Welcome to another episode of Broken Records, the podcast which desperately scours the music world and tries to answer that age old question; what is the worst album ever made? This week Steve and Remfry have a hot contender on their hands as they look at Paula by Robin Thicke, the 7th studio album from the soul-pop lothario, released on the 1st of July 2014. 

Thicke had a pretty decent decade long career in the music industry by 2013, he may not have scaled the heights of a Justin Timberlake or an Usher, but his brand of slinky, sexy, soul was popular enough to earn him a decent following in the US, where he appeared on Oprah and supported Beyonce. But it all changed for him when he released the song Blurred Lines in 2013. The song, as we are sure you’re aware, was a monolithic hit, dominating the airwaves for the entire year, but came with plenty of criticism and controversy, the ugly sexual politics of the song were condemned by many, Thicke stirred the pot further with a overly sexualised performance at the 2013 MTV Awards with Miley Cyrus and the estate of Marvin Gaye launched a plagiarism lawsuit against the song as well. Thicke himself was now at the centre of a media storm, and when allegations of drugs, violence and infidelity came out in the aftermath, his wife of 9 years Paula Patton filed for divorce. Most people would take time away form the spotlight to address these problems in private, but Robin Thicke decided to do the absolute opposite of that, writing and recording an album named after his wife in a mere 7 week period that detailed their relationship in painstakingly minute detail in the vain hope of winning her back. It didn’t. It was a critical and commercial flop, and turned Thicke from one of the biggest stars in music into a washed up nobody practically overnight. Whether this is any good or not we will get to, but in terms of career suicide and a fall from grace, there aren’t many albums that can get close to Paula. 

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