With many musicians emerging every year, it can be challenging for a once-a-superstar to reclaim the spot they had enjoyed during their prime. Most great artists go through a time when their every release becomes an instant hit, they make millions of dollars, and their music defines an era. But many of these great artists disappeared in 2018.
But, many of them slowly fade away and don’t appear in the spotlight for various reasons, be it their extensive touring for years or their health issues or personal life struggles.
Neil Diamond was a no show in 2018
The Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Neil Diamond has enjoyed his time as a pop and soft-rock superstar for about 50 years of his life. For his immense contribution to music, he has been celebrated with several honours, including the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1984, Sammy Cahn Lifetime Achievement Award in 2000, the Kennedy Center Honors in 2011 and Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award in 2018, among others.
In January of 2018, the Sweet Caroline and Love on the Rocks singer revealed just before his 77th birthday that he was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease and would immediately stop touring. The tour dates on the final leg of his 50th Anniversary World Tour in New Zealand and Australia were cancelled. The musician immediately announced that he had decided with ‘great reluctance and disappointment’ on his official website. He said
“I will remain active in writing, recording and other projects for a long time to come. I have been so honored to bring my shows to the public for the past 50 years.”
He thanked his loyal supporters for the ride together over the years and said he would remain eternally grateful for their love.
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Adele took a break in 2018
In February 2016, the Rolling in the Deep hitmaker was on her world tour, which started in Belfast. Towards the end of the term, during two of the final four shows at Wembley Stadium in London, she struggled with her voice. Despite her hard time on stage, critics loved her performance calling it “poignant” and “instinctively charismatic.” One of her Wembley concerts saw 98,000 people, a stadium record for a UK music event.
The Londoner had to seek medical advice right after the show and was advised to cancel the remaining two shows at Wembley. Apologizing to the fans for cancelling her performances, she stated at the time,
“I had to push a lot harder than I normally do… It turns out I have damaged my vocal cords. On medical advice, I am simply unable to perform over the weekend. I’ve considered doing Saturday night’s show, but it’s highly unlikely I’d even make it through the set and I simply can’t crumble in front of you all and walk out on you in that way.”
That was not the first time she had problems with her vocal cords. In 2011, she had to undergo throat surgery to remove a benign polyp. Although she is no longer touring, one of the world’s best-selling music artists is now actively working on her fourth studio album, which is expected to be released in December 2019. More recently, she posted a photo of herself dressed up as a late country singer, June Carter Cash, one of her idols.
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Green Day remained quiet in 2018
Green Day has been at the forefront of the punk-pop music scene since the 90s. Since their seminal first album, Dookie, came out in 1994, they actively recorded, released, and toured. Moreover, they have released ten studio albums and two live DVDs, with their last release being 2016’s Revolution Radio.
The band also toured extensively for that album, playing 119 shows from September 2016 to November 2017. They released a compilation album Greatest Hits: God’s Favorite Band, in November 2017 but remained inactive throughout 2018. This year marks the 25th anniversary of their first album, Dookie. We will likely see them again taking centre stage in 2019,celebrating the 25th year of their debut album.
This year, they also celebrate the legacy of their 2004 album, American Idiot. The hit song holds the title of a punk rock opera. This year, Green Day will take their American Idiot musical on a UK tour. After 15 years since their album release. The tour dates have been announced, with the first show beginning on January 17 and wrapping up in June. Meanwhile, the band is also working on the big-screen adaptation of American Idiot.
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Sky Ferreira took the year off?
Sky Ferreira was just a passionate singer on Myspace before she was discovered by the production duo, Bloodshy & Avant. She scored a recording contract with Parlophone in 2009 and released her 2013 debut studio album Night Time, My Time. But after her careers in modelling and acting began to take shape, Ferreira perhaps shied away from music. She hasn’t yet been able to release a follow-up album to Night Time, My Time which is already five years old.
However, she hasn’t entirely written off the prospect of recording another album. In late 2017, she explained that she had been ill for a while and needed to get ultimately better so that she could record and tour. She also said that she would release her new music pretty soon.
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A Tribe Called Quest
The pioneers of the Native Tongues movement in the late 80s and early 90s in the hip-hop scene in the US, A Tribe Called Quest has enjoyed a lot of fandoms. After a long hiatus, they had reunited in 2015 to perform on The Tonight Show.
The group enjoyed their time together and decided to give another shot at a new record. They arranged a time for the album around rapper Phife Dawg’s schedule. They placed the time as Dawg had to visit the hospital to get his kidney dialysis frequently. On March 22, 2016, Phife died from complications of Type II diabetes.
Q-Tip and Ali Shaheed Muhammad’s remaining members finished the album. And the band toured for it at festivals and TV shows in 2016 and 2017. They also performed on the first The Tonight Show episode after President Trump took the seat, playing an anti-gentrification track, We the People.. from their latest album. On September 9, 2017, they headlined Bestival in England, their last performance.
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