Pop Stars On The Comeback Trail
The comeback is a potent and well-used generator of hype. In 2010, for example, the public was informed of so-called comebacks by Sade (genuine – it’s a decade since her last studio album); Christina Aguilera, pictured with Cher (X-tina’s comeback is dubious – Back to Basics was released in 2006, but she hasn’t exactly retreated from the limelight in the meantime); and Eminem (preposterous – his previous album was only a year old). In 2011, we are told to expect comebacks from, among others, Amy Winehouse (who last released new music four years ago) and possibly – if singer Agnetha Faltskog can persuade her bandmates – Abba. Sometimes a comeback is really just a continuation; sometimes it’s an encore. Whether it’s authentic or bogus, people love it: nostalgia is a guilty pleasure in which we all seem to indulge.
