Aren't there times when you wish someone or something would break the big time, and then they just don't, and they're just too good to consider flops?
Well, 2010 had quite a few of them.
Continuing my Looking Back at 2010 posts is my look back at the top 6 things and people that should have been hits this past year.
6. Toni Braxton - When Toni Braxton, fresh off a stint on Dancing with the Stars, announced she was releasing an album, I wasn't particularly moved. Then I heard the first single, "Yesterday", which is one of the best R&B ballads of the year. The singles released after that, including the spectacular "Hands Tied", should've warranted a huge comeback for the smoky-voiced songstress. Instead, her album peaked at #9. Maybe ageism can be blamed, but there is no real reason why Toni should've flopped.
5. Palm Pre - I'm not going to lie; the only reason why this phone is on the list is because my iPhone was stolen from Port Authority and AT&T allowed me to get two Palm Pres for $20 (long, complicated, and completely ridiculous story). Still, the Palm Pre, in my two weeks of having it, is definitely not a downgrade. In fact, it has some excellent features that even Steve Jobs should take a look at, like its awesome notifications system. Unfortunately, competition for Apple and Google shoved it to the backburner. Hopefully, with HP at the helm, the Palm Pre will get the recognition it deserves.
4. Joe McElderry - Not every X Factor winner can be a Leona Lewis, but Joe McElderry has had some pretty bad luck in the pop star department. His winner's single was beaten to the Christmas number-one by Rage Against The Machine, his first single failed to top the chart at all, and his second, the genuinely good "Someone Wake Me Up" is a disastrous flop. The shame is McElderry, who also came out of the closet this year, is the best male talent the show has ever produced, and he really should be following in Leona's footsteps. Unfortunately, it seems like a career more along the lines of Leon Jackson (remember him?) may be in his future.
3. Vanessa Marcil's Return on General Hospital - Her inevitable return to the show that made her a star was supposed to save the dying soap opera genre. Instead, Vanessa Marcil's return to her uber-popular role of Brenda Barrett has been marred by horrific writing, including a borderline incest love triangle. As a result, ratings have remained stagnant, even dropping some. In an era where the soap opera is on the cusp of extinction, the powers that be couldn't really afford to screw up the return of arguably one of the most popular characters in the show's history. Lo and behold, they did.
2. Kylie Minogue - Is the public falling out of love with Miss Minogue? The Aussie pop princess released one of the best albums of the year, Aphrodite. She also released the best pop song of the year (in my opinion, of course), "Get Outta My Way". Yet, neither were particularly well-received by the public. "Get Outta My Way" inexplicably flopped on both sides of the Atlantic, despite a massive US promo campaign, and she was snubbed at the Grammys. She's clearly still awesome, but she may not be the golden girl she claims in the album's title track.
1. Robyn - Her album Body Talk is pop perfection. "Dancing with My Own" is pop perfection. "Hang With Me" is pop perfection. Her performances are pop perfection. So, why the hell wasn't Robyn queen of the pop world year? The Swedish singer is has always been low-key, but with a spectacular record like hers, some really high profile performances on Jay Leno and Gossip Girl, and the dance-pop craze, this year should've belonged to her. As they say, 2011 is another year. Until then, she just has to stick with dancing on her own.
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