Have you ever been a fan of a certain band or artist that you loved while you were growing up, but once you got older and began to discover new acts you decided that those groups became too old for you or their music didn't connect with you as much as it once did? Well, I too have had a handful of bands I once loved and adored but have lost interest in their new material or recent activities and have outgrown them through time, which could also be due to my constant discovery of new bands in music. So here is my list. No particluar ranking or order though, just randomly placed.
1. Train
I always had a soft spot for pop rock band Train growing up. I remember adoring lead-singer Pat Monahan's voice, and listening to their albums Drops ofJupiter (2002), Save Me, San Francisco (2009), and California 37 (2012) throughout my high school years, considering them to be three of my favorite albums to listen to back during that time with songs like "Drops of Jupiter," "She's on Fire," "Hey, Soul Sister," "Calling All Angels," "Bruises" (featuring Ashley Monroe), and "Mermaid" as being some of my favorite songs of theirs off those records. I actually saw them live, along with Gavin DeGraw and The Script, at Blossom Music Center during their Mermaids of Alcatraz tour back in 2013 too which ended up being an overall good show, even though watching DeGraw was the main reason I went to that concert. However, through the past few years I have lost interest and haven't been paying attention to Train's work simply because I don't feel any connection or fondness to it anymore. I wasn't a big fan of the singles that came off of their 2014 album Bulletproof Picasso, especially "Cadillac, Cadillac," and once I heard that the band released an album that covered the classic Led Zeppelin record Led Zeppelin II in June of 2016, that's when I really lost interest in them. I mean I realize that it was an album for charity, but seriously? This easy listening, pop rock band covers a classic hard rock album made by one of the greatest hard rock bands of all time? I just found it to be bizarre and unnecessary to make. So while I will still keep playing my favorite songs by Train, listening to any of the bands new work, including their upcoming eighth record A Girl, A Bottle, A Boat which will be released on January 27, is most likely not going to happen because I just need to move on from them and continue to explore new acts.
2. Nickelback
While doing this list, I honestly had to go back and wonder how I ever became a big fan of this Canadian hard rock band, because now, I don't even keep up to date with their latest albums or tours anymore. Though I will admit that I was at one point a huge fan of Nickelback. I even remember freaking out after receiving their 2005 album All the Right Reasons for Christmas one year and listening to that record almost daily on my iPod nano. Their next album Dark Horse, released in 2008, was a record I loved listening to as well during my high school years and songs such as "Rockstar," "Side of a Bullet," "If Today Was Your Last Day," "Burn It to the Ground," and "This Afternoon" were favorites of mine from both of those albums. So why have I outgrown this once favorite band of mine? Well for one thing, back in those days when I loved Nickelback, I had just started getting into music and hadn't developed a broader way to pick and choose what music I listen to. In addition, most of Nickelback's songs to me sound very simple, bland, and not very well done, especially in the lyrical department. Also, I have found that lead singer Chad Kroger's voice is not as great and powerful as I once thought it was, mostly because I think I've come to the point where I don't like his voice at all. Since I have heard many stronger rock vocalists in music as I've gotten older, I just find Kroger's voice to be painfully raspy, annoying, and I can hardly make out the words he sings in the band's songs because on some of them, it sounds like he's either mumbling or over singing them. While I thought there were a couple decent songs off of their 2011 album, Here and Now, like "When We Stand Together," and "This Means War," their follow up and most recent album, No Fixed Address (2014), was a record I didn't bother listening to once I heard the songs titled "Got Me Runnin' Around" (featuring Flo Rida) and "What Are You Waiting For" off of it, I was highly disappointed of that release and now I am wondering if I want to continue listening to anything new they put out, although I have heard their new single they released last August called "Dirty Laundry" and it did have a nice hard rock sound that reminded me of the stuff that the band released during their formative years. However, for now, one good song is not going to give me faith on the direction of this once favorite act of mine. But who knows, they might surprise me in the future.
