What are some rock artists that changed directions and went pop for an album, or even longer?
When a musical artist is around for a certain amount of time, it’s only natural that they’ll want to progress by experimenting with different sounds and dabbling in what’s popular. However, many within the rock and metal world are shunned for taking such a step.
Technically, “pop” is just short for popular, but over the years the idea of it as a genre has changed. It typically describes heavily produced, upbeat music that’s played on Top 40 radio stations, and it’s typically used in a derogatory way by heavy music fans.
If you really want to get deep with it, then there are a lot of musicians in our world that could have been considered “pop” at one point because that was the predominant style of music at the time.
READ MORE: 11 Ways Metal + Pop Really Aren’t That Different
Did Metallica become a pop band when they released The Black Album just because it appealed to a greater number of people? Some would say so, but that album was still full of hard rock and metal songs, and we would argue that making music that’s more accessible isn’t a bad thing.
In this list, we examine artists that had a noticeable shift in sound to something softer, maybe more computerized and complemented with more effects. Scroll below to see our picks.
Rock Artists That Went Pop
These rock bands went pop for at least an album, but some of them changed their musical direction entirely and never returned.
Gallery Credit: Lauryn Schaffner
The Top 25 Best Selling Hard Rock + Metal Artists of All Time
These bands have been sold and streamed more than any other rockers. Sellouts!
Gallery Credit: Todd Fooks