History Main / AudienceAlienatingPremise

* ''One More Light'' by Music/LinkinPark is the most hated album in their library because of the very premise. The band, known for mixing rock, hip-hop with flavorings of electronica together while having a unique identity, while also featuring a VocalTagTeam, making an album that almost completely abandons both rock and hip-hop (save for few disparate elements) and cranks up the electronica to create a ''pop album'' meant to be enjoyed by tween and teen girls who listen to artists like Music/TheChainsmokers. Safe to say, this didn't win points with anyone. When all the songs were revealed, with barely audible guitar, only one song featuring the Chester/Mike combo (which was hampered by two other rappers being there), near-invisible instrumentation that wasn't synthetic, listeners were scratching their heads wondering exactly how this was supposed to be welcomed by their longtime loyal fans. Yet the band expects them to do just that, and flat-out insulted them for "not moving on from ''Music/HybridTheory''". It didn't help that Chester Bennington sadly killed himself just a few months after ''One More Light'' came out. While many fans have been kinder to the album in light of that, most people might be uncomfortable with listening to what's essentially a suicide note.

* ''Literature/IndustrialSocietyAndItsFuture'': It's a book/manifesto decrying the Industrial Revolution and not only modern civilization, but many social aspects of it. Those who are environmentalists or concerned about human impact on nature in general will be put off by Kaczynski's critiques of leftism, feminism, LGBT movements and his [[TheSocialDarwinist Social Darwinist]] leanings. Readers coming from a conservative or "traditionalist" background will ''also'' be put off by Kaczynski's decrying of civilization in general and conservative "hypocrisy" towards the environment. And that's of course without getting into the eco-terrorism he has done and his [[TheUnfettered unapologetic]] positions towards it and the deaths he has caused, even if they're only briefly mentioned in the manifesto itself.

* At the time, PowerPop band Music/{{Jellyfish}} was this. The band had the misfortune of existing during the {{Grunge}} era, meaning they were making whimsical, intricately produced music at a time when the Rock music scene was largely taking a more serious, [[ThreeChordsAndTheTruth back-to-basics]] approach. This greatly hindered their chances of success and all but guaranteed [[ShortRunners a short lifespan]] for the band. [[VindicatedByHistory In the years since]], the band has become something of a CultClassic. In particular, their second album ''Spilt Milk'' is regarded as their masterpiece.

* At the time, PowerPop band Music/{{Jellyfish}} was this. The band had the misfortune of existing during the {{Grunge}} era, meaning they were making whimsical, intricately produced music at a time when the Rock music scene was largely taking a more serious, [[ThreeChordsAndTheTruth back-to-basics]] approach. This greatly hindered their chances of success and all but guaranteed [[ShortRunners a short lifespan]] for the band. [[VindicatedByHistory In the years since]], the band has become something of a CultClassic. In particular, their second album ''Spilt Milk'' is recarded as their masterpiece.

* ''Series/ImpracticalJokers'': One potential Head-to-Head challenge for the Jokers is to try and pitch a fake product concept to a focus group, with the Joker getting the most votes winning. However, the fake product in question is designed by the other Joker, who aims to make it as ridiculously unappealing as possible to hamper their opponent's chances of winning. This has led to ridiculous concepts that would never fly in real life like rat poison cereal (self-explanatory), a hybrid car tire/USB (also self-explanatory) and Toilet Soldiers (a play set that attaches itself to the toilet to resemble an army base, complete with toy soldiers. It doesn't help that the fake commercial also designed for the toy ends with one of the soldiers being flushed down the toilet itself).

* ''Theatre/DearEvanHansen'': The story focuses on an awkward teenager who is mistaken as the best friend of a boy who commited suicide and through that is able to get close to the boy's family, date the boy's sister and greatly improve his social life by essentially leeching the affection of a grieving family. Needless to say, that's ''very hard to sell'' even with all the context, good acting and music numbers it has to offer. This show, despite getting fair criticisms around its protagonist and perceived glorification of suicide, still got acclaim and multiple awards. However, the [[Film/DearEvanHansen film adaptation]] exchanged the artificial dream-like theatre staging in favor of a naturalistic work, making the severe alienating flaws from the stage show far more obvious. That, along with DawsonCasting a 27-year-old Creator/BenPlatt to reprise the title role, succeeded in creeping audiences out, the film getting memed to death and ultimately being a BoxOfficeBomb.

* Music/SteveGrand saw his career flounder after becoming an overnight sensation with his debut single "All-American Boy." The song was massively successful, but it led to him being called "the gay country singer," a label he himself didn't coin which created a few problems for him as he attempted to launch a mainstream career. First, country music fans are known for being very...[[HeteronormativeCrusader "traditional"-minded]] and were put off by him openly singing about his love for another man. Second, queer audiences, especially gay men, tend to prefer more urban styles of music: pop, electronic, hip-hop, etc. What little country they like tends to be big-name divas like Music/DollyParton, Music/ShaniaTwain, or Music/TheChicks. Many of them were supportive of Grand, but didn't buy his music. Lastly, the overlap of queer people that ''are'' country fans bought his music but ran into the exact opposite problem: ''Grand was never a country singer in the first place.'' He's from UsefulNotes/{{Chicago}} and mostly deals in pop-rock and electronic. "All-American Boy," with its rural themes and twangy guitar, was a BlackSheepHit for him. Grand never promoted himself as a country singer either; the media just stuck him with that label and he has speculated that it may have done his career more harm than good. He still makes music as an indie artist with a fanbase of mostly gay men, as well as a side-gig designing men's underwear, but the "gay country singer" label still follows him whenever he's in the news, much to his chagrin. Interestingly, several actual country singers like Brandi Carlile, Ty Herndon, and Billy Gilman have since come out as gay or lesbian.

* It took Creator/StephenKing ''five years'' to find anyone who was willing to publish "[[Literature/SkeletonCrew Survivor Type]]", a story about a doctor who gets stranded on a deserted island and resorts to [[{{Autocannibalism}} amputating parts of himself to eat.]] In ''Danse Macabre'', his nonfiction book on horror, King reflected that "not even men's magazines would consider this one."