History TheyChangedItNowItSucks / Music

* Music/PinkFloyd: It's not clear when exactly it happened. Perhaps when [[FaceOfTheBand Roger Waters']] departure, leaving the band to become a more bloated version of Daide Gilmour's solo work.
* Music/{{Radiohead}}'s ''Music/KidA'' and ''Music/{{Amnesiac}}'' got this because they switched to an electronic sound. Nevermind ''Amnesiac'' had some AltRock songs, ''Music/HailToTheThief'' was mostly tunes that wouldn't be out of place on ''Music/OKComputer'' and ''Kid A'' and ''Amnesiac'' were critically acclaimed. Some vastly prefer their older, guitar-rock based material, and find their post-''OK Computer'' output to be too obtuse and lacking in resonance to find enjoyment in, much to the chagrin of [[TrueArtIsIncomprehensible "true fans"]].

* Music/{{Oasis}} had this from many people on the release of their album 'Standing On The Shoulder Of Giants', despite the demand for change from much of the music press following their previous album ''Be Here Now'', when Oasis did vary their sound the press hounded them for it. Many Oasis fans see 'Giants' (as well as ''Be Here Now'') as misunderstood and unfairly maligned records, especially with tracks such as 'Go Let It Out' and the fan favourite 'Gas Panic!'.

* Some of Music/BonJovi's fans have criticized their more recent country-rock albums because they preferred their older heavy-metal sound.

* Music/{{Muse}} doesn't suffer too much from its fans, but when the [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IqFZGnfMLMw trailer for their upcoming album The Second Law]] was released, it immediately got this treatment from people who didn't appreciate the {{Dubstep}} in its second half.

* When Music/{{Nightwish}} lead vocalist, Tarja Turunen, left the group, she was replaced by Anette Olzon. While the band remains very successful, their more vocal fans are insisting that that Anette sucks and that Nightwish should get Tarja back. Other fans believe the band's style started to change into a more euro-pop genre since Century Child. Averted since Olzon left the band and Floor Jansen joined in. Virtually all the fanbase squeaked in delight at the news.
* Music/TheatreOfTragedy changed from a pioneering gothic metal band on their first few albums into [[LighterAndSofter full-blown Europop]] with ''Musique'' and ''Assembly''. [[BrokenBase Many fans]] were not happy, to say the least. Then they [[TheBandMinusTheFace got rid of lead singer Liv Kristine]], who went on to form her own band, Leaves Eyes.

* Music/{{Metallica}}'s self-titled album was a shift from thrash metal to a style reminiscent of more traditional heavy metal with a bit of hard rock influence. Cue the bitching. Some might say the band started derailing from the thrash metal genre on ''Music/AndJusticeForAll,'' a relatively over-produced, almost progressive-like album. To this day you'll more than likely run into someone saying "Cliff Burton Died, Now They Suck" just about anywhere you go. Still others say the band began to stray from their thrash metal roots as early as ''Music/MasterOfPuppets''. Then came ''Load'', ''Reload'' and ''St. Anger'', which effectively drowned the band into a DorkAge.

* Happens a lot in heavy metal. Music/{{Metallica}} is the most famous example, starting with ''Music/TheBlackAlbum''. However, it is far more common in the underground genres, especially black metal, which often seems to have a fanbase full of StopHavingFunGuys.

* Then there's Music/TheDoors after the death of Jim Morrison. ''Other Voices'' was not very successful, and the band itself denies that it and ''Full Circle'' [[CanonDiscontinuity even exist]].

* Referenced and parodied by [[Film/ThisIsSpinalTap Spinal Tap]]. They're also involved in a truly shining example: Spinal Tap is actually composed of actors Creator/ChristopherGuest, Creator/MichaelMcKean, and Creator/HarryShearer. The movie they appeared in, mocking both the "rockumentary" and metal bands in general, was popular enough (and the actors musically talented enough) that they defictionalized the band and performed live as "Spinal Tap" on tour. So far so good. Guest, [=McKean=] and Shearer reunited as folk music group The Folksmen for the movie ''Film/AMightyWind''. And, during one tour, as a cute little joke, The Folksmen opened for Spinal Tap. Enough Tap fans in New York didn't get the joke that Guest, [=McKean=] and Shearer are possibly the only people ever to have been booed off stage in favor of ''themselves''.

