Mainstream pop is a tricky puzzle to solve, and not many have managed to figure it out with lasting success. Especially in the early 2000s and 2010s, when competition was steep and there were new pop acts getting hits every day. Here are some who showed real promise during the height of their popularity, but never managed to make it big.

Blu Cantrell

Blu Cantrell debuted in 2001 with the single “Hit ‘Em Up Style (Oops!)” which rose to No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 1 on the Mainstream Top 40 chart. It was a huge R&B hit, and even earned Cantrell two Grammy nominations in 2002. But she never managed to break through into mainstream pop or R&B, remaining more of a niche figure across genres. In 2005, she decided to go independent after her mentor L.A. Reid resigned from Arista Records. In 2016, she shared that she was still working on a new album, but no real news has come out since then. Blu Cantrell had real mainstream potential, but with steep competition in the industry, she didn’t have enough momentum to break through.

Kat DeLuna

Kat DeLuna debuted in 2007 with the single “Whine Up,” which was highly praised for filling a void in mainstream summer pop at the time. The lyrics alternated between English and Spanish, and the energy was palpable. But after that, DeLuna couldn’t maintain the upward momentum. Her album 9 Lives didn’t perform as well as its lead single, peaking at No. 58 on the Billboard 200. It found moderate success internationally, as did many of her later singles. Despite missing mainstream success, DeLuna was often praised for her impressive vocals. A 2007 Entertainment Weekly review of her album claimed she “fills the gap between Rihanna and Shakira.”

Kevin Rudolf

Kevin Rudolf debuted in 2008 with the single “Let It Rock” featuring Lil Wayne. It peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was commercially a success. But the fame Rudolf acquired with the single didn’t propel him into the mainstream, at least not as a musician. “Let It Rock” and the subsequent album, In The City, was an interesting genre-bender mixing rock with elements of hip-hop and rap. Many critics praised Rudolf for this undertaking, seeing it as ambitious but not too derivative. His 2010 album To The Sky, didn’t capture critics’ attention as much, and many lamented the lack of a “Let It Rock”-esque banger. Still, while mainstream fame eluded Rudolf, he has some impressive production credits. These include Cobra Starship, Lifehouse, Jesse McCartney, Selena Gomez & The Scene, and Keith Urban, among others.

La Roux

La Roux formed in 2008 as a synth-pop duo of Elly Jackson and Ben Langmaid. Their debut self-titled album dropped in 2009 to critical and commercial success, bolstered by the singles “Bulletproof” and “In For The Kill.” The album was an international hit, and La Roux did stints at multiple festivals in the U.S. and U.K. and opened for Lily Allen on her U.K. tour in 2009. The duo seemed destined for mainstream success, but their fire burned out almost as quickly as it came. Langmaid left the band in 2012, and rumors of a second album were put on hold. Jackson attempted to continue on solo, releasing an album in 2014, but never managed to capture the high of La Roux. Still, she’s released several more singles and frequently provided vocals on collaborative tracks since 2018.

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