being discussed much since.
04:17McLean, to his credit, seemed to be fairly proud of what he accomplished on the record.
04:26But 2010 was a long time ago. He's released some individual songs, but there's been little to no
04:31talk of any sort of AJ McLean renaissance on the horizon at the time of this writing.
04:36Joe Perry. Aerosmith. Musical success can often be a double-edged sword.
04:56A band's achievements can also often arrive with stressors and distractions that result in
05:02splintered lineups and embittered friendships. Joe Perry first left the Aerosmith camp back in 1979,
05:09feeling creatively stifled, and seeing the hard rock writing on the wall with Van Halen's debut album.
05:15Rock and roll together! Rock and roll together!
05:22The Joe Perry project didn't exactly achieve the success hoped by the Aerosmith Axeman, however,
05:28and Perry rejoined Aerosmith within a five-year span. Future solo albums would continue to
05:34occasionally emerge from Perry, including one in 2005 and another in 2009. But it seems as if fans
05:41only really want to hear him up on stage with Steven Tyler.
05:44David Lee Roth. Van Halen. This generationally charismatic frontman certainly meant business
05:57when it came to forming his first solo band after departing Van Halen.
06:01David Lee Roth hired the best musicians he could find, and the resulting AP, Crazy From The Heat,
06:14was certified platinum. Its follow-up, Eat Em and Smile, achieved similar accolades,
06:20but the bloom was soon off Roth's Yankee Rose with subsequent efforts.
06:33Skyscraper and A Little Ain't Enough had to fight against waning commercial interest in highly
06:38polished stadium rock, and Roth soon explored other creative outlets. He eventually reunited with Van
06:45Halen and toured with them until Eddie's death in 2020.
06:55Mel B. The Spice Girls. The case of Mel B.'s solo career is one that's sort of similar to the Backstreet Boys.
07:06Here, however, every member of the Spice Girls released solo records after the dissolution of the
07:12group. Some, like Jerry Halliwell, did better than others, while the career of Mel B just didn't seem to
07:18do as well as expected. Mel B.'s debut LP, entitled Hot, struggled to find an audience, and its follow-up,
07:312005's LA State of Mind, did even worse. Mel B.'s solo career has essentially stopped here,
07:38with LA State of Mind reportedly selling less than 1,500 copies overall.
07:51Tommy Lee. Motley Crue. There's a profound difference between seeking out other creative avenues and
07:57following the pervasive trends of the day.
07:59The Methods of Mayhem project from Motley Crue drummer Tommy Lee was a clear attempt to
08:12capitalize on the new metal and rap rock trends of the late 90s and early millennium.
08:17I made a decision a year ago to, to get on, you know, move on to something fresh and new,
08:26because I really needed it, because I was getting, um, I don't know, it was just making me unhappy.
08:30Lee continued down this road with this 2002 solo album Never A Dull Moment, while Tommy Land The Ride
08:37from 2005 featured a bevy of post-grunge collaborators on deck. These included Nickelback's Chad Krueger
08:45and Joel Madden from the pop-punk group Good Charlotte. These solo efforts proved, beyond any doubt,
08:51that Tommy Lee should just stick to his day job behind the drum kit.
09:01Davy Jones. The Monkees. The Monkees had to struggle mightily to step out of their creative
09:06shadow as the prefab four.
09:08Then I saw her face. Now I'm a believer.
09:13The members eventually railed against their put-together nature as a commercially successful
09:17pop group, filming the experimental psych movie Head as one way to seek legitimacy.
09:23The members of the Monkees all experimented with solo careers as well,
09:27with Michael Neesmith possibly seeing the most critical acclaim.
09:35Davy Jones, meanwhile, capitalized upon his natural good looks and charisma,
09:40with a revitalized solo career of his own. Jones had already released a self-titled LP in 1965,
09:47but he struggled during his post-Monkees work, thanks to a contract that didn't allow control
09:52over his song or producer choices.
09:55I'm sorry about the mess that you're in because of that letter I wrote to you.
09:58Oh no, it's my fault.
10:00Before we unveil our last pick, here are a few honorable mentions.
10:04Nick Lachey, 98 Degrees.
10:07His debut being titled Solo tells you everything you need to know.
10:11When we touch, when we kiss, when we shut up, don't say anything at all.
10:16Mark Owen, take that.
10:18Because we already have Robbie Williams at home.
10:21It was never meant to be this way, it was never meant to be this way.
10:28Pat Monaghan, Train.
10:30Wait, Pat Monaghan had a solo album?
10:40Grace Slick, Jefferson Airplane.
10:42Pop hooks, sure, but no psych to be found when Grace went solo.
10:50Scott Stapp, Creed.
10:52More of the same was what fans received when Stapp went solo.
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11:18JC Chazae, NSYNC.
11:20It isn't always a lack of trying or talent that derails one's solo career.
11:30A lot of factors can come into play, from not being able to acquire the right songs
11:34that showcase a singer's style, to other behind the scenes factors.
11:38JC Chazae has, particularly in recent years, been highlighted as the best natural singer from
11:45the boy group NSYNC.
11:53Modern era, retroactive fan support doesn't exactly change the fact that Chazae's solo career didn't
11:59take off in the same way as his bandmate, Justin Timberlake's.
12:03Chazae's LP, Schizophrenic, has received cult status today among pop fans.
12:08But it was poorly promoted back in 2004, and today stands as a what-if scenario of alt-reality
12:15NSYNC success.
12:22Which pop or rock star's solo career do you feel deserves more love in the modern day?
12:27Let us know in the comments.
12:29Baby baby to be born again.