* Music/LinkinPark's two later albums, ''Minutes to Midnight'' and ''A Thousand Suns''. Interestingly enough, at least one song on their album seems to directly address this, with it being the most obvious at lines like "...'Cause even a blueprint is a gift and a curse, 'cause once you got a theory of how the thing works, everybody wants the next thing to be just like the first." And telling them to [[TakeThat "start catching up]] [[ThisIsForEmphasisBITCH motherfucker"]]

* Music/AvrilLavigne's "Girlfriend" single was decidedly more influenced by pop music than her previous punk rock-y efforts. If one visited the official Website/YouTube upload for said video after its release, you would find nothing but a river of flames, most having to do with how she "sold out". Fans were starting to like her "girly punk" image, she releases the ''extremely'' mainstream "[[FanDiscontinuity What The Hell]]".

* This audience reaction can also occur when the image of an artist changes, even if the music is mostly the same. This is common when an innocent teen pop star sexualises their image as they 'mature', which can alienate a lot of fans that liked them for who they were up to that point. This has happened with Music/BritneySpears, Music/AvrilLavigne, Music/ChristinaAguilera, Music/MileyCyrus and many others.

* Music/{{Jewel}}, many times, but the biggest one would have to be ''0304'', which was mainstream electropop. Previously, she garnered success with folk music and her debut ''Pieces of You''. It absolutely ALIENATED fans.

* Music/PinkFloyd: It's not clear when exactly it happened. Perhaps when [[FaceOfTheBand Roger Waters']] departure, leaving the band to become a more bloated version of Dave Gilmour's solo work.

* Judas Priest: Even though Tim Owens moving from tribute band frontman to actual Judas Priest frontman was exciting enough to lead to a film VeryLooselyBasedOnATrueStory, he just couldn't replace Rob Halford, so they finally brought him back. Many fans also revolted at the release of the 1986 "synthpop" album ''Turbo'', even though that's a very enjoyable album and - some would argue - one of Priest's best. More importantly, videos based on the ''Turbo'' songs got massive airplay on MTV, and Priest (and heavy metal in general) started to attract a lot of female fans, even to the point where there seemed to be as many girls as there were boys at their concerts. It's when Priest tried to [[AuthorsSavingThrow make up for this]] that they arguably started to go off the rails: they worked hard to establish themselves as a purely "thrash" band like Metallica, in the process sacrificing a lot of the eclecticism that had made them popular among all music fans and not just metal ones.

* Music/TaylorSwift is the undisputed Country Music Queen of this trope. Her first album was surprisingly mature in content, especially given her young age. The second, however, switched to a "teen country-pop" format with songs that wouldn't sound out of place on a Miley Cyrus or Jonas Brothers album. Needless to say, this has caused quite the BrokenBase to form. One half (mostly the younger half) loves the change in tone; for the other half, "Soulless Sell-Out" is one of the ''nicer'' things they have to say about her, and made worse in that, because she writes most of her own songs, she can't even blame ExecutiveMeddling for it. It got worse with "We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" and "I Knew You Were Trouble", both straight-up pop songs which hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100.

* Music/MyChemicalRomance when they dropped their post-hardcore vibe and penchant for truly macabre lyrics and favour of a Rock Opera with a more mainstream feel for ''Music/TheBlackParade''. The album was a hit, new fans emerged, and the fanbase was divided. Gerard Way's ''hair'' is SeriousBusiness. "He cut it/dyed it/bleached it/trimmed it/parted it differently/hasn't dyed his roots, now he SUCKS!"

