When you are an artist with a longtime style and look, it may be tough to make a change. As folks, that is one thing we’re typically fairly antagonistic to, particularly when it is our favourite musician who’s doing the altering. Many artists have modified their title, look, or style all through the years, however some have been way more profitable and well-accepted by their viewers than others. So what marks the distinction between a clean transition and a failed one?
Jojo Siwa
Former Dance Moms star Jojo Siwa’s latest rebrand has made waves on-line, and never for all the best causes. Not lengthy after being accused of mistreating a younger lady competing on her present “Siwa’s Dance Pop Revolution”, Siwa has launched “Karma“, a tune through which she makes an attempt to domesticate an edgier, extra grown-up model of herself. She’s appeared at occasions carrying a black skintight outfit and daring make-up to match, although the glitter and rhinestones of her bow-studded, colourful earlier aesthetic stay. This marketing campaign to create a extra grownup picture has met with criticism, equivalent to her assertion that she has invented a brand new style referred to as “homosexual pop”, which raised some eyebrows contemplating the lengthy legacy of queer artists equivalent to Pet Shop Boys and Lady Gaga amongst many others. Despite claiming in a New York Times interview that she is the primary youngster star to go “from not a personality to nonetheless not a personality,” to many her new persona appears over-the-top in a compelled approach.
Upon discovering that Siwa’s new tune was not an authentic, however first written and carried out by Brit Smith, listeners streamed Smith’s model till it surpassed Siwa’s on the charts. That’s not precisely a supportive stance. However, although she’s made claims on the contrary, Siwa is much from the primary artist to attempt to change the general public’s notion of her, and much from the primary to be disparaged for it. Only time can actually inform if her rebrand will ultimately be accepted, or whether or not it should even be everlasting.
Miley Cyrus
An artist who exemplifies the transition between squeaky-clean youngster star and grownup superstar is Miley Cyrus. Starting out because the title character on Hannah Montana, Cyrus chopped off her hair in 2013 and launched her album Bangerz, in addition to participating in a number of controversial stunts, to show to the world she was all grown up and not below Disney’s thumb. That being mentioned, her sense of revolt did not emerge out of nowhere. In 2008, at age 15, she took half in a nude photoshoot for Vanity Fair that introduced on criticism and a public assertion from Disney. Her 2010 album, aptly titled Can’t Be Tamed, is stuffed with hints at her want to be seen otherwise – the tune “Robot” expresses a craving for freedom and independence, with out “someone else working” her. Cyrus’ transformation wasn’t in a single day, and subsequently it appears extra genuine. Though she definitely confronted her justifiable share of scrutiny and hate, she has continued to be a profitable recording artist, most not too long ago successful a Grammy for her 2023 hit “Flowers“.
Garth Brooks
Not all musicians have that very same luck, although. When nation singer and songwriter Garth Brooks developed a soulpatch-wearing Australian alter ego named Chris Gaines and launched a rock album confusingly titled Garth Brooks in…the Life of Chris Gaines, followers had been understandably puzzled. The character was initially meant for a film referred to as The Lamb which was by no means accomplished, although Brooks did launch a mockumentary about Gaines. Without the film or a lot different context, Gaines’ try to discover a departure from his regular music style got here off as a weird id disaster. Though the album charted at No. 2 on the Billboard 200, it obtained middling opinions and gross sales had been underwhelming. In Brooks’ case, the unclear promotion and unusual execution thwarted his endeavor to rebrand – or reasonably, construct a second model – greater than the music itself.
David Bowie
Pulling off a number of rebrands and retaining a loyal following isn’t any simple job, however it’s definitely potential. David Bowie, for instance, stopped going by David Jones at 18 to keep away from confusion with The Monkees’ lead singer. Throughout his profession, he modified his private and musical fashion many occasions, from the people rock tinges on his sophomore album David Bowie to the rock opera Ziggy Stardust and the glamorous accompanying character Bowie performed, to the clown determine of “Pierrot” that Bowie embodies on the duvet of Scary Monsters (And Super Creeps). In every interval of his inventive journey, Bowie subverted expectations and explored new potentialities, making him an enchanting and related artist all his life.
Taylor Swift
In a really completely different musical vein, however with an analogous trajectory, is Taylor Swift, who has capitalized off of her “eras” that span completely different genres, aesthetics, and themes by embracing them with the record-breaking Eras Tour. Swift doesn’t deal with her previous albums and personas as one thing she’s left behind, however acknowledges them as part of who she is, permitting followers to establish extra with sure eras and select their favorites.
All rebrands usually are not created equal. Rebranding efficiently requires placing a fragile steadiness between the true objectives of the artist and what their viewers will recognize most. Keeping the listening expertise attention-grabbing and contemporary, whereas additionally making it clear what the rebrand means for his or her profession, is a key a part of pulling off a change. It appears that a very powerful consider whether or not an artist’s rebrand is broadly accepted, nonetheless, is a real want to broaden horizons and check out the brand new genres, seems, or identities that they’re actually fascinated by, reasonably than rebranding for its personal sake or purely for consideration. After all, as Peter Frampton as soon as mentioned, “I’ve by no means stopped making new music, and whether or not the viewers needs to listen to it or not, I’m going to play it. Because I’m an artist, and I create, and I’ve obtained new stuff.”