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Making it as a pop star is about delivering excellent music, but the best stars do more than that. They also pair their bops and bangers with brilliant visuals.
An unforgettable music video like “…Baby One More Time” can propel a song to the top of the charts and create an instantly recognizable image that we associate with a good song.
The same can be said for a good album cover, which can be just as memorable as the catchiest single. And some covers, like The Beatles’ Abbey Road, are so monumental to pop culture history that you might even know them better than the songs on the album’s track list.
However, for every exceptional album cover, there are more than a few that aren’t so great.
Even the best, most iconic and renowned pop stars have dropped a visual dud or two over the years — from album art that looks badly Photoshopped to covers that are downright bizarre or entirely off-brand for the artist.
From Madonna to Justin Timberlake, these pop stars may know how to make massive hits, but their album covers can be hit or miss sometimes. Some album art is just plain bad, while others simply leave us wanting (and expecting) more.
Worst Pop Album Covers Ever
We rounded up 20 of the worst pop album covers by some of the biggest pop stars in the world.
No matter the reason, these images just didn’t live up to fan expectations.
Gallery Credit: Mike Nied
