Top 10 Musicians Who Saved Their Careers by Changing Their Look

WatchMojo

From glam rock transformations to complete genre shifts, sometimes a new look is all it takes to revitalize a career! Join us as we explore iconic musicians who reinvented their image and found renewed success. Our countdown includes Alanis Morissette, Miley Cyrus, Tina Turner, and more!

Transcript

00:00Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for the top 10 musicians who

00:13managed to achieve great success after radically changing their image.

00:18We're including some who were successful before changing their direction, but whose

00:21change positively impacted their careers.

00:30Number 10.

00:33Alanis Morissette Alanis Morissette was not quite the instant

00:37success that you might think.

00:44Her first two albums weren't indicative of the alt-rock angst that would eventually follow.

00:49When she finally dropped her more clean-cut image after album number two failed to break

00:54through internationally, the Alanis we all know and love was born.

01:00Jagged Little Pill was one of the biggest sensations of the 1990s, a bona fide classic of the era.

01:12Gone was the dance pop that had filled her first two albums, and in its place, a truly dark

01:18and attitude-heavy sound that proved to be an instant hit.

01:22The change in sound was accompanied by a change in look, which was darker, grungier, and less

01:27frothy.

01:28And isn't it ironic, don't you think?

01:33Number 9.

01:34KISS KISS made their start in the early 1970s, originally coming from the ashes of Wicked

01:40Lester, a band which included frontmen Gene Simmons and Paul Stanley.

01:44We wanna shout it out loud, but we can't let people know.

01:51They recorded a single album under that name, but it was shelved by their record label, never

01:57to see the light of day.

01:58Simmons and Stanley realized they needed to change their direction and do something to

02:02make them stand out.

02:03And I can't get enough of you, baby.

02:07Can you get enough of me?

02:11And so, the addition of Peter Criss and Ace Frehley came with some experimental makeup

02:16and costumes.

02:17The rest, as they say, is rock and roll history.

02:21KISS briefly took off their makeup in the 80s, but in general, it is a huge part of their

02:26image and appeal.

02:27Lift it up!

02:28Lift it up!

02:30Miley Cyrus Shedding the reputation you've spent your

02:38whole adolescent life building is a tough task.

02:41But for Miley Cyrus, watching her distance herself from her Hannah Montana moniker has been quite

02:46the experience.

02:47"...Mix it all together and you know that it's the best of both worlds, the best of both worlds."

02:58As Miley grew up, her style changed just as much as her priorities as an artist.

03:03However, after hinting at a change in tone in her 2010 album, Can't Be Tamed, Cyrus, well,

03:10and truly ripped up the playbook with her 2013 release, Bangers.

03:14"...we can't stop, and we won't stop."

03:20Bolstered by singles, Wrecking Ball and We Can't Stop, and sporting a new, provocative

03:25rock.

03:26Cyrus found a totally new level of success, and she followed that momentum all the way

03:31through the decade and into the 2020s.

03:34"...anything you ain't, I know I'm on the world."

03:41Number 7.

03:42Lou Reed

03:43Lou Reed finally hit a wall with his band Velvet Underground as the 60s came to a close.

03:48"...a thousand dreams that would await me."

03:54After four albums, it just didn't seem as though commercial success was in their future.

04:00So Reed decided to carve out his own path, enlisting David Bowie and Mick Ronson as the producers

04:06for his first major solo success, Transformer.

04:08"...oh hey babe, you take a walk on the wild side, oh honey, you take a walk on the wild

04:16side."

04:17The album and its tour saw Reed jump on board with the ongoing glam rock movement, introducing

04:23bleached blonde hair and makeup to his look.

04:25The songs themselves, of course, stood out.

04:28However, Reed's willingness to ditch his sunglasses and dark attire in favor of something a little

04:34more colorful kick-started his acclaimed solo career.

04:41Number 6.

04:46Elvis Presley

04:47During the 60s, Elvis Presley seemed to prefer movie roles to music and, even though he made

04:53a successful return to the stage in 1968 for his comeback special, he still needed to find

04:58a new spark.

04:59While it wasn't instantaneous, eventually the next period of Presley's career would present

05:09some results.