3. Maroon 5
Oh man, Maroon 5 used to be such an amazing band to me and lead singer Adam Levine was a huge influence on my love of singing, key phrases being "used to" and "was." I just feel that this pop-rock band who started their career out with three great albums in Songs About Jane (2002), It Won't Be Soon Before Long (2007), and Hands All Over (2010) has lost the funky and soulful sound that they were once known for, especially on their previous two records Overexposed (2012), and V (2014). With these albums they started making songs that contained elements of synthpop, soft rock, and dance-pop, to which I did not become a fan of and I have started to lose interest in the new direction that the band has taken with their sound. In addition, I have felt that Maroon 5 through these past few years hasn't even been sounding like a band anymore with lead guitarist James Valentine and bassist Mickey Madden being almost inaudible or completely taken out on the groups recordings. Examples of these types of songs I can recall include "Daylight," "It Was Always You," "Moves Like Jagger" (featuring Christina Aguilera), and "Don't Wanna Know" (featuring Kendrick Lamar), just to name a few. However, I will say that guitars and bass driven tracks can still be heard on Maroon 5's recent albums with songs like "Maps," "Sugar," and "Lucky Strike" being a few examples. However, with Adam Levine's continued success and recognition for himself by being on The Voice and the group losing a sense of being a band, I think I have stopped riding the Maroon 5 train and have decided to move on from them.
4. Chris Brown
It's hard to believe that I thought of Chris Brown at one point being the next huge star and "Prince of R&B" with his once charming personality, eye-catching dance moves, and his smooth vocal delivery. However, instead I have now considered Brown as one of popular music's biggest jerks. Now, I'm not saying that the number one reason that I have outgrown Brown is because of his felony assault on pop-singer Rihanna or his other numerous legal issues that he has committed over the years, but the albums that he has released these past few years like Graffiti (2009), Fortune (2012), X (2014), and Royalty (2015) are another reason. To me, it seems that once Brown's name began to go downhill after his assault crime on Rihanna, his music, mainly his albums, went down with him as well. His heavy use of auto-tune and EDM sounds on his songs like "Don't Wake Me Up," "No Filter," and "Turn Up the Music" drives me insane, because I personally think the guy has an awesome voice, and the topics he talks about on songs like "Loyal" (featuring Lil Wayne, Tyga, French Montana, and Too Short) have stirred up a lot of controversy to many people and even more negative attention towards him. Obviously, I think it's clear that Brown needs to work on his maturity and sound in the music he makes, even though yes I realize he's only 27 so he still has a long career ahead of him. However, if he doesn't get his music back to the smooth, catchy, and soulful R&B sound that he was known for and clean up his act, I won't be interested in anything he releases in the future for now. I'm pretty sure he wouldn't care anyway, after all I'm just one fan.
5. Nelly
I was never a huge fan of Nelly as far as his albums, but boy he did have some catchy and memorable songs like "Hot in Herre," "Ride Wit Me," "Grillz" (featuring Paul Wall, Ali, and Gipp), and "Country Grammar." However, while I did like a few of his hit songs, I can definitely say that I have outgrown his sound, especially in recent years. When I heard his hit song "Just a Dream" that was released as the lead single to his sixth album 5.0 in 2010, I found that song to be very cliched and the atmospheric, guitar driven production on that song was not very interesting or catchy to me, plus the auto-tune that was heavily layered on Nelly's vocals, especially on the chorus was off-putting as well. Sadly, he seemed to get worse once he released the track "Hey Porsche" and collaborated with country duo Florida-Georgia Line on a remix of their hit single "Cruise" in 2013, and it seemed that Nelly was aiming to experiment with a country-type sound in his music and began to sing more, which was a big turn-off because his singing voice is not a favorite of mine. By making intolerable songs like "Rick James" (featuring T.I.) and "Walk Away" (featuring Florida-Georgia Line), I began to realize that Nelly is an act I'm no longer interested in listening to anymore, especially since their are better hip-hop acts out there like Kendrick Lamar and Childish Gambino. So I've definitely outgrown Nelly based on these past few years, and I think that's good for me since he's starting to rip-off other artist's songs now, an example being stealing the chorus from Marvin Gaye's classic song "Sexual Healing" on his most recent release "The Fix" (featuring Jeremih). Nelly I'm moving on from you buddy, sorry.