* Music/RonnieMilsap: A fictional example in his 1979 No. 1 country hit "Nobody Likes Sad Songs." There, Milsap sings about a performer who changes his performing style from uptempo songs to almost exclusively heartbreak ballads. The change in musical style -- which comes at the same time he is experiencing a personal crisis with his relationship -- results in a huge erosion of his fanbase, so much to the point where he loses all his credibility when, in a desperate move to salvage his act, he reintroduces his uptempo songs in his set list, and fans quit coming to his shows and buying his records en masse. Eventually, his tour is canceled by his manager, who admonishes him: "''What happened son, you had it made?/Why'd you change the way you played?''" Nobody had any problem with the song, however, as it became a huge No. 1 hit and one of 1979's biggest country hits [[note]](and possibly in line for a multi-week run atop the chart, had it not been for Kenny Rogers' "She Believes In Me" and the Bellamy Brothers' "If I Said You Had a Beautiful Body Would You Hold It Against Me")[[/note]] and is still a staple of Milsap's live shows.

* As a general comment, it can be a source of annoyance to fans old enough to remember the original vinyl releases when a band or performer's ouevre is remastered to CD. People expecting to hear a much-loved tune ''exactly'' as they heard it on 45rpm 7" vinyl when it was in the charts can frequently be dissappointed to hear a remix for CD that spoils the memory - a classic example is the CD of Creator/KateBush's ''Greatest Hits'', in which the remaster of ''Wuthering Heights'' is a ''long'' way off from the single version as originally released[[note]]Among other things, the soaring guitar solo playing the track out is muted in the mix to the point where it's barely there[[/note]]. People complained about this.

* Many fans of Music/CultureClub were displeased when Boy George abruptly dropped his DudeLooksLikeALady fashion to become a generic 80's pop star PrettyBoy for their last album ''Music/FromLuxuryToHeartache''. Just compare [[https://postimg.cc/Js9mYpbK this]] to [[https://postimg.cc/FdQQx1jK this]]. In fact, ''more'' [[SkewedPriorities fans were annoyed by this]] than the fact that the band [[NewSoundAlbum changed their sound]] from New Wave to Synth-Pop!

* Many fans of ''Music/CultureClub'' were displeased when Boy George abruptly dropped his DudeLooksLikeALady fashion to become a generic 80's pop star PrettyBoy for their last album Music/FromLuxuryToHeartache. Just compare [[https://postimg.cc/Js9mYpbK this]] to [[https://postimg.cc/FdQQx1jK this]]. In fact, ''more'' [[SkewedPriorities fans were annoyed by this]] than the fact that the band [[NewSoundAlbum changed their sound]] from New Wave to Synth-Pop!

* When Music/{{Nightwish}} lead vocalist, Tarja Turunen, left the group, she was replaced by Anette Olzon. While the band remains very successful, their more vocal fans are insisting that that Anette sucks and that Nightwish should get Tarja back. Other fans believe the band's style started to change into a more euro-pop genre since Century Child. Averted since Olzon left the band and Floor Jansen joined in. Virtually all the fanbase skeaqued in delight at the news.

* Social Distortion has many fans thinking this as of Hard Times and Nrsery Rhymes. Especially with the more bluesy-sounding songs like Can't Take it With You.

** Music/StevenWilson faced the wrath of a certain section of his fanbase in 2017 after he announced his decision to make ''To the Bone'' -- an album inspired by '80s progressive pop, featuring an upbeat disco-inspired single that contrasted heavily with his characteristically gloomy output. The album, despite not straying ''too'' far from Wilson's usual prog territory and being surprisingly Porcupine Tree-esque, prompted discussion amongst the fans about about what "progressive rock" actually is, and how much change and experimentation it allows for before it becomes something else entirely.

** Music/StevenWilson faced the wrath of a certain section of his fanbase in 2017 after he announced his decision to make an album inspired by '80s progressive pop, featuring an upbeat disco-inspired single that contrasted heavily with his characteristically gloomy output. The album, despite not straying ''too'' far from Wilson's usual prog territory and being surprisingly Porcupine Tree-esque, prompted discussion amongst the fans about about what "progressive rock" actually is, and how much change and experimentation it allows for before it becomes something else entirely.

