There are endlessbands that broke up, only to produce successfulsolo artists. Some of these artists are as massive as Harry Styles from One Direction orStevie Nicks from Fleetwood Mac. Something that you don’t hear about as often, though, is thesolo artists who left huge bands and werelesssuccessful.
The list of solo artists who left major bands to pursue a project on their own is vast. It is more than likely thatthere are artists you know and love with solo projects you have never once heard about.Whether that is due to their unsuccessful feat or the resurfacing of popular bands these artists were once a part of, 10 artists in particular come to mind when considering the failed pursuits of solo careers after parting ways with major, successful bands.
10Scott Stapp
Alongside his success as the frontman for the infamous rock bandCreed, Scott Stapp, is an active solo artist—though you’ve probably never heard his personal projects. Following the initial disbandment of Creed in 2004, Stapp took to the studio to craft his first album as a solo artist,The Great Divide.This record remains theonly one of Stapp’s four solo albums that has achieved Platinum status in the United States.
The frontman for the infamous rock bandCreed, Scott Stapp, is an active solo artist—though you’ve probably never heard his personal projects.
There is a trend in the creation of Scott Stapp’s solo records that follows the on-and-off cycle of Creed sticking together as a band. While the band got back together for a short timeframe from 2009 to 2012, tensions were high, and the members never quite saw eye to eye on their creative processes. In the year following this second split for the band, Stapp released his second solo album,Proof of Life.Unfortunately,the singer’s solo career only seemed to go downhill from there, with his following two records,The Space Between the Shadows(2019) andHigher Power(2024),receiving hardly any recognition from the masses. As compared to the massive achievements Creed reached as a band, Scott Stapp’s solo career unfortunately never lived up to the same success.
9Billy Corgan
Best known as theco-founder of the alternative rock band, The Smashing Pumpkins(which isessential listening for fans of ’90s grunge), Billy Corgan has pursued multiple solo projects that have never quite matched the success of his iconic band. In 2004, Corgan launched his solo music career after a short period of playing with the group Zwan. His first solo album,TheFutureEmbrace,embodies the genres of shoegaze and electronic alternative rock while exploring highly introspective and reflective themes of his personal life. The record seemed to be an attempt to separate himself from his former projects and represent the work he could produce solely on his own.
Unfortunately, as compared to the success of The Smashing Pumpkins,Corgan’s solo career never quite took off. While it received mixed yet generally positive reviews from the media, including a 5-star rating fromAlternative Press,the music failed to pick up traction in the mainstream. When viewed in comparison to the nearly 30 million records sold by The Smashing Pumpkins, Corgan’s solo project did not achieve nearly as much success.
8David Lee Roth
Former Frontman Of Van Halen
After first parting with Van Halen in 1985, David Lee Roth began his solo career,releasing his first record with the help of Van Halen’s producer, Ted Templeman, in 1986. His first solo record,Eat ‘Em and Smile,gave his venture a successful kick-off, peaking at number number on theBillboard200. The early days of Roth’s solo career saw him return to his roots of hard rock music, and this seemingly progressed through the release of his first three albums.
As tastes started to shift toward the new grunge rock of the early 1990s,Roth’s musical style began to become less favorable to the publicand the record sales showed just that. This progression downhill in his career continued through the ’90s and evidently brought his solo project to an end in 2003 with the commercial failure of his final record,Diamond Dave.When viewed side by side with the immense success of Van Halen, David Lee Roth does not come anywhere near close in ranking.
7Debbie Harry
Following the original disbandment of the iconic group, Blondie, lead vocalistDebbie Harry continued the pursuit of her career with an attempted solo project.Her first solo record,KooKoo,performed quite well, achieving a Gold certification in the U.S. and remains the best-selling album of her solo career. After this release, the trajectory of her solo venture slowed significantly while she took to caring for her partner and former band member, Chris Stein.
After her debut solo record, Harry released four more albums, yet none of them performed as well as the debut. WithBlondie’s reformation in 1997 after fifteen years, Harry’s solo works went under the radaruntil her final solo record in 2007,Necessary Evil.While her solo venture is not considered a commercial failure by any means, the solo work of Debbie Harry failed to receive nearly as much traction as her work with Blondie as a group.
