History EnsembleDarkHorse / Music

* Music/{{Genesis|Band}} got wildly popular after their bat-winged, flower-mask-wearing singer/frontman/spokesman/FaceOfTheBand Music/PeterGabriel left and was replaced with, well, [[Music/PhilCollins the balding, stocky drummer of the band who sang a bit]]. Then the drummer went solo in 1981...

* Music/{{Genesis}} got wildly popular after their bat-winged, flower-mask-wearing singer/frontman/spokesman/FaceOfTheBand Music/PeterGabriel left and was replaced with, well, [[Music/PhilCollins the balding, stocky drummer of the band who sang a bit]]. Then the drummer went solo in 1981...

* Music/Vocaloid has a few examples.
** Kaito. At the time of his release, he was Crypton's poorest-selling Vocaloid due to having no advertising and lack of interest from the target demographic. However after a collaborative song with Miku in late 2007-2008, he was rediscovered by new fans and his popularity skyrocketed. He is now one of the most popular and recognizable Vocaloids.

** Fanloids are basically Vocaloid's {{Ascended Meme}}s, such as [[SuperDeformed Miku Hachune]], [[FunnyOctopus TakoLuka]], [[DrowningMySorrows Haku Yowane]] and [[{{Tsundere}} Neru Akita]] are all pretty popular as well; especially the latter two as their popularity even overshadows that of some of the official Vocaloids! Some of them don't even have to be ascended, like [[PaletteSwap Akaito]] and Dell Honne.
** The genderbent Vocaloids. Mikuo Hatsune, Kaiko, and Meito in particular.

* The [[Music/{{Vocaloid}} Story of Evil]] series features the evil princess' very ''literal'' horse named Josephine mentioned only once in the whole series. A lot of fans' reaction after watching the series is, "Yeah but what happened to Josephine? We need to know!"
** Apparently Gakupo kidnapped her for his harem in Venomania.
*** [[{{Jossed}} Which took place a couple hundred years]] ''[[{{Jossed}} before]]'' [[{{Jossed}} the Story of Evil]].
** Vocaloid's {{Ascended Meme}}s, such as [[SuperDeformed Miku Hachune]], [[FunnyOctopus TakoLuka]], [[DrowningMySorrows Haku Yowane]] and [[{{Tsundere}} Neru Akita]] are all pretty popular as well; especially the latter two as their popularity even overshadows that of some of the official Vocaloids! Some of them don't even have to be ascended, like [[PaletteSwap Akaito]] and Dell Honne.

* Any cases of popular [[LeadBassist bassists]] (as NobodyLovesTheBassist) or [[DumbAndDrummer drummers]] (who usually get there for [[AllDrummersAreAnimals wild behavior]]), such as Flea and Chad Smith from ''Music/RedHotChiliPeppers''.

* Any cases of popular [[LeadBassist bassists]] (as NobodyLovesTheBassist) or [[DumbAndDrummer drummers]] (who usually get there for [[AllDrummersAreAnimals wild behavior]]).

* Fitting perfectly into this trope are bassist and drummer Geezer Butler and Bill Ward of Music/BlackSabbath. With singer Ozzy Osbourne moving on to a successful solo career and international stardom, and guitarist Tony Iommi remembered as the man who invented Music/HeavyMetal, it's easy to overlook the other two. Nevertheless, Geezer actually wrote all of the lyrics for the Ozzy-fronted Sabbath - the dark themes being arguably what distinguished them from other hard rock bands and spawned the heavy metal genre. Furthermore, critics, fans, and bandmates alike have hailed Bill's prowess on drums ("Sabbath ain't Sabbath without Bill") and to a lesser extent Geezer on bass, and the powerful rhythm section foundation they provided for Tony and Ozzy.

