Nov 5, 2018
John
Mayer has been releasing new pop tunes this year and even did
something that looked suspiciously like a comeback interview. It
didn’t go so well; even though it was for his own Instagram show,
he sparked a flurry of 2010-reminiscent headlines by saying he’d
slept with “sub-500” women, which was interpreted as around 500
women, which he later clarified was closer to 6. Given that his
celebrity reputation was built on the details (often revealed by
him) of his time scoring with the ladies, he seems to be struggling
in the "Me Too" consciousness of 2018. The point being: As John
Mayer makes moves toward some sort of mainstream comeback, we have
been wondering: What does a circa-2018 male pop/rock star look
like? And can someone like him ever make a comeback if they’ve
said, literally, all
the worst things in
the past?
With
the help of Billboard editor
Joe Lynch, we delve into Mayer’s past, from his irresistible hits
like “Your Body Is a Wonderland” to his horrifically racist and
sexist interviews to his stellar rock and blues performances. As we
dissect whether his musical prowess can ever overcome what he
called, in one song, “My Stupid Mouth,” we also examine what makes
a good male pop star in 2018, and why his name is...Harry
Styles.