ONTD

Pop
U2, 1997

Rise: Ten years after U2 assumed the rock 'n' roll throne, they planned the glitzy Popmart tour as an ironic take on consumerism, and they rushed out the accompanying album to meet the deadline.

Fall: The half-baked 'Pop' was so forgettable that U2's next album, 'All That You Can't Leave Behind,' was widely hailed as the band's "comeback" record.

Stats: 'The Joshua Tree' (1987), 10 million; 'Pop,' 1.5 million


Powerballin
Chingy, 2004

Rise: Smash debut put St. Louis native 'Right Thurr' with three Top Five hits.

Fall: Beefs with Ludacris and Nelly sent fans away in droves.

Stats: 'Jackpot' (2003), 2.9 million; 'Powerballin',' 600,000



Forever
Spice Girls, 2000

Rise: Smash success of 1996 debut set off an international wave of Beatlemaniacal proportions for this prefab five.

Fall: The departure of Ginger Spice and the maturing of the group's target audience ensured the Spice phenomenon wouldn't last 'Forever.'

Stats: 'Spice' (1996), 7.4 million; 'Forever,'



Warning
Green Day, 2000

Rise: 'Dookie' was a certified monster; 1997's 'Nimrod' featured the surprise hit ballad 'Good Riddance (Time of Your Life),' which was heard by millions on the 'Seinfeld' finale.

Fall: For a band built on potty humor, their newfound maturity might have been premature. However, fans would later come around to embracing the grown-up sentiments of 2004's comeback blockbuster 'American Idiot .'

Stats: 'Dookie' (1994), 7.8 million; 'Warning,' 1.1 million



Crown Royal
Run DMC, 2001

Rise: The trio showed hip-hop how to 'Walk This Way,' right into the pop mainstream with its multiplatinum collaborations.

Fall: Their endlessly delayed comeback was too long in coming, so guests such as Fred Durst and Stephan Jenkins were soooo 1990s by the time of its eventual release.

Stats: 'Raising Hell' (1986), 3 million; 'Crown Royal,' 150,000



Dead Ringer
Meat Loaf, 1981

Rise: The big fella's surprise blockbuster, 'Bat Out of Hell,' came with a prophetic play-by-play: "Holy cow, I think he's gonna make it!"

Fall: A broken leg, shredded vocal cords and general exhaustion led to a critical delay for the follow-up. Despite help from Cher, the stillborn 'Dead Ringer' couldn't keep Meat out of bankruptcy.

Stats: 'Bat Out of Hell' (1977), 14 million; 'Dead Ringer,' less than 500,000



Playing With Fire
Kevin Federline, 2006

Rise: One of the all-time pop success stories: Third-tier backup dancer gets Britney Spears to have his babies.

Fall: 'America's Most Hated' (he said it, not us); the country ignored K-Fed's debut in record-breaking numbers, marking him more accurately as America's Most Ignored.

Stats: 'Baby One More Time' (Spears' debut, 1999), 10.5 million; 'Playing With Fire,' 18,000



Journey Through the Secret Life of Plants
Stevie Wonder, 1978

Rise: Riding a creative deluge from the early '70s, the singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist set his own high-water mark with the smash 'Songs in the Key of Life.'

Fall: The long-delayed follow-up, purportedly the soundtrack to a mysterious film, baffled fans with its heavily synthesized, New Age-y vibe.

Stats: 'Key of Life' (1976), 10 million; 'Secret Life of Plants,' less than 500,000



Altered Beast
Matthew Sweet, 1993

Rise: Journeyman rocker was suddenly one of the indie world's biggest stars with power-pop masterpiece 'Girlfriend,' including the Top 10 title track.

Fall: Despite help from musical heavy hitters including Mick Fleetwood and a full-on publicity blitz with five different album covers, the record flopped. There were inspiring moments, said Rolling Stone, but "the problem is finding them." Ouch!

Stats: 'Girlfriend' (1991), 580,000; 'Altered Beast,' 180,000



I'm in You
Peter Frampton, 1977

Rise: The former U.K. teen idol grew up fast with the double LP 'Frampton Comes Alive!,' still one of the best-selling live albums of all time.

Fall: Despite the presence of Stevie Wonder, 'I'm in You' was creamed by the critics. The subsequent 'Sgt. Pepper' film fiasco and a near-fatal car crash effectively creamed Frampton's career.

Stats: 'Frampton Comes Alive!' (1976), 6 million; 'I'm in You,' 1 million



Schizophrenic
JC Chasez, 2004

Rise: After Justin Timberlake, Chasez was the most high-profile member of monster boy band 'N Sync.

Fall: Rock, electronic, Prince-style funk experiments all failed to sway the public, and the album title and cover photo offended some mental-health advocates.

Stats: 'Justified' (Timberlake's solo debut, 2002), 3.6 million; 'Schizophrenic,' 120,000



... But the Little Girls Understand
The Knack, 1980

Rise: On the strength of the insanely catchy 'My Sharona' -- Dave Grohl's all-time favorite song -- the L.A. power pop band spent five weeks with the country's No. 1 album in '79.

Fall: A guilty pleasure from the start, the band was bound for a quick and violent backlash -- "Knuke the Knack"!

Stats: 'Get the Knack' (1979), 2 million; 'But the Little Girls Understand,' 500,000



Paul's Boutique
Beastie Boys, 1989

Rise: The New York trio's slap-happy debut, 'Licensed to Ill,' was the first hip-hop album to hit No. 1.