** When Music/{{Queen}} released [[Music/Queen1973 their first album]], most of the attention they got from the media was focused on Music/BrianMay and the fact he made his own guitar (with his father). Music/FreddieMercury gradually developed both his songwriting and his stage persona to the point that he became the face of the band, at least as far as most of the public was concerned. Bassist John Deacon and drummer Roger Taylor were almost always overshadowed, but they still had their moments: John scored three big hits for the band in 1975, 1980 and 1984, and Roger also wrote some big numbers from 1984 onwards. In fact, a lot (though not all) of the band's big hits from 1980 onwards were by either one of them and by 1989 the band were crediting all song-writing to all four of them, effectively becoming an EnsembleCast. As Mercury himself put it: ''"We are a very competitive group. We are four good writers and there are no passengers."''
* Fitting perfectly into this trope are bassist and drummer Geezer Butler and Bill Ward of Music/BlackSabbath. With singer Ozzy Osbourne moving on to a successful solo career and international stardom, and guitarist Tony Iommi remembered as the man who invented Music/HeavyMetal, it's easy to overlook the other two. Nevertheless, Geezer actually wrote all of the lyrics for the Ozzy-fronted Sabbath - the dark themes beng arguably what distinguished them from other hard rock bands and spawned the heavy metal genre. Furthermore, critics, fans, and bandmates alike have hailed Bill's prowess on drums ("Sabbath ain't Sabbath without Bill") and to a lesser extent Geezer on bass, and the powerful rhythm section foundation they provided for Tony and Ozzy.
* When Music/TheBeachBoys' Brian Wilson suffered an emotional breakdown in 1965 and decided to quit touring with the group, Bruce Johnston (previously of Beach Boys soundalike group the Rip Chords, among many other groups) was hired to take over his role playing bass on-stage. By the end of the year Johnston was joining the Beach Boys in the studio and later became an integral part of their late '60s/early '70s recordings, even writing songs like "Disney Girls (1957)" for them.
** Moreso Music/DennisWilson, who went from being the under-appreciated drummer to writing such classics as "Forever", to the point that his solo album, ''Music/PacificOceanBlue'', charted higher and was more critically acclaimed than the Beach Boys album released that same year.

** Music/GeorgeHarrison was arguably the least popular Beatle during the band's run. He was not a part of the singing/songwriting superduo of Lennon-[=McCartney=], nor did he have the charm of Ringo and was known for being [[TheQuietOne quiet and moody]]. However, immediately after the band broke up he was the first of the four to score a #1 hit, and his album ''Music/AllThingsMustPass'' is to this day the top selling album by any solo Beatle. His ballad "Something" is also the second most frequently covered Beatles song after "Yesterday," and even Music/JohnLennon once remarked, "It's the best damn song on the whole album." Harrison seems to have been well aware of his dark horse status. He had a minor hit with the song "Dark Horse," and his custom record label was called Dark Horse Records.
* Music/BoneThugsNHarmony is a group example. As they emerged during a era of hip-hop where you had to be either from the [[HollywoodCalifornia west]] or the [[BigApplesauce east]] to make it in that particular field. Not only did they not hail from either coast, but hailed from the Midwest (UsefulNotes/{{Cleveland}} to be precise), and managed to have 3 back to back multi platinum records amidst the hype and controversy of the then bi-coastal feud between the east and west.
* Despite being the bassist/lyricist of Music/FallOutBoy, Pete Wentz [[LeadBassist served as the front man for]] Music/FallOutBoy up until their hiatus. Conventionally, either the lead singer/rhythm guitarist, Patrick Stump or the founder of the band, lead guitarist Joe Trohman should've been the front man, but seeing as Patrick didn't fit the standard front man mold and neither Joe or the drummer Andy Hurley had any interest in being the face, the role went to Pete. Considering his long standing mental health issues and relationship woes around the time of Music/FallOutBoy's height of popularity, it's questionable if this was the right decision in the long run. One is just as likely to find people citing his [[CelebrityIsOverrated dislike of his role]] as one could find people thinking he [[SmallNameBigEgo revels]] [[AttentionWhore in it]]. His massively prominent fandom/{{fandumb}} is a common conversation topic among Fall Out Boy fans and music spectators. Wentz's scandalous notoriety is {{lampshade|Hanging}}d in the music video for "This Ain't a Scene, It's an Arms Race" from Infinity on High and often lampshaded by the band and [[SelfDeprecation himself]]. The transition of his side project Black Cards from a more poppy/dancey band with a female lead singer to an EDM duo with the previous incarnation's drummer looks to be a deliberate attempt to avoid this trope a second time around with another group.

*** Again for Joe Trohman with his other side project With Teeth, mainly due to him unexpectedly providing lead vocals. Heck, Andy and Joe's sideprojects are probably darkhorses among the Music/FallOutBoy fanbase compared to Patrick and Pete's based on The Damned Things' album being available much sooner compared to [[DevelopmentHell Soul Punk]] and [[GenreShift Black Cards' original release]].

* Music/LimpBizkit attracted a huge {{Hatedom}}, chiefly centered around Fred Durst. The only one who arguably escaped was Wes Borland, the guitarist with a penchant for weird facepaint. Just as a measure of how he was the best-liked member, when he first left Fred posted his personal email address on the band's website. [[HoistByHisOwnPetard Fans proceeded to email him and congratulate him for leaving the band]].