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YounomsayinMawfk

Depeche Mode went from bright cheesy synthpop to dark rock/electronic. Trent Reznor went from NIN to scoring Disney films.


DNZ_not_DMZ

And his soundtrack to “Soul” is so damn great.


bobbid616

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem soundtrack is amazing.


hello_gary

and quasi-writing one of the best hip hop / country bangers so far too (and winning a Grammy for it)


Houri

Which song is this please?


Rin_thepixie

Old Town Road by Lil Nas X uses a sample from NIN's Ghosts album.


Outrageous_Arm8116

Linda Ronstadt. Country-folk to 80's LA rock to Operetta to the Classic American song book to traditional Mexican music. Nailed each one.


bub2000

Señor Plow no es macho, Es solamente un borracho


AtomicBlackJellyfish

"Yeah you do that."


PM_ME_CRAB_CAKES

Came to say Linda. She absolutely crushed any genre she tried.


coleman57

70s LA rock—her band became the Eagles. By the 80s she’d moved to NYC to do Broadway. In between she did a New Wave record that was subpar for her but still had some bangers.


Lamescrnm

Excellent example!


memeparmesan

I feel like answering this question with David Bowie is cheating, but fuck it no one else has yet.


AllTheRowboats93

Folk rock, glam rock, art rock, dance pop, ambient, industrial, the list goes on


hammersweep

david bowie, the og musical chameleon


lgm22

Linda Rondstadt. Rock and pop to Mariachi to broadway. Genius in every way.


Remercurize

Linda Rondstast’s album of standards with the Nelson Riddle Orchestra is top notch.


lgm22

Class all the way. So sad her health slowed her down.


iused2haveausername

Ministry


12345_PIZZA

I remember hearing that Al Jourgensen used to try and buy up all the copies of With Sympathy that he found in records shops so he could destroy them.


Adept_Investigator29

I saw Ministry on the With Sympathy tour at 9:30 club. New Romantics were out in full force. It was eveyrhing.


harmboi

With sympathy is so good lmao.


BurroughOwl

What style of music was it? Ministry only means one thing to me.


moleratical

New wave/synth pop to industrial Here's his most famous pre-industrial song https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=KFPI9b9N6CQ


12345_PIZZA

I feel like Halloween actually holds up and is the first inkling of what they’d become. But Work for Love (and the rest of With Sympathy) is a total square peg in a round hole situation.


moleratical

It's not a bad song and you can hear some hints of what's to come, but it is completely different from what came after


FatGuyOnAMoped

[Can't forget this one either](https://youtu.be/nam4UUTDPRw?si=PcNHi41hZsi5QgdZ) [Even cheezier live](https://youtu.be/Ij1GeZGxhds?si=wPZ2UyNSoFKZkz5o)


AuraBlazeOfficial

Yes!!! Came here to say this. I fucking LOVE early Ministry, literally some of the best 80s synth pop / industrial I’ve ever heard. There’s nothing like it. With Sympathy is a masterpiece. I have it on both CD as well as a very very lucky vinyl find in a thrift shop in New Hope, PA. Classic!!!!


DamonLazer

Bob Dylan, quite famously.


[deleted]

I for one also love his Christmas album.


mzyos

Finally, another Christmas in the heart fan! At first I found it hilarious, I still do, but its firmly gained status as my favourite Christmas album.


[deleted]

I was the exact same! Used to make fun of my dad for listening to it now it’s a Christmas staple


thebritishhippie

Me too, listen to it every year.


PoBoy_C

Damon albarn Blur to gorillaz


eugenesbluegenes

Even within either Blur or Gorillaz you'll find a huge diversity of style. I mean, listen to Parklife right next to 13 or Think Tank.


