The world of music can be a tough one to break into. However, when you get down to the nitty-gritty of it all, appealing to your audience is undoubtedly the biggest box that you have to tick. That doesn’t necessarily mean you have to have perfect pitch or any sort of classical training, it just means you have to use your gifts to make the people that matter happy.
In some cases, many musicians have become famous for either sounding resoundingly bad, or in some cases, for being ‘so bad they’re good’. Either wait, it’s resulted in them gaining a level of fame that eludes many of us, proving that sometimes, all you have to do is be confident in your own abilities.
Today, we’re taking a look at some of the most famous musicians who rose to fame for performing music that was deemed overwhelmingly poor or tone deaf by the critics.
Florence Foster Jenkins
A wealthy socialite of the 19th and 20th century, Florence Foster Jenkins expressed her desire to become a musician from a young age. Sadly, after an injury ended her promising career as a pianist, Jenkins turned her sights to the world of opera, despite the repeated discouragement from friends and family.
A perfect example of following your dreams, Florence Foster Jenkins became infamous for her notoriously poor singing performance, which some doctors theorise may have been partly caused by an inability to hear herself perform.
Despite her negative reception, Florence Foster Jenkins remained something of a cult sensation, selling out New York City’s Carnegie Hall at age 76, and her life story being turned into a 2016 film starring Meryl Streep. Despite her notoriously poor reviews, you have to admire Jenkins’ sheer determination and confidence.
Check out Florence Foster Jenkins performing Mozart’s ‘Der Hölle Rache’:
William Hung
Back in 2004, Willian Hung was a name of everyone’s lips, sadly due to his unsuccessful audition on American Idol’s third season. Studying civil engineering at the time, Hung said that he wanted to pursue a career in music, and decided to try out for the show by performing Ricky Martin’s ‘She Bangs’.
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Sadly, his audition was considered one of the worst, and video of the performance went viral in the pre-YouTube age. Thankfully, Hung’s profile rapidly grew, turning him into something of a cult sensation, and resulting in two studio albums, with his debut hitting #4 on the ARIA Hitseekers chart.
Check out William Hung’s ‘She Bangs’:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hVo0uMqRBQM
James Franco
Despite having carved out a successful career as one of Hollywood’s most popular actors, James Franco decided to turn his sights on the world of music in 2012 – something many of his fans regret. Forming a duo called Daddy, Franco and collaborator Tim O’Keefe released two records, and the critics were not impressed.
With the duo’s EP MotorCity being called “a tuneless tribute to Motown that’s just shy of unlistenable”, the group followed it up with an album in 2016. Thankfully, this one received a little more love from the critics, though it’s clear that James Franco’s career lies in film, if his naysayers are to be believed.
Check out Daddy’s ‘Love In The Old Days’:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lL-BhJcdJaE
Paris Hilton
Paris Hilton’s music career was short-lived, but savaged by the critics of the time. Releasing her sole album, Paris, back in 2006, many folks believed the record to be something of a cash-grab for the infamous heiress, with critics slamming her superficial lyrics and poor performance style.
Despite being something of a critical failure, the record was a moderate chart success, selling close to a million copies and reaching #24 on the ARIA charts. While Hilton’s musical career might not have lasted, we do have tunes like the guilty pleasure that is ‘Stars Are Blind’ to remember it by.
Check out Paris Hilton’s ‘Stars Are Blind’:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=icpqB22c4G8
Mrs. Miller
Elva Ruby Miller rose to fame in the 20th century as Mrs. Miller, a casual singer who began her musical career as a hobby, giving away recordings to children at orphanages. After being discovered by radio DJ Gary Owens, who played her music for comedic purposes, Mrs. Miller became something of a cult hit, releasing her debut record in 1966.
Titled Mrs. Miller’s Greatest Hits, the record hit #15 on the US charts, and sold over 250,000 copies within a few weeks. Despite this, Mrs. Miller remained a novelty act, with her covers of contemporary pop songs being savaged by the critics, with one writer comparing her voice to the sound of “roaches scurrying across a trash can lid”.
Check out Mrs. Miller’s cover of ‘Downtown’:
The Shaggs
Often called the worst band in the world, The Shaggs were comprised of sisters Dot, Betty, Helen, and Rachel Wiggin, formed after a series of palmreading predictions came true for their father. Despite this bizarre origin story, the sisters had no musical training, but were forced to write and record a number of songs at the behest of the family patriarch.
Their sole record, Philosophy of the World, was savaged for its poor quality of songwriting and performing, but became an underground hit with a number of musicians. Described as a favourite of Rolling Stone critic Lester Bangs and Nirvana’s Kurt Cobain, The Shaggs’ record was eventually rediscovered in the ’80s, where it was repressed and re-released to a wider audience.
While The Shaggs reunited back in 2017 for a one-off show, they’ve never recorded any more tunes, though their legacy lives on, thanks in part to a quote by Frank Zappa which saw him describe them as “better than The Beatles.”
Check out The Shaggs’ ‘My Pal Foot Foot’:
Wing
Like Mrs. Miller and Florence Foster Jenkins, Wing is notable for her amateur approach to music, and is famed for her endearing, minimalist performances. Born in Hong Kong, Wing took up singing after moving to New Zealand, where she soon began performing at nursing homes and hospitals.
After being urged to record a CD by her fans, Wing quickly became an international sensation, appearing on talk shows all over the world and even popping up on an episode of South Park.
Despite a prolific discography of cover songs and a voracious worldwide audience, Wing announced her retirement from the world of music back in 2015, leading many to lament the loss of such a unique and confident talent.
Check out Wing’s cover of ‘Back In Black’:
