We Will Always Love You? Pop's Greatest Comebacks, in Honor of Whitney

Whitney Houston
Rise: This heir to an impressive musical legacy became one of the biggest recording artists of pop music history -- and one of its biggest voices, inspiring a generation of followers (and American Idol contestants).
Fall: First, her increasingly crazy marriage to Bobby Brown made it seem like she was smoking crack -- and then it turned out she actually was (or so rumor had it). At any rate, Whitney was a mess for most of the early 2000s.
Resurrection: Dropped Bobby, added Clive and by 2009, seemed poised to reclaim the world.

Verdict: The jury's still out, but fierce new single "Million Dollar Bill" provides some pretty compelling evidence that Whitney may once again be pop's Queen (of the Night).
Further Listening: "Million Dollar Bill"

Elvis Presley
Rise: Uh, well, he's the King, baby.
Fall: By the '60s, however, the King of Rock & Roll was looking more like the Baron of Really Bad movies. Musically speaking, he was churning out forgettable soundtrack tunes, getting overshadowing by the Beatles and not performing live.
Resurrection: Forget what LL Cool J said: Elvis's return to stage performance was a TV special dubbed the '68 Comeback Special. The critically acclaimed Elvis in Memphis and a renewed reign over the charts followed.

Verdict: Uh, well, he's the King, baby.
Further Listening: Memories: The 68 Comeback Special

Eminem
Rise: Slim Shady's been one of the most iconoclastic, controversial and, yes, successful emcees in the game practically since his first album dropped -- and that's just the way he likes it.
Fall: In 2005, Em just kind of dropped out of sight for a while, resulting in a four-year hiatus that was eventually attributed to problems with drugs and depression.
Resurrection: Well, he called it a Relapse, but whatever name you give it, Mr. Mathers got both clean and officially re-addicted to hip-hop in 2009.

Verdict: Though some of Relapse's slightly dated references and beefs sound more like he's been in a coma the past few years, we can't imagine the game without its scrappiest player.
Further Listening/Reading: In Treatment, our guide to Eminem

Mariah Carey
Rise: The most successful artist of the '90s gave her adult contemporary-leaning R&B an equally successful hip-hop makeover in time for decade number two. Fall: There was this little surprise visit to MTV's TRL involving popsicles and pantslessness, followed by bouts of the ever-ambiguous "exhaustion."
Resurrection: Mariah came back with an alternate, even fiercer persona in tow: Mimi, emancipated circa 2005.

Verdict: We're still not sure Mimi's entirely not crazy, but a little bit of kooky suits her, as does married life with Nick Cannon, giving Eminem a taste of his own medicine and, oh yeah, being the best-selling female artist in the U.S.
Further Listening: Mariah Carey's Hit Picks

Britney Spears
Rise: From Mouseketeer to teen queen to total and complete pop domination.
Fall: Take your pick. Did it begin with her marriage to K-Fed? The head-shaving incident? Her lackluster (but rather aptly titled) first "comeback" Blackout? Wherever they came from, Britney undeniably had some demons to work through.
Resurrection: We don't want to jinx it, but things are looking pretty good, post-Circus.

Verdict: Britney's not 100% back to her "...Baby One More Time" self -- but maybe that's a good thing.
Further Viewing: Music's Most Riveting Romances gallery, featuring Brit and her ex


Tina Turner
Rise: The diva formerly known as Anna Mae Bullock went from Nutbush, Tennessee, to Ike Turner's backup singer to the dynamic lead vocalist of the critically acclaimed Ike and Tina Turner Revue, whose many claims to fame include Turner's powerhouse cover of "Proud Mary."
Fall: Tina's "fall" was more Ike's fall -- and Tina's subsequent flee from her abusive, drug addict ex and manager in the early '70s. Despite her courage and all-around fierceness, Tina then struggled for several years to get her solo career to take with audiences and labels.
Resurrection: That career came roaring back to life in 1984 with the massive hit "What's Love Got the Do with It," which reaffirmed Tina's position among the great luminaries and legacies of pop and soul.

Verdict: Simply the best, honey. Whitney, take notes.
Further Listening/Reading: Breaking Down a Breakup, One Album at a Time, featuring Tina's classic comeback (from anything!) album Private Dancer

Chris Brown
Rise: He got off to a roaring start at the tender age of 16 and was earning himself comparisons to idols Michael Jackson and Usher shortly thereafter. Fall: He beat up his girlfriend -- his beloved pop star girlfriend. It just doesn't get much worse or more unforgivable.

Resurrection: Just a few months later, however, Brown enjoyed the only kind of comeback that could have worked for him: one he had nothing to do with. The viral YouTube video of a Minnesota couple and their wedding party's entrance into the church dancing to Brown's "Forever" gave him more positive media attention (and even some chart time) than he ever could have garnered for himself.

Verdict: He may have been convicted in court, but Brown's still on trial in the court of public opinion. He apologized, but was it too little, too late?
Further Listening: Pop Hits radio channel


Michael Jackson
Rise: Dominated the charts, MTV, our hearts for the 1980s and much of the '90s. Put out at least two, possibly three (depending on your position on Bad) of the top albums of all time. Crowned King of Pop. OK, so he crowned himself, but it was a deserved title.
Fall: More of an excruciating series of falls -- or a gradual descent into a very public personal hell, each circle of which was marked by increasingly horrible events: fires, extreme plastic surgery, child abuse allegations, weird marriages, dangling babies, drug abuse, debt, etc.
Resurrection: Easily the most tragic comeback on this list, MJ's came only with his death.

Verdict: Seriously split. A spectacular comeback indeed, but at far too hefty a price.
Further Viewing/Listening: In Memoriam: Michael Jackson, our tribute to the King

Johnny Cash
Rise: "Folsom Prison Blues?" "I Walk the Line?" "Ballad of a Teenage Queen?" Cash was country -- and quite a bit of rock 'n' roll -- in the '50s and '60s.
Fall: Already a veteran of one comeback (facilitated by June Carter in the late '60s, who helped him overcome addiction and general depravity), Cash's star flagged from the '70s through the '90s, when he also began experiencing health problems.
Resurrection: Leave it to the Man in Black to do comeback with plenty of panache and drama, practically rising from his deathbed to put an entirely new generation under his spell with a series of Rick Rubin-helmed new recordings, including his exquisitely wounded cover of Nine Inch Nail's "Hurt."

Verdict: He didn't have many years left to enjoy his comeback, but Cash went out with an incredible bang -- and left an incredible legacy.
Further Listening: The Man Comes Around

R. Kelly Rise: A series of popular booty jams and one almost shockingly G-rated hit (1996's "I Believe I Can Fly") made Kels the crossover king of '90s R&B.
Fall: In case you hadn't heard, R. Kelly spent most of the 2000s being accused of, waiting to be tried for and eventually being acquitted of sex with a minor and child pornography (not to mention being outted as a golden shower fan and feuding with Jay-Z) .
Resurrection: You'd think scandals like that would hurt a guy's career right? Come on -- the dude even compared himself (sympathetically!) to Osama Bin Laden! Not Kels's. Instead, he got more sex-drenched hits, a few successful albums and one super-soapy, multi-part R&B-opera.

Verdict: We're not sure he deserves to, but we do, grudgingly, believe Kelly can fly.
Further Listening: Falling in Love with Soul playlist