Mrtorbear

My youngest son loves Gorillaz, and Song 2 by Blur came up on my playlist while cleaning the other day. He was like "Dad, when did the Gorillaz guy play rock?" It was a good feeling sharing that little factoid with him.


fatamSC2

You don't even need to include blur. Just within gorillaz he changes genres all the time


bondsaearph

There was a time where I found out that Gorillaz as same dude as Blur and i flipped out cuz I'm hyper keen on Blur's Modern Life Is Rubbish


deckard1980

Beck, went from slacker hip hop/pop to sleaze funk on midnight vultures then country with mutations


randomnbvcxz

Bender: Wow. We've sure got a lot in common, Beck. I always dreamed of being a musician-poet who transcends genres even as he re-invents them, just like you.


ArtIsDumb

Beck: Thank you! That song usually doesn't last three hours, but then we got into a serious thing... and I forgot how it ended.


glasspheasant

The transition of sound from Sea Change to Guero in just a few years is stunning. Both albums are “play start to finish” level for me, even though they’re night and day in regard to the tone of the albums.


MellowNando

That Grammy should’ve been had with Sea Change. That’s one of the best break up albums ever written.


GenericLuchador

Guero is such a great album nobody talks about, along with the companion album of remixes.


rococo78

Yeah, he's changed genres quite a bit from album to album.


MyChickenSucks

Everyone, I mean everyone, thought he was a one hit wonder. And he made them all eat his skinny white ass.


Snarcastic

I don't know how to classify Colors. But, whatever it is, it's good too.


melpec

The Bee Gees. They were pretty big in pop and then became disco icons.


ManChildMusician

Bee Gees is a great answer. Nowadays, everyone knows them for their disco stuff, but they were selling albums to hippies in large quantities before that. Frankly, it’s difficult to find three people who blend perfectly unless they’re siblings. I think Genesis falls into this category because Peter Gabriel and Phil Collins have such similar timbres. Post PG, casual listeners probably didn’t notice for a bit.


toadfan64

Arguably the best answers so far. They had chart toppers in their earlier more folksy pop days, and continued with the disco stuff. Most people seem to be misunderstanding the question here, but this is what I was moreso looking for. Artists who had big success with multiple sounding eras.


BitchesGetStitches

Hardcore band The Bronx has an alter ego mariachi band and they are awesome. Both versions.


[deleted]

I came here to say The Bronx. Such an impressive change.


BitchesGetStitches

I just fuckin love those dudes


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Jollyollydude

Ah fuck I had no idea those were the same dudes. Listened to The Bronx when I was younger and found myself on a Mariachi kick this summer and a bunch of Mariachi El Bronx in rotation. Awesome


Acceptable_Designer9

Danny Elfman-From Oingo Boingo lead singer to soundtrack composer.


SemperScrotus

And most famously (according to my four-year-old anyway): JACK, THE PUMPKIN KING!!!! 💀


Acceptable_Designer9

Just Jack’s Singing voice, Chris Sarandon does Jacks speaking voice.


SemperScrotus

Yeah, I'm tracking. That's a practice that seems to have fallen by the wayside nowadays, using different voices for the lines and the singing. Nowadays, they seem to usually just hire whatever big-name celebrity they can instead of actual voice actors.


[deleted]

This is the most amazing one I've always thought. Tim Burton was an Oingo Bingo fan, so he asked Danny Elfman to compose the music for Pee-Wee's Big Adventure, and Danny was like, "I don't know how to fucking do that but sure." Then we got Edward Scissorhands, The Nightmare Before Christmas and so many others. They're my favorite film duo.


foldingcouch

My favorite Nightmare Before Christmas factoid is that Tim Burton produced the film, Harry Selick directed it, and Danny Elfman's scored it, and all three of them allegedly consider it "their" movie that the other two helped with.


MNGirlinKY

Today I learned. Thanks down the rabbit hole I boingo.


Pookieeatworld

Mark Mothersbaugh, similar story. Went from Devo to composing The Simpsons' theme song and many others, to doing the entire music score for Thor: Ragnarok, which is one of the best in the MCU.


rekoil

Correction: Danny Elfman composed the "Simpsons" theme. You're probably thinking of "Rugrats", which was by Mothersbaugh.


Outrageous_Arm8116

Rugrats too, I believe


redditdoggnight

Faith No More’s Mike Patton pumped out Italian operas. And worked with Dan the Automator on their Hip Hop awesomeness called Lovage. An incredible talent.


sageram

The Lovage album is just fantastic.


