The Best Celebrity Comebacks Of 2018
The only thing we like more than seeing people succeed is watching them flourish after being counted out. The year 2018 saw the comebacks of some of our favorite celebs who definitely had the last laugh when it came to their careers and the haters and naysayers who said they were washed up.
Check out our list of the celebrities who can definitely count 2018 as one of their best years yet!
Source: Alessandra Benedetti / Getty
Janet Jackson
Without a doubt, no celebrity had a bigger, better and more well-deserved comeback in 2018 than the iconic Janet Jackson. In 2018 alone, she received more awards than most artists receive in the entire careers, including the Billboard Icon Award, Global Icon Award at the MTV Europe Music Awards, Impact Award at the Radio Disney Music Awards, Rock Star Award at Black Girls Rock!, the Icon Award at the BMI R&B/Hip Hop Awards and the Janet Jackson Inspiration Award at the Mnet Asian Music Awards.
She also returned to the top of the charts with her hit single “Made For Now,” which reached number one on the dance charts. Jackson continued to delight fans everywhere when she embarked on the hugely successful ‘State Of The World’ tour that took the country by storm and racked up over $33 million in ticket sales.
As 2018 came to a close, Janet Jackson fans all over the world were thrilled when it was announced that she would finally be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame after many years of being passed over.
Source: Getty / Getty
Tevin Campbell
One of the best feelings is to know that your fans have your back when the haters start coming. That’s exactly what 90s R&B star Tevin Campbell learned when social media erupted in a wave of support for him earlier this year when his immeasurable talent was brought into question.
After the death of the legendary Aretha Franklin sent shockwaves throughout the world, many fans on social media started to suggest who would be the best choice to sing at her funeral. Campbell’s name was brought up and social media personality Luvvie incorrectly thought that she could shade his talent. #BlackTwitter was not having it.
Tevin Campbell was trending for more than 24 hours, with fans praising his iconic voice, the host of hits he gave the R&B world and his impressive resume, having worked with both Prince and Quincy Jones before he was old enough to drive. Even fellow stars, Missy Elliott, Wale and Ava DuVernay joined in with heaps of praise for the singer.
Source: CBS Photo Archive / Getty
Geoffrey Owens
Former The Cosby Show actor Geoffrey Owens, who played the husband of eldest daughter Sondra, felt the financial impact of the iconic series no longer airing in widespread syndication as it once was, due to the allegations of sexual misconduct against Bill Cosby.
The loss of money caused him to take a job as a cashier at Trader Joe’s where he was photographed by fans who sold the photo to media outlets. In a surprising twist, instead of ridicule, Owens received a wave of support, including rapper Nicki Minaj giving him $25,000 and writer/director Tyler Perry offering him a recurring role on one of his television series’.
Source: Noam Galai / Getty
Mariah Carey
New Year’s Eve 2016 was probably one of the worst experiences ever for singer Mariah Carey, as she delivered one of the worst, most talked about and most ridiculed performances of all-time when she performed at Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve.
However, in true Mariah fashion, she bounced back fully in 2018. She released her long-awaited album Caution, inspired the #JusticeForGlitter hashtag on social media that finally gave chart-topping props to the 2001 soundtrack that accompanied the box-office and critical flop of the same name, and she actually replaced herself at the top of the charts thanks to her always popular 1994 Christmas album. “All I Want For Christmas,” the most notable song from the album, also set a record for the most streams in a single day (10.8 million) on Christmas Eve.
Source: Desiree Stone / Getty
LeToya Luckett
Proving that she knows how to reinvent herself through the world of television, singer LeToya Luckett lit up TV screens in 2018 with starring roles in both scripted and unscripted TV.
On the hit OWN network series Greenleaf, Luckett shines as the resident villain Rochelle, who’s hellbent on destroying the Greenleaf family dynasty. Meanwhile, over on VH1, she stars in the revamped T.I. &Tiny: Friends And Family Hustle, showing her personal life as a newlywed expecting her first child with husband Tommicus Walker.
Source: Todd Williamson / Getty
Jada Pinkett Smith
We’ve known and loved legendary actress Jada Pinkett Smith for more than 25 years, due to her roles in some of the biggest and most successful projects in both TV and film. As 2018 started, she was coming off the huge success of the 2017 film Girls Trip and decided to take her talents to Facebook.
Red Table Talk, hosted by Pinkett Smith, with her daughter Willow and her mom as panelists, instantly took social media by storm and became a hit. The show is praised for discussing topics, specifically those the concern women and the Black community, that are generally thought to be taboo, including mental health, drug use, self-harm and sexual abuse.
Source: @JustInMyView / R1 Digital
Meek Mill
After being released from prison in 2018, embattled rapper Meek Mill hit the ground running with the release of his highly-anticipated new album that fans had been waiting for for years.
Featuring the likes of Jay-Z, Cardi B., Drake, Ella Mai and Rick Ross, Championships was highly-praised by both fans and critics upon its release in the fall of 2018. Additionally, given his experience with the U.S. Justice System, Mill has stated that he plans to help change the way this system operates, and so far he’s been making good on that promise.
Source: Bennett Raglin/BET / Getty
Joe Budden
When Joe Budden walked away from Complex’s Everyday Struggle at the end of 2017, he promised he would build a name for himself elsewhere and that’s exactly what he did (through the help of Sean ‘Diddy’ Combs) when he took his opinionated voice to REVOLT TV.
State Of The Culture is a panel-style TV series led by Budden where discusses the current goings on in the hip hop and pop culture worlds. Upon its premiere, it was a bonafide hit and brought Budden back to the relevant topic of conversation. On the personal side, he also welcomed a new son and got engaged to girlfriend Cyn Santana.
Source: Gilbert Carrasquillo / Getty
Bobby Brown
With the success of the BET biopic based on his turbulent life The Bobby Brown Story, R&B singer Bobby Brown found his name in the news for something positive instead of his usual headline-making behavior for drug and alcohol offenses.
He also closed out 2018 with a co-starring role in the Soul Train mini series American Dream as R&B singer Rufus Thomas, which is slated to air on BET in early 2019.
Source: J. Countess / Getty
Eva Marcille
Long removed from her days as the winner of season three of America’s Next Top Model, reality star/model Eva Marcille had a more family-orientated comeback in 2018.
After being tested out as a “friend of the Housewives” in early 2018, she was upgraded to full-time peach-holder on the hit reality series Real Housewives of Atlanta by fall 2018. On the series, viewers get to see Marcille as a mother of two and a behind-the-scenes look as she plans her wedding to Atlanta politician Michael Sterling.
