Virgin EMI Records, a division of Universal Music Operations LimitedIn 2014, it seemed like Iggy Azalea was on the fast lane to success with her breakout mainstream hit "Fancy" but in recent years, it seems like her music career has been stalled amid a whole lotta drama.
So when can we expect a comeback?
Possibly soon; Earlier this month, Iggy released the single "Can't Lose," featuring Lil Uzi Vert, and the rapper said on social media this week that a new single and music video, "Mo Bounce," would be released Friday. She is also still working on her anticipated new album, Social Distortion, which is expected to drop this year.
This Friday #MOBOUNCE // @IGGYAZALEA pic.twitter.com/tWJ0SL8SUF
— Vevo (@Vevo) March 22, 2017
You guys did good putting the pieces together! My new single #MoBounce comes out next Friday! 3/24. Get ready. pic.twitter.com/dQmkNpCR0a
— IGGY AZALEA (@IGGYAZALEA) March 19, 2017
Did Iggy Peak With "Fancy"? "Fancy," which features Charli XCX, was the Australian rapper's only No. 1 U.S. single. Follow-up songs included "Problem," which Ariana Grande which charted at No. 2, and "Black Widow," with Rita Ora, which hit No. 3.
Iggy's tracks released in recent years were nearly as successful. "Beg for It," "Trouble," a 2015 track featuring Jennifer Hudson, "Pretty Girls," featuring Britney Spears, and Iggy's last known single, "Team," did not break the top 25. She did, however, feature on Jennifer Lopez's 2014 single "Booty," which reached No. 18.
Also, Iggy has also had six top 10 hits on the Hot Rap Songs chart. Overall, she is still considered one of the most successful rap artists of the last decade. She sold 595,000 albums, had 10.1 million digital downloads in the U.S. to date and earned 1.2 billion on-demand streams, Billboard reported.
Meanwhile, Iggy was starting to make headlines more with her outspokenness on Twitter, where she ranted about the invasion of her privacy by the paparazzi and even Papa John's Pizza, press attention dealings with other artists than her music.
Feuds: In recent years, the rapper has gotten into wars of words with Snoop Dogg and Erykah Badu and also got involved in a lengthy and racially charged feud with Azalea Banks.
"The artists that criticize me don't have as much success as me, so I think it gets them riled up, because they're not selling as much as I am," Iggy told Remix magazine in 2016. "I honestly think that's what it boils down to...I don't want to say it's just people being jealous, but I do think the level of success I've had and how many fans I have and the amount of records I sell does have a lot to do with it."
In 2015, the rapper expressed her annoyance at the lackluster reception for her single with Britney.
"Its difficult to send a song up the charts without additional promo and tv performances etc. unfortunately im just featured...," Azalea tweeted at the time. "I would have enjoyed performing it alot, i think it got off to a powerful start. but you need content to compete in 2015."
Many interpreted her words to be shade thrown at Spears, who later posted, "Can't wait to get back to Vegas. So thankful I have shows for the rest of the year to look forward to... #YouWantAPieceOfMe," alluding to Iggy's cancelled Great Escape tour.
Canceled Tour: Iggy later told Seventeen in June 2015 she canceled her tour because she had "had a different creative change of heart," adding, "I want to start totally anew, and if I stayed on my tour, that would mean I wouldn't even be able to start working on that until after Christmas."
A Proposal! Meanwhile, the rapper's personal life was taking a roller coaster ride. In June 2015, soon after she announced her tour cancellation, her boyfriend and Los Angeles Lakers player Nick Young proposed at his 30th birthday party. Then everything got delayed.
...and a Setback: Iggy said last March, almost a year later, that her tour would begin at a later date and that she and Nick had postponed their wedding as well due to both of their work commitments.
Nick, she said, is "really awesome and great and totally understanding and does not mind" postponing the wedding, adding, "He wants to be, like, he's like, 'I can be a bachelor for longer' and like, he's really milking it, he's really milking the whole thing. So he's really happy. Any time he wants to like, go out with the boys, he's like, 'This is my last summer being a bachelor!"
Cheating Rumors: In late March 2016, rumors that Nick had cheated on the rapper swirled after an online video showed him talking about women with teammate D'Angelo Russell. A source told E! News at the time that "Nick and Iggy had a rough patch months ago" and that "Nick got caught up in things he shouldn't have been dabbling in."
The Breakup: Three months later, in June 2016, Iggy announced she and Nick had broken up after more than two years.
"I broke up with Nick because I found out he had brought other women into our home while I was away and caught them on security footage," she tweeted.
Oh Baby: Weeks later, in July 2016, Nick's ex Keonna Green confirmed rumors she is pregnant with their second child. She said the two rekindled their romance three months after he and Azalea got engaged. Keonna gave birth to their baby girl last October.
Thanks IRS: Meanwhile, to add insult to injury, amid her personal and professional turmoil, Iggy was slapped earlier in the year with a $391,056.55 income tax lien for unpaid taxes from 2014—yes, the year "Fancy" was released.
Reality TV Career: The rapper concentrated on a different kind of work amid her turmoil; Reality television.
News of her and Nick's split came about a week after she announced she has been cast as a judge on The X Factor Australia's eighth and final season. She served in her new role opposite Adam Lambert, Mel B and Guy Sebastian.
"I really didn't picture myself being a judge on any kind of television show but I think that actually this could be a good fit for me so I said yes," Iggy told The Daily Telegraph Australia. "Initially I didn't know but then I thought it would be good to come back to Australia and have an opportunity to spend some time there and obviously to see my family, who live in Sydney."
There was reportedly drama among the judges on the set.
"She is quite a diva," Adam told 2DayFM last November. "She shows up late, you never know what you're gonna get with her. It's never boring, I'll tell you that."
"It wasn't the right chemistry on the panel," Guy told The Herald Sun. "She's a bit of a weirdo. I don't really get Iggy. You've got to be invested and she didn't turn up."
She Really Is So Fancy: Amid all the drama, Iggy also underwent a physical transformation; In 2015, the rapper revealed she had gotten breast implants and a nose job.
Iggy said in an interview with Elle Canada in 2016 that "people should be more accepting of the fact that both famous and non-famous women are having cosmetic procedures."
"That's just the reality," she said. "And I think more people need to admit that s--t so it doesn't have to be so taboo—because we're all doing it anyway."