Best Genre Shifts of All Time

Beyoncé’s second act of her Renaissance era is another genre shift as the Texas native is releasing her country album.

While Beyoncé has emphasized that “Cowboy Carter” is a Beyoncé album and not a country album, the two singles that have been released, “Texas Hold ‘Em” and “16 Carriages,” are decidedly country tracks.

With one of the most prominent artists in the world moving around different genres, here are some of the most impressive and important genre shifts by major artists.

“1989”- Taylor Swift

It may be easy to forget that the world's biggest pop star established her titanous career as a country artist in Nashville.

While many consider Taylor Swift’s “Red” to be her first pop record, with tracks like “22” and “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” being obvious pop songs. However, “Red” has country, rock, and pop influences, and Swift describes the mosaic of genres as symbolic of the different emotions that people go through while dealing with a break-up in their early 20s.

In “1989,” Swift ditched all country sounds and committed fully to drawing influence from 80s synth-pop to create this extremely dominant project.

“Style,” “Blank Space” and “Out of the Woods” are some of the greatest pop songs ever, and they earned all the radio play they received.

Swift never ditched her lyricism from her country days and was able to translate her forte into some of the catchiest, compelling and clever pop music of the 2010s.

This birthed the iconic Barbra Walters quote, “Taylor Swift is the music industry.” Swift has only gone on to make that more evident in the years since the original release of “1989.”

“Plastic Hearts”- Miley Cyrus

Miley Cyrus has had one of the most obscure careers of a mainstream artist.

The same artist has a glittery teen-pop discography from Hannah Montana to the R&B-influenced “Bangerz” and even her feature on “23,” which has pop-star rapping. Not many artists can boast this diversity in their discography.

With “Plastic Hearts,” Cyrus seemed to be at her strongest, with the perfect voice and aura to establish herself as a force in the music industry. Cyrus plays homage yet paves her way so well.

In the rock genre, Cyrus could belt out some of the most honest and harrowing songs in her discography, such as “Angels Like You.” She also made some of her career's most fun and inspired songs like “Midnight Sky” and “Plastic Hearts.”

Everyone loves a classic rock song covered by Cyrus, and there’s a reason for that. Her aesthetic and voice are perfect for this genre. Cyrus has so much range, but it is clear rock is her ideal match.

“RENISSANCE”- Beyoncé

Beyoncé is entering a new genre this month with “Cowboy Carter,” but her genre-shifting game started with “RENISSANCE.”

R&B and pop genres have dominated her discography thus far, but with “RENISSANCE,” Beyoncé commits to a house/dance music album that has already influenced pop music today.

Tracks like “PURE/HONEY” and “ALIEN SUPERSTAR” are unlike anything Beyoncé has done previously yet still feel so authentic and revolutionary.

Beyoncé is clearly out reclaiming genres, and after this “not a country album but a Beyoncé album,” it will be exciting to see which genre she dominates next.

“Awaken, My Love!”- Childish Gambino

Donald Glover is one of the genuine true “Renaissance Men” left in Hollywood. He can act, write, perform stand-up comedy and make music.

When Glover took on his stage name, Childish Gambino, he started with albums like “Camp” and “Because the Internet.” These albums are decidedly hip-hop, rarely straying into any other genres.

However, with Glover’s third album, “Awaken, My Love!” he takes a step away from hip-hop with an R&B album with evident subgenres of soul, funk and psychedelic rock.

It was a strong entry in Glover’s discography and clearly a risk as he left the hip-hop genre entirely in the past. “Awaken, My Love!” was a massive risk. Songs like “Me and Your Mama” and “Redbone” are some of Glover’s biggest hits, and deservedly so.

It really isn’t a shock when Glover does something new and finds immediate success, but “Awaken, My Love!” was the perfect career move that resulted in an Album of the Year nomination from the Grammys.

“Love. Angel. Music. Baby.”- Gwen Stefani

Gwen Stefani may now have a reputation as a bubble gum pop princess. But before she went solo with her album “Love. Angel. Music. Baby.” she was the frontwoman and lead songwriter for the rock band No Doubt.

No Doubt has iconic songs like “I’m Just a Girl” or “Don’t Speak.” The band is influenced by ska, punk and new wave genres.

So when Stefani started her solo career with a dance-pop album, it was a clear departure from her work with No Doubt. She worked with producers like

“Love. Angel. Music. Baby.” has iconic songs like “Rich Girl” and “Hollaback Girl” and got Stefani an Album of the Year nomination in 2006.

“folklore”- Taylor Swift

Yes, Swift did it again.

In 2020, with the world shut down and Swift unable to tour her at the time recent album “Lover,” the songwriter did what she could and naturally started to create.

While some may still consider “folklore” to be a “pop” album, that title is likely only due to the artist behind the work and not the actual music. This project fits better in an indie-pop or alternative-rock genre, especially considering that Aaron Dessner of The National is the project's main producer.

Songs like “betty,” “my tears ricochet,” “august” or “the last great american dynasty” highlight some of Swift’s best lyricism and storytelling. This shifts Swift away from her normal, autobiographical songs and allows her to create a world while locked away in quarantine.

Again, Swift switches genres and is awarded a Grammy for Album of the Year for the project. “1989” and “folklore” are many people’s picks for Swift's best project, and it’s obvious why.

Sophia D’Ovidio is a third-year majoring in digital and print journalism. To contact her, email sgd5184@psu.edu.