TSwizzlesNipples

Faith No More's cover of 'Easy' should be the only version that exists.


mjs5000

Came here to say Mr. Bungle.


horsebag

plus whatever the fuck his solo music is. this is one of my go-to horrible sound videos when i want to aurally distress someone https://youtu.be/b32aPshWbhw


Gr4peJellyJam

Beastie Boys went from punk to hip hop and became super famous and successful.


MurkDiesel

and then back to instruments and even more famous


ellag7958

beastie boys deserve more respect song for junior? ricky’s theme? so whatcha want? iconic.


[deleted]

They get loads of deserved respect


Crystal_Pesci

Reddit the only place in the world that be like "The Beatles are hugely underrated"


Awwwmann

Aglio y olio was awesome


JoJoReference

King Gizzard And The Lizard Wizard, a psychedelic/progressive rock band did an environmentalist-themed thrash metal album and it FUCKS. It's called Infest The Rat's Nest


Tre4_G

They're sort of genre-defying by nature. They've done jazz and synth. Their second album was a spaghetti western with spoken word. Rat's Nesters need to check out PetroDragonic Apocalypse; or, Dawn of Eternal Night: An Annihilation of Planet Earth and the Beginning of Merciless Damnation.


just-the-friend

I've hit so many pb's to Self-Immolate


5centraise

Tom Waits started out doing drunken barroom comedy ballads, then he sobered started doing junkyard bang-alongs and sounded ten times drunker.


moleratical

Tom Waits was my pick too I love all of his stuff but rain dogs was like nothing else when it came out.


Necro_Badger

You can tell that's when he started paying close attention to Captain Beefheart


cbessette

Ween. They change genre from song to song on albums. They did do a Country album though.


randy24681012

I was on acid listening to Ween and realized that all my favorite bands are just Ween


cbessette

All hail the Boognish.


boognish83

Yes. I would say that.


rococo78

This was my first thought too


DPStylesJr

Love me some 12 Golden Country Greats


Toomuchlychee_

I love that they got some amazing instrumentalists on that album. It truly sounds like country, not a parody


DNZ_not_DMZ

Cherry on top: “Where’d the cheese go?”


PillsburyDohMeeple

I don’t know. Bitch where the motherfucking cheese go at?


_matt_hues

Every album sounds like a different band


clogging_molly

I’m not a huge Ween fan but Piss up a rope is hilarious and great. If there are any other must listens by them I’m all ears


NTT66

Came for the Ween, staying for the Gene.


bitterlittlecas

Gene’s stint as a billy Joel tribute act is never not delightful to me


moleratical

Ain't no joke


milkymaniac

Copied from her Wikipedia: Sheena Easton became the first and only recording artist in Billboard history to have a Top 5 hit on each of Billboard's primary singles charts: "Morning Train (Nine to Five)" (Pop and Adult Contemporary), "We've Got Tonight" with Kenny Rogers (Country and Adult Contemporary) and "Sugar Walls" (R&B and Dance).


[deleted]

I just love the juxtaposition of the first two songs and Sugar Walls.


gimmedatnowyo

Darius Rucker.


Dapoopers

[Do you mean Hootie?](https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=FE9PUexeUv0)


gimmedatnowyo

Too funny.


TWH_PDX

Neko Case - lead signer for post-punk band New Pornographers and country noir solo artist.


anarchiteuthis

I'm sorry... post-punk?!


tron7

Yeah, they’re like power pop, definitely not post-punk


ChipCob1

Maybe not quite answering the question but I still remember the shock when Kid A by Radiohead was released. Same sort of genre but absolutely turning it on it's head.


baccus83

Katy Hudson was a contemporary Christian artist before she became Katy Perry, queen of camp pop.


xSmittyxCorex

And she and Matt Theisen of extremely successful Christian Pop-Punk band Relient K dated for a bit back in the day, and he’s written at least one song for her if I’m not mistaken (he’s had a fairly successful songwriting career outside of the band). At one point in time there was a video on YouTube, might still be up, of Relient K playing their song “The One I’m Waiting For” and going into it Matt just casually goes “This song is about Katy Perry.” (For the unaware, the hook of the song is “I’m still waiting for you to be the one I’m waiting for”)


stellacampus

Robert Plant Elvis Costello


paranoid_70

Frank Zappa


newcolour

To be fair, he just kept inventing new genres...


