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In the music industry, entertainers come and go like revolving doors. One minute they have a hit and the next, eh, not so much. And it seems that once they have one flop the struggle to get back on top and remain relevant in the industry is insurmountable.

Nine times out of ten, unless you have a juicy scandal swirling around or nude pics leak in the midst of your struggling music career, society eventually forgets about your talents and the hits you’ve created before. This forces these artists to silently bow out and delve into even less relevant ventures.

So, why is it so hard for black artists to remain relevant? Granted, maybe, just maybe they actually don’t want to be relevant. Maybe they just want bits and pieces of the fame-pie, but don’t care to over-indulge. While that may be the case for some celebs, the fact still remains that once they fall off it’s a greater struggle to get back on top for black artists as opposed to celebs of different races. Does the blame fall on these celebs’ fanbase? I wouldn’t say so. Personally, I’d blame the artist. It’s up to them to hire the best people; if they don’t have the funds to hire the best, it’s up to them to step their game up and try to create these opportunities for themselves.

I watched a video where regular everyday people were questioned on their thoughts about Ciara and her stance in the music industry. Needless to say a lot of the comments interested me. Some people stated they were bored with her, others noted the differences between her and showier singers like Rihanna. (I found it odd that one girl said she was bored with Ciara but if she had to choose whether to see her or Rihanna in concert, she’d choose Ciara anyway because Rihanna is even more boring.) I have to agree on that, as well. I mean hey, at least Ciara has some high-energy dances to get the crowd into it. Rihanna can do a mean whine and sing a couple songs with to a hot beat with her monotone voice but, sadly, that is pretty much it for her.

The truth is, there’s not much to Rihanna aside from her beauty and dope beats, but that fact of the matter is that she has a team dedicated to banking off of her so her beauty and her brand is pushed down our throats while our ears are forced to hemorrhage from the sound of that Billy Goats gargle she calls a singing voice. But hey, no shade here, that’s just the truth.

In so many words another person pointed out that it basically all depends on what kind of team you have behind you and I strongly agree. To remain relevant in the music industry you not only have to have show-stopping good looks, but a DAMN good team behind you, a music label that actually sees potential in you to invest the time and money it takes to take you to star status, the best PR money can buy. And, most importantly, you have to be able to reinvent your style and cross over in your music. If you don’t possess the ability to cross over you will not be able to evolve and survive in such an ever-changing business that is the music industry.

For instance,  right now true R&B music is becoming a rarity in the music industry. Now, you have stars like Usher, Beyonce and Chris Brown doing more and more pop records because that is what is in demand right now and they possess the ability to do more things with their voices. Singers with a mediocre vocal range find it harder to do this because it’s harder for their voice to change up.

Another thing someone from the video pointed out was that Ciara should focus more on reinvented her music career opposed to being a socialite. That is somewhat true; Ciara would earn big bucks maybe focusing so much on music center her attention on doing work out videos or dance videos, focus on modeling or being a radio or TV personality or something. There’s an obvious difference: Britney Spears made her career a huge disaster and did not miss out on a dime in the midst of all of her crazy mental break-downs; yet black celebs make a couple of flops and it’s an automatic wrap for their career. Word to the wise, one thing these celebs can do to remain relevant is hire a top notch PR team and continue to try and do things to connect with their fan base. Whatever people pride them for or associate them with, bank off of that.

Check out the video below to see what people had to say about Ciara and post your thoughts on what you think about Ciara as well as why you think it’s so hard for black artists to remain relevant:

Ciara Speaks On Beyonce “It’s Cool To See Another Woman Doing It Big” [VIDEO]

Ciara Reveals Obsession With Nudity

Have Amar’e & Ciara Already Broken Up?

For 2024’s iteration of MadameNoire and HelloBeautiful’s annual series Women to Know, we knew we wanted to celebrate the people who help make the joys of film and television possible. To create art is to create magic. This year, we spotlight Hollywood Executive’s changing the face of cinema.