Fall: Though eventually revered as a hip-hop landmark, 'Paul's' was roundly ignored by a public that wanted more 'Ill' behavior, and it gained its legendary status and much of its sales only in the past 10 years.

Stats: 'Licensed to Ill' (1986), 9 million; 'Paul's Boutique,' 2 million



Fairweather Johnson
Hootie and the Blowfish, 1996

Rise: 'Cracked Rear View,' the 1994 major-label tee-off by the golf-loving South Carolina foursome, instantly made Hootie one of the biggest-selling new groups of all time.

Fall: Though 'Fairweather' debuted at No. 1, it was quickly eclipsed by a record number of Hootie jokes.

Stats: 'Cracked Rear View,' 10.1 million; 'Fairweather Johnson,' 2.3 million



Forever
Puff Daddy, 1999

Rise: This smash debut rode Biggie Smalls' broad back to two No. 1 singles and another that reached No. 2.

Fall: Criminally underperforming sequel led the rapper to go into the hip-hop witness protection program, changing his name (for the first time) to P. Diddy.

Stats: 'No Way Out' (1997), 5.2 million; 'Forever,' 1.4 million



'Human Touch'/ 'Lucky Town'
Bruce Springsteen, 1992

Rise: His 'Born in the U.S.A.' pulled off one of the great feats in pop history, placing seven singles in the Top 10.

Fall: Newly remarried and relocated to L.A., the Boss released two generally upbeat albums with little help from his longtime E Street Band. Even hard-core fans were -- gasp! -- bored silly.

Stats: 'Born in the U.S.A.' (1984), 15 million; 'Human Touch'/ 'Lucky Town,' 1 million each



'The Ego Has Landed'
Robbie Williams, 1999

Rise: The former Take That popster is the U.K.'s all-time top-selling solo artist and has sold more than 53 million albums worldwide.

Fall: Despite a huge push from Capitol Records to break into the American market, 'The Ego' never got higher than No. 63 on the U.S. pop charts. Take that!

Stats: 'I've Been Expecting You' (1998), 5 million (worldwide); 'Ego,' 560,000 (U.S.)



Mind Blowin
Vanilla Ice, 1994

Rise: 'Ice Ice Baby' was the first hip-hop single to hit No. 1 on the pop charts.

Fall: Exposure of the former Robert Van Winkle's suburban background fueled jokes about the original white gangsta's street cred, as did a tale of allegedly being dangled off a balcony by Suge Knight.

Stats: 'To the Extreme' (1990), 7 million; 'Mind Blowin',' 42,000



'Return of Dragon'
Sisqo, 2001

Rise: For a minute there, 'Thong Song' was between the cheeks of everyone in the developed world.

Fall: The Baltimore R&B singer's uninspiring follow-up was the commercial equivalent of granny panties.

Stats: 'Unleash the Dragon' (1999), 4.2 million; 'Return of Dragon,' 450,000



'HIStory'
Michael Jackson, 1995

Rise: The creator of the world's best-selling album of all time ('Thriller') was still capable of selling seven times platinum in the U.S. with 1991's 'Dangerous.'

Fall: Jackson's plan for his none-too-humbly titled 'HIStory' included placements of statutes of himself around the world. The new songs were so uninspiring he ended up including a greatest-hits disc.

Stats: 'Thriller' (1982), 27 million; 'HIStory,' 2.5 million



'Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic'
Prince, 1999

Rise: The '80s superstar was ripe for a comeback after split with longtime label Warner Bros.

Fall: Clive Davis roped in Sheryl Crow, Gwen Stefani and other luminaries in a 'Supernatural'-style bid to return His Purple Majesty to the pop throne, but the album tanked.

Stats: 'Purple Rain' (1984), 13 million; 'Rave Un2 the Joy Fantastic,' 480,000



'Paris'
Paris Hilton, 2007

Rise: The hotel heiress and reality series star has compared herself to Princess Di and Marilyn Monroe.

Fall: Despite her viral Internet superstardom, her recording debut just made listeners sick.

Stats: 'Paris,' 180,000



Glitter'
Mariah Carey, 2001

Rise: The pop diva with the glass-shattering vocal range was the most successful U.S. artist of the 1990s.

Fall: 'Glitter,' the soundtrack to an equally unsuccessful movie, was released on September 11, 2001, and things only got worse from there.

Stats: 'Rainbow' (1999), 2.9 million; 'Glitter,' 630,000



'Garth Brooks in the Life of Chris Gaines'
Garth Brooks, 1999

Rise: The suburban cowboy superstar has had more than 70 hit singles; more than 115 million albums sold in the U.S. alone.

Fall: Rolling Stone declared Brooks' weird fake-rock-star alter-ego project was "the most monumentally disastrous marketing idea that mainstream pop had seen in years."

Stats: 'Ropin' the Wind' (1991), 14 million; 'In the Life of Chris Gaines,' 1.1 million



'Self Portrait'
Bob Dylan, 1970

Rise: You know -- the quintessential singer-songwriter who could do no wrong.

Fall: The Dylan generation had a tough time swallowing what 'Self Portrait' proved: that their hero was fully capable of sucking as much as the next mere mortal.

Stats: 'Blonde on Blonde' (1966), 2 million; 'Self Portrait,' 110,000

I own about half this list.

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