05:10Suspicious Minds was Elvis' first number one hit in years, and a series of highly lucrative

05:15concerts and extravagant stage productions signaled the beginning of a new chapter in his

05:20story, one with a much flashier look.

05:27Ultimately, this run of Vegas residency shows would burn him out to the point that it contributed

05:37to his untimely death.

05:39Even still, when the day came, there was no doubt in anyone's mind who the King was.

05:45And you light the morning skylight burning up.

05:49Number 5.

05:50Elton John

05:51Elton John came onto the scene with a pretty regular everyman kind of appearance.

05:56Fly over, skyline pigeon fly.

06:02However, after proving his compositional chops on his early records, John became one of the

06:07most sought-after performers on the entire planet when he glammed up his image considerably,

06:12from the mid-70s onwards.

06:14Elton really let himself get loose with his fashion.

06:24All of a sudden, a ticket to see Elton John in concert bought you a lot more than just a

06:28musical experience.

06:29The stage shows became more flamboyant, his costumes were increasingly eye-catching, and,

06:35of course, John's revenues… well, and truly soared.

06:43Number 4.

06:44The Bee Gees

06:45On the long list of inspired musical left turns, who can forget just how shocked the Bee Gees

06:50left the world when they pivoted from soft rock and folk to disco in 1975?

06:56In the two years before that, the band had been struggling to replicate their earlier chart

07:07success, making the need for a change as clear as day.

07:10What we didn't see coming was a move from their original style to all-out disco, complete

07:16with an appropriate new sense of fashion.

07:26And the biggest shock of all.

07:28The Bee Gees became a dominant force in the late 70s, contributing some of the most essential

07:33songs in the entire genre.

07:35Is there a more well-known disco song than Stayin' Alive?

07:39We're not sure that there is.

07:41Number 3.

07:46Tina Turner

07:47There might not be a single greater return to form than the one pulled off by the legendary

07:52Tina Turner.

07:53She carved out success initially as part of a duo with her husband, Ike Turner.

08:06Years of abuse at his hands led her to leave him in 1976, and her first two solo albums

08:12failed commercially.

08:13Turner was dropped by her label and took five years to make a third try at a solo success.

08:18Thankfully, that album was 1984's Private Dancer, a multi-platinum release that saw her climb

08:29back up to the top of the charts.

08:31The album had a maturity to it, which was reflected in Turner's new appearance as well.

08:36After years of uncertainty, Turner had pulled off the unthinkable.

08:40Number 2.

08:50The Beatles

08:51The Beatles managed to earn a level of fame that was totally unheard of in the early 60s.

08:56But the effect of being that very same group for even a second longer would have ruined

09:01them.

09:03For John, Paul, George, and Ringo, their music was everything.

09:10So when their adoring fans screamed so loud at their concerts that they couldn't even hear

09:15themselves play, they made the sensible decision to retire from touring.

09:19Penny Lane is in my ears and in my eyes

09:25But that wasn't the only thing they did.

09:27The Beatles truly matured in the mid-60s, growing out their hair, changing their clothing styles,

09:33and becoming four individuals instead of one corporate package.

09:37We're glad they did too, because for many people, their best music was released after

09:42they made this move.

09:44Let me take you down, cause I'm going to Strawberry Field.

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10:081.

10:09David Bowie

10:10David Bowie was no stranger to changing his image.

10:21While we could talk about his time as the Thin White Duke or his later move to new wave-infused

10:26disco on the album Let's Dance, Bowie's most significant switch-up came a lot earlier.

10:31After failing to make a mark for most of the late 60s, he finally found chart success with

10:36Space Oddity.

10:37But it wasn't a formula that would last.

10:39And the stars look very different today.

10:45Despite releasing the excellent The Man Who Sold the World, Bowie wouldn't find his true

10:50sticking power as a rock star until he became Ziggy Stardust.

10:54The glam roots were first planted on the album Hunky Dory, but everything after that saw

10:59Bowie expressing himself through his image in the most perfect way imaginable.

11:04But which image switch-up do you think was the most impactful in music history?

11:12Let us know in the comments below.

11:14Let us know in the comments below.

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