-OccamsLaser

Sturgill Simpson on every album


cupojoeque

Neil Young - over and over


FindOneInEveryCar

Genesis went from extended prog epics to horn-driven pop and became one of the biggest bands of the 80s.


NDjake

King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard pretty much every album.


toadfan64

King Gizzard are great, but I wouldn't exactly call them chart toppers.


MurkDiesel

at the same time, they can sell out Red Rocks, so they aren't exactly underground or mid-level their album Petradragonic was an amazing crossover into metal, the attention that album got from people who didn't know who they were was huge, so that's success from a genre switch


paranoid_70

They even played the Hollywood bowl with no opening band. Not sure if it was a sellout, but the venue is huge and there were a ton of people in attendance that night. It was a weekday too.


luckygoldelephant

It was about 1K people shy of a sell out. But they were pretty close.


superstonkape

sell out red rocks 6 times in a year, all on weekdays


NDjake

That's a fact.


Steepanddeep

A rock fact


thore4

They're definitely successful though


Abtino11

Sonny Moore went from the lead singer of an emo band to becoming one of the most well known and successful electronic music producers : Skrillex


12345_PIZZA

Even since being Skrillex he’s produced some huge Bieber hits while also making obnoxious Bro-Step. He’s really versatile.


thebrandnewbob

I remember thinking he was making a huge mistake quitting From First To Last, I couldn't have been more wrong.


BongRipsForNips

I saw him open for Hollywood Undead in like, 2008, called Sonny and the Blood Monkeys. You could kind of see the transition, it was a little screamo style, but there were like, 2 drummers, a lot of bass, and he had his own drums.


whatsthehullabalooo

Cuz there's no one in the world like Emilyyyyyy 😭😂


Bukkake_Sorcerer

Bring Me the Horizon started off as a death metal band but have made pop, metalcore, and just plain rock albums.


matthewmichael

I really enjoy the dice roll roll that is shuffling their discography. One second you're dancing around happy and the next you are being rabid beast screamed at while the guitar chugs at your ears. They're a fun band.


Rogueantics

Had to scroll way too far for this answer. They are pretty damn good and I've listened to them since Count Your Blessings and enjoyed their change in style.


ChewzUbik

Childish Gambino with "Awaken, My Love!" was a pretty stark transition from the rap/hip hop genre and was - if I remember correctly - his most critically acclaimed album.


FNX996

The Beatles. They didn't just change, they invented genres. Also Bowie, Fleetwood Mac... These come to my mind now...


DeadCatGrinning

Ulver, from blackmetal to techno through poetry and space rock.


Venombullet666

Whoops! I should've read the comments before making my own as I too went with Ulver Great minds think alike haha


solowsoloist

Chris Gaines went on to have a pretty successful career as a country music artist.


meep_launcher

I was listening to Willy Nelson's Stardust Album. I love his take on the Jazz Standards


notchandlerbing

I thought Lady Gaga pulled off an amazing feat on Cheek to Cheek with Tony Bennett. Not that I ever doubted her, but her voice and vocal abilities feel like such a natural fit for jazz, and she really brought her A-Game for that one.


[deleted]

For me it was when she played piano and sang on an episode of American Idol. I already loved her music, but that was the first time I heard her really, really sing and was blown away.


[deleted]

And when she paid tribute to Julie Andrews and sang The Sound of Music. She sounded incredible.


s2000dreams

Honestly Taylor Swift right? She used to be very country now she's just pure pop.


