History Main / SongStyleShift

* According to a survey done by Komar and Melamid in the mid 90s, this was one of the most disliked musical tropes of the time, resulting in its inclusion in "Music/TheMostUnwantedSong".

* "Sex, Violence, Suicide" by Ghanian-American singer Music/{{Amaarae}} starts out as a standard chill RAndB}ballad, before shifting into a PunkRock breakdown in the second half.

* "Sex, Violence, Suicide" by Ghanian-American singer Music/{{Amaarae}} starts out as a standard chill {{RAndB}} ballad, before shifting into a PunkRock breakdown in the second half.

* "In The End" off of ''Music/FlyByNight'' by {{Music/Rush}}. The first half takes things nice and slow, and then, BAM, Alex Lifeson out of nowhere.

* [[KoreanPopMusic K-Pop]] group Music/{{NMIXX}} had this as their SignatureStyle for their first two singles, calling it "Mixxpop". The two tracks, "O.O" and "Dice," both start as some variation of EDM ("O.O" with baile funk, "Dice" with jazz-inspired trap), then abruptly switch to a different genre after the chorus, roll with ''that'' for a verse, then switch ''back'' to the original genre (sometimes with a twist) for the ending. Likely after criticism of this style, the group abandoned "mixxpop" following their "Funky Glitter Christmas" single.

* In ''Videogame/EarthBound'', Porky's battle theme ("Cease to Exist", more popularly known as "[[FandomEnragingMisconception Pokey]] Means Business") starts off as an almost whimsical-sounding 8-bit boss tune, then suddenly shifts into much more aggressive hard rock/metal about a minute into the song.

* [[KoreanPopMusic K-Pop]] group Music/{{NMIXX}} has this as its SignatureStyle, which they call "Mixxpop". All of its title tracks to date start as some variation of EDM, then abruptly switch to a different genre after the chorus, roll with ''that'' for a verse, then switch ''back'' to the original genre (sometimes with a twist) for the ending.

* ProgressiveRock is full of these, particularly acts with "chapter"-structured songs. Music/{{Rush}}'s ''Music/TwentyOneTwelve'' is a prime example.

* A ''lot'' of hard rock and metal songs have slow, melodic intros, often with unusual instrumentation. Examples: Music/{{Metallica}}'s "Battery", Music/AvengedSevenfold's "Afterlife" and "Critical Acclaim", Music/{{Megadeth}}'s "My Last Words" or Music/{{Disturbed}}'s "Another Way to Die".

* A more recent popular example: "We Are Young" by [[Music/{{Fun}} fun.]] It's a fast-paced low-key song for the first 50 seconds, but it then kicks into [[SugarWiki/MomentOfAwesome "TONIIIIIIIIGHT...."]]

* Very common in old Tin Pan Alley songs, which would have an introductory verse that sounded nothing like the rest of the song.
** Franz Ferdinand's "Take Me Out" uses this technique in a more modern setting.

* Many country songs with a comedic bent start off slow and drawn-out before revealing the punchline and increasing the tempo. Examples include "Big Deal" by Music/LeAnnRimes, "Pray for You" by Jaron and the Long Road to Love, and "Brand New Girlfriend" by Steve Holy.

* Starting off a {{Disco}} song as a lush ballad, then ramping it up to the usual tempo after a verse or so, particularly if the song was sung by a female, became something of a cliche for the genre in its heyday. Thelma Houston's "Don't Leave Me This Way", Music/DonnaSummer's "Last Dance", Gloria Gaynor's "I Will Survive" and France Joli's "Come to Me" are just four of the many examples.

* ''VideoGame/SonicTheHedgehog'':

* Music/WeirdAlYankovic's ''Bedrock Anthem'' parodies two very different songs by ''Music/RedHotChiliPeppers''. The opening riffs the slow "Under the Bridge", then the rest of the song riffs the fast-paced "Give It Away".

* Music/{{Queen}}:

->''"You see, we never ever do nothing nice and easy / We always do it nice and rough / So we're gonna take the beginning of this song and do it ''easy'' / Then we're gonna do the finish ''rough''"''

->''"You see, we never ever do nothing nice and easy. We always do it nice and rough. So we're gonna take the beginning of this song and do it ''easy''. Then we're gonna do the finish ''rough''."''

* Music/{{Queen}}

* Music/{{Queen}}'s "Bohemian Rhapsody" starts off as a mournful apology song, but after a long guitar solo turns into something faster-paced and more whimsical and finally ends back on the apology tone. The operatic part in the middle makes sense given the album it's in: ''Music/ANightAtTheOpera''.

** "Live And Let Die" has the format of a ballad, then an orchestra, then a reggae verse, then back to the orchestra, then back to the ballad, then back to the orchestra AGAIN.

* Music/{{Metallica}}'s [[Music/AndJusticeForAll"One"]]. Let WesternAnimation/BeavisAndButtHead [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KzazqLpD29w show you what we mean]].

* The TropeCodifier: Music/LynyrdSkynyrd's "Freebird", shifting from mournful Southern Rock ballad to pure Guitar Attack rock.

* Music/{{Metallica}}'s [[MusictAndJusticeForAll"One"]]. Let WesternAnimation/BeavisAndButtHead [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KzazqLpD29w show you what we mean]].

** [[Music/TheBeatles "You Never Give Me Your Money"]] is much the same.
** Speaking of Music/TheBeatles, "Happiness Is A Warm Gun", written by Music/JohnLennon, switches styles and moods radically at least three times, arguably more.
* Music/{{The Rolling Stones|Band}}' "Can't You Hear Me Knocking" shifts from a hard rocking howler to a gentler but building sax solo piece that takes up more than the last half of the song

* Music/{{Metallica}}'s "One". Let WesternAnimation/BeavisAndButthead [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KzazqLpD29w show you what we mean]].
** Also, "Fade to Black".

* Ike and Tina Turner's version of [[Music/CreedenceClearwaterRevival CCR]]'s "Proud Mary". It goes from low-key and bluesy to horn-driven show stopper.