6Marcus Mumford
Marcus Mumford’s solo record was not as intentional as other solo ventures.Rather than the typical timeline of parting with a band to then produce a solo effort, Mumford’s 2022 record(Self-Titled)began as the result of writing sessions originally meant for Mumford & Sons. In the record, Mumford taps into more personal and extremely vulnerable areas of storytelling, and the material seemed better suited for a solo venture rather than a reflection of Mumford & Sons as a whole.
WhenMumford pursued this solo venture, the band fell into a hiatus. They have since returned after their near seven-year-long break, and continue to perform outstandingly as a unit. However, Mumford’s solo pursuit, while incredibly well-received, did not make nearly as much of an impact as any of his work with the band had in the past.
5Gerard Way
My Chemical Romance’s Frontman
After one of the most devastating moments in emo history,thebreak-up of My Chemical Romance in 2013, Gerard Way shifted gears to create his first solo record,Hesitant Alien.The debut is wildly different from anything he created with My Chemical Romance, carrying a more experimental, Britpop-inspired sound. The album was released under Warner Bros. Records in 2014, and received generally positive reviews from critics despite the major style differences from what Way was previously known for. The album even received praise fromRolling Stonein a review of the album.
WhileHesitant Alienreceived positive reviews from the public,its success does not rank nearly as monumental as that of any My Chemical Romance record.Following the release of the solo record, Way has only released a handful of singles and music created for other projects, such as songs on the soundtrack for Netflix’sThe Umbrella Academy.
4Nate Ruess
There is no doubt you recognize the band FUN.’s greatest hits,from “Some Nights” to “We Are Young.” It’s likely that you didn’t know that the band’s lead singer,Nate Ruess,continued his musical efforts in the creation of a solo record following the band’s split in 2014 though. Ruess’ debut solo record,Grand Romantic,was released in 2015 and, unlike his previous work with FUN., was not met with great reviews.
Many critics found the album to be lackluster and shallow in lyrical composition, with a less-than-excellent production. It is noted that the record delivers grand instrumental moments, but the overall reception of the record was not quite what listeners had hoped would come from the vocalist.Grand Romanticremains the only record that Ruesshas released during this solo endeavor, and it is not likely that there will be more to come in the future.
3Tom Morello
Guitarist Of Rage Against The Machine
Best known for his work with major bands such as Rage Against The Machine and Audioslave,Tom Morello has also released a slew of solo records.A few years following the first,chaotic split of Rage Against The Machinein 2000, Morello began a solo venture under the name of The Nightwatchman as an outlet to express his political views through music. Under this alter ego, Morello released four records, though none of them saw great commercial success.
In 2018,Morello released his first record under his own name,The Atlas Underground.While the record was generally well received, it only peaked on theBillboard200 at spot 141 for one week during its release before falling off the charts. So far, none of Morello’s solo projects have come close to his success as a part of RATM or Audioslave.
2Joe Jonas
One Of The Three Jonas Brothers
After The Jonas Brothers announced their hiatus,Joe Jonas took to writing his first solo record,Fastlife,in 2011.As the first offering from the record, Jonas released the single, “See No More,” a song co-written with Chris Brown. The song failed to perform commercially, reaching a slot of only 92 on theBillboardHot 100 charts. This set the stage for what was to come with the release of the record as a whole, which evidently did not gain much traction.
With a failed reunion of The Jonas Brothers leading to their official breakup in 2013, Jonas took to exploring new musical avenues. This venture led to the formation of the group DNCE, who are widely known for the one-hit-wonder, “Cake By The Ocean.” Between his only solo record and the one record released with his band, DNCE,Joe Jonas failed to achieve much commercial success on his own outside the group with his brothers.It appears he has not given up quite yet though, and has shared that he will be releasing a second solo record this May.
1Patrick Stump
You undoubtedly knowPatrick Stumpfor his work in theclassic emo rock band, Fall Out Boy,but his attempt at a solo project back in 2011 flew wildly under the radar. Stump’s debut solo record,Soul Punk, was announced after the band’s decision to go on hiatus in 2009. The album was released under Island Records toward the end of 2011, and brought in a mix of reviews from critics and fans alike.
Soul Punkwas drastically differentfrom any of Stump’s music created with Fall Out Boy, taking a much more experimental and funky approach to songwriting. He noted that the record was composed of lyrics that are 90% metaphorical, speaking on introspective themes from self-reflection to the greed of corporations. On theBillboard200, the album peaked at slot 47 and did not remain on the charts for very long. Despite its potential for success, Stump’sSoul Punkhas been his only solo release and is widely overlooked when it comes to the discussion of Stump’s career as a musician.