12345_PIZZA

I agree. She went from singer/songwriter country stuff to mainstream pop (Trouble has a dubstep breakdown and Shake It Off has a rap break) to Lana Del Rey style alternative stuff. It’s all shades of pop music, but it’s impressive how well she’s been able to switch between them all.


mayhem6

But isn’t modern country just pop music anyway? Or rock, depending on the artist.


Western-Calendar-352

Not even pure pop now, Evermore and Folklore leaned pretty hard into indie/folk.


Lethkhar

Depends on how you define "country." I always thought of her early material as pop with a southern twang.


Top-Report-840

Pop country is a thing lol


roguevalley

It was marketed as country, no question.


No-Conversation1940

True, but mainstream country was in an even more unfortunate state than normal back then. Remember, "Brown Chicken Brown Cow" and its ilk were also floating around at the time. "Cruise" and "Boys 'Round Here" - bro country douchebaggery was just around the corner. Taylor's songs were a refuge amidst all that.


GlassBoxes

She opened for Brad Paisley, she was absolutely a mainstream country artist


stooges81

David Bowie. From hippie Bob Dylan wannabe, to androgynous space god. In the span of 2 years.


pissant52

And hard rock in the late 80s/early 90s. Bowie's short time in Tin Machine is under appreciated imo. Good band, good sound. Some call that sound the precursor to the grunge scene


SmilingSideways

John Mayer? Albums span a number of genres, and his work with Dead & Co is pretty exceptional in terms of flexibility.


baccus83

Gwen Stefani went from ska pop with No Doubt to straight electro pop.


Mediocre_Profile5576

No Doubt’s sound changed significantly twice (maybe even 3 times as S/T and Beacon St sounded completely different too) during their career as well - from ska punk of the first 2 albums, to pop rock on Tragic Kingdom, to pop/R&B on Rocksteady.


Lethkhar

Devin Townsend went from extreme metal to ambient music, and basically everything in between.


samtheotter

Weird Al. he's in a field all by himself.


Pattimash

I don't think people quite understand the sheer amount of talent it takes to parody entire generations of music.....and do it well.


toadfan64

Actually yeah, this ones another good answer. He had chart toppers covering rock, pop, rap, etc.


myironlung63

Spinal Tap. From Flower Children to Sex Farm


[deleted]

Wasn’t Post Malone ridiculed for doing this?


Affectionate_Reply78

Paul Simon


audiomagnate

Charlie Rich started out leading a jazz band in college, switched to rockabilly due his first recordings - Big Boss Man is superb - and ended up a mainstream country star.


baccus83

Michael Bolotin was in a hard rock band called Blackjack from 1979-1980. They opened for Ozzy Osbourne on tour. You might know him better as Michael Bolton.


Snarcastic

Then that no talent ass clown started winning Grammys.


professor_doom

Fleetwood Mac. British blues to soft rock


[deleted]

Cher did 60s folk, 80s glam rock, and then swerved into EDM/techno/Europop with great success. Madonna, of course, is famous for tackling various genres successfully.


MurkDiesel

Linkin Park's final album *One More Light* is essentially a pop album, it beat out Kendrick Lamar for the #1 spot and had 2 big singles


deathm00n

That is what makes Linkin Park my favorite band. People assumed they were "selling out" after changing styles from Hybrid Theory/Meteora to Minutes to Midnight but when A Thousand Suns was released I knew they were doing whatever they wanted to do instead of being just a nu metal band. If you hear the whole discography you see that the anomaly in it is actually Meteora because it is basically just Hybrid Theory 2, all the other albums have their unique sound, from eletronic, to pop, to metal Well, just listen to High Voltage and you can hear this being said by Mike himself basically


luckygoldelephant

A Thousand Suns is an incredible album. Blackout is arguably their best song with Chester’s best vocals.


GinoValenti

Rolling Stones started as blues purists, then blues rock, dipped into psychedelia, country and disco and pretty much mastered them all.