* Both fans and critics of Music/{{Garbage}} have used this argument to justify why they don't like the band's third LP ''Beautifulgarbage'' with it's more eclectic and pop influences, as opposed to their usual alt-rock post-grunge sound.

* The Human League began as a very dark synth band whose songs rarely featured any instrumentation but stark synths and vocals. After the band's second album came out, the band's singer Phil Oakey wanted to play pop music but Martyn Ware did not want to, he fired him kicked him out. Ian Craig Marsh followed him and they formed Heaven 17. To replace the members that left, Oakey and Wright got two female students, Susan Ann Sulley and Joanne Catherall to replace them. This did not go down well with their fans. Whilst the album ''Dare'', the first to be released with the new line up, was not stylistically very different from their old work with the exception of the singles Love Action and Open Your Heart, the band had built up a huge fanbase from their earlier line up and the backlash towards the girls was quite aggressive. Still, they gained a lot more new fans than they lost, so it worked out pretty well for them. It should be noted that the single I Don't Depend On You, released in 1979 before their first album under the pseudonym "The Men" sounds exactly like the sort of thing the band would go on to produce in their second line up two years later, which means there is no pleasing some people (albeit its different style was a point of contention for fans even at the time -- there's a reason why it wasn't issued under the Human League name). And then there were the accusations of Human League's having "sold out" when they released their mid-'80s R&B-flavored album ''Crash'', produced (and partly written) by the American team of Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. Even though the single "Human" achieved major chart success in the U.S., a LOT of Human League fans were dismayed that they seemed to stray so far away from their New Wave base, even though their music was still heavily synthesized pop and not really that different from what their contemporaries were putting out at the time (cf. ABC's singles "Be Near Me" and "When Smokey Sings", the Music/DuranDuran album ''Notorious'', etc.).

* It also appears to be a general rule that any hard rock band that switches to a lighter, gentler or more pop-oriented sound will inevitably be accused of having "gone soft", or words to that effect. While bands like Music/StatusQuo are classic examples, it can still happen today with bands like Music/BiffyClyro and Music/{{Paramore}}, with the former opting for a more pop-oriented spin on the alternative prog they were previously known for, and the latter switching to something resembling new wave or indie rock.

* TheStrokes latest single ''One Way Trigger'', which has dropped the garage band sound in favour of a driving '80's synthesiser riff and a falsetto vocal is dividing their fanbase like nobody's business.

* The Human League began as a very dark synth band whose songs rarely featured any instrumentation but stark synths and vocals. After the band's second album came out, the band's singer Phil Oakey wanted to play pop music but Martyn Ware did not want to, he fired him kicked him out. Ian Craig Marsh followed him and they formed Heaven 17. To replace the members that left, Oakey and Wright got two female students, Susan Ann Sulley and Joanne Catherall to replace them. This did not go down well with their fans. Whilst the album ''Dare'', the first to be released with the new line up, was not stylistically very different from their old work with the exception of the singles Love Action and Open Your Heart, the band had built up a huge fanbase from their earlier line up and the backlash towards the girls was quite aggressive. It should be noted that the single I Don't Depend On You, released in 1979 before their first album under the pseudonym "The Men" sounds exactly like the sort of thing the band would go on to produce in their second line up two years later, which means there is no pleasing some people. And then there were the accusations of Human League's having "sold out" when they released their mid-'80s R&B-flavored album ''Human'', produced by the American team of Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis. Even though the single "I'm Only Human" achieved major chart success in the U.S., a LOT of Human League fans were dismayed that they seemed to stray so far away from their New Wave base, even though their music was still heavily synthesized pop and not really that different from what their contemporaries were putting out at the time (cf. ABC's singles "Be Near Me" and "When Smokey Sings", the Music/DuranDuran album ''Notorious'', etc.).

* [[HelloProject Morning Musume]]: Happens every time a new generation of girls is brought in. Or after every new song released post-"Golden Era".