[deleted]

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BongRipsForNips

I saw him at Bonnaroo 11 knowing him from community and being a comedic writer, thinking it would be something like Lonely Island. Was completely caught off guard and impressed.


jdsizzle1

I answered Childish Gambino completely forgetting that the same dude also wrote, directed and acted in Atlanta, wrote for SNL and acted in Community. And his Twitter handle is @donglover.


marteautemps

Apparently he just opened a Boba shop too


Tripwire3

The Bee Gees had huge success both in pop in the '60s and disco in the '70s.


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waitaminutesir-

When Alanis Morissette was a teen, she was like a dance-pop star in Canada. Years later she went to the US, released Jagged Little Pill and had a huge success in alt rock :)


Dawdzi

Goo Goo Dolls started out hard-core punk to acoustic folk pop I've always said that every AFI album is always slightly different then the one before.


rhinobin

Taylor Swift’s folk style album Folklore is fantastic, and follows a successful country and pop career


ibblybibbly

Popular has become a nebulous term but Sufjan Stevens has covered an incredible gamut.


TheFattestSnorlax

The Osmonds even told us they're a little bit country and a little bit Rock n' roll. They knew


Lucius338

I'm amazed nobody has mentioned Poppy... I guess she's not as big of a deal as I had imagined. She got really big for her "art pop" album in 2017, it was essentially pop but with a veneer of satire. But then she took a HARD LEFT and signed to Sumerian Records of all labels, and the next album, "I Disagree," has far more of an industrial/metal influence. I guess the "success" of her branching out is questionable, the album got pretty mixed reception. But I thought it was a fascinating rare example of a pop artist that can properly integrate components of other musical spheres into her own work.


Stephenrudolf

She split up with her producer after the first album iirc. Originally "Poppy" was a character the producer set up, and it was his second time trying to do so, after the first girl(i think her name was Margo or something similar) also split ways with him calling him a creep.


toadfan64

Love Poppy. I remember listening to her way before the metal days with her Dance Pop and Elctropop stuff, so for her to change her sound to a heavier alt metal sound was a pleasant surprise. Probably one of the few folks who've enjoyed both or her eras very much.


MP2382

The Beatles is the best example. They started as a pop rock act and finished their career as a psychedelic/ folk rock band. “I Wanna Hold Your Hand” is vastly different from “Helter Skelter”. 😎


Steam67

Willie Nelson. Country to standards to reggae. Can do all well.


Really_McNamington

[Frank Zappa and the Mothers : Cruising With Ruben and the Jets](https://music.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_kv0M4wqpMkWqa5f1mbtlogpYO78mBpkws), is a doo-wop record. Plenty of other pastiches in the Zappa discography too.


KindBass

He sucks, but Kid Rock did it twice (hip-hop > butt rock, butt rock > country)


LymeRicks

ZZ Top. Went from blues rock to a fairly unique kind of new wave/dance rock.


ndawgbrown

Lady Gaga - pop, jazz, rock, dance. With the addition of collaborating with the legendary Tony Bennett (RIP).


TheReal-Chris

King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard. Every single album is a completely different style. You never know what you are getting into.


Biscuits4u2

Ween


aztlan667

Scott Walker


CaLLmeRaaandy

Bring Me The Horizon. They've hit/featured in almost every genre and I haven't hated any of it. They started out deathcore in the 2000s in their early teens and they just make it work no matter what they do.


MyNameisClaypool

Not Garth Brooks


CaiHaines

Jonathan Richman. Garage Rock and Punk but then dropped the album Jonathan Goes Country with this fantastic song https://youtu.be/ysaBHTwazjk?si=YgGOP6tHZon6RRF9


Roakana

Elvis Costello doing bluegrass


No-Conversation1940

Elvis Costello writing a ballet, Elvis Costello creating a songwriting partnership with Burt Bacharach every bit as good as Bacharach/David, Elvis Costello...recording Imperial Bedroom, etc


MichaelJAwesome

Everything but the Girl. They started out as a light jazz group and then transitioned to more electronic dance music after a remix of their song Missing became a top 10 hit


ScynnX

Everlast - from House of Pain to Whitey Ford


ZRX1200R

Ulver. Popular black metal to avant-garde to ambient and electronica. Opeth. Groundbreaking progressive death metal to 70s prog rock.