11 Times Famous Musicians Radically Evolved (For The Better) Since The Beginning Of Their Careers

One of my favorite things in the world is getting hooked on an artist and doing a deep dive into their musical careers. It's truly fascinating to see how much they've evolved from their debut, from album covers to lyrics to music videos — so, here are just a few examples of iconic musicians who've grown over the years.

HBO

Warning: This post includes topics of drug addiction and sexual abuse.

Note: We've excluded collaborative albums, live albums, and movie soundtracks from the "latest album cover" category, as to highlight the artist's solo work.

1.Here's what Taylor Swift looked like on her first album cover, Taylor Swift (2006):

Here's what Taylor Swift looks like on her latest album cover, Evermore (2020):

Here's what Taylor Swift's writing style was like for her single "Tim McGraw" (2006):

Here's what Taylor Swift's writing style is like from her single "Willow" (2020):

Here's what Taylor Swift looked and sounded like in her music video for "Teardrops on My Guitar" (2007):

Here's what Taylor Swift looks and sounds like in her music video for "Willow" (2020):

2.Here's what Mariah Carey looked like on her first album cover, Mariah Carey (1990):

Here's what Mariah Carey looks like on her latest album cover, Caution (2018):

Here's what Mariah Carey's writing style was like for her single "Vision of Love" (1990):

Here's what Mariah Carey's writing style is like from her single "A No No" (2019):

Here's what Mariah Carey looked and sounded like in her music video for "Love Takes Time" (1990):

Here's what Mariah Carey looks and sounds like in her music video for "A No No" (2019):

3.Here's what Harry Styles looked like on One Direction's first album cover, Up All Night (2011):

Here's what Harry Styles looks like on his latest solo album cover, Fine Line (2019):

Here's what Harry Styles' writing style was like with One Direction for their song "Taken" (2011):

Here's what Harry Styles' writing style is like from his single "Treat People with Kindness" (2021):

Here's what Harry Styles looked and sounded like in One Direction's music video for "What Makes You Beautiful" (2011):

Here's what Harry Styles looks and sounds like in his music video for "Watermelon Sugar" (2020):

4.Here's what Miley Cyrus looked like on her first album cover, Meet Miley Cyrus (2007):

Here's what Miley Cyrus looks like on her latest album cover, Plastic Hearts (2020):

Here's what Miley Cyrus's writing style was like for her single "See You Again" (2007):

Here's what Miley Cyrus's writing style is like from her single "Angels Like You" (2021):

Here's what Miley Cyrus looked and sounded like in her music video for "Start All Over" (2007):

Here's what Miley Cyrus looks and sounds like in her music video for "Midnight Sky" (2020):

5.Here's what Drake looked like on his first album/mixtape cover, Room for Improvement (2006):

Here's what Drake looks like on his latest album/mixtape cover, Dark Lane Demo Tapes (2020):

Here's what Drake's writing style was like for his song "Special" (2006):

Here's what Drake's writing style is like from his single "Toosie Slide" (2020):

Here's what Drake looked and sounded like in his music video for "Replacement Girl" (2007):

Here's what Drake looks and sounds like in his music video for "Laugh Now Cry Later" (2020):

6.Here's what Beyoncé looked like on Destiny's Child's first album cover, Destiny's Child (1998):

Here's what Beyoncé looks like on her latest solo album cover, Lemonade (2016):

Here's what Beyoncé's writing style was like with Destiny's Child for their song "Birthday" (1998):

Here's what Beyoncé's writing style is like from her single "Hold Up" (2016):

Here's what Beyoncé looked and sounded like in Destiny's Child's music video for "No, No, No Part 2" (1997):

Here's what Beyoncé looks and sounds like in her music video for "Formation" (2016):

7.Here's what the Jonas Brothers looked like on their first album cover, It's About Time (2006):

Here's what the Jonas Brothers look like on their latest album cover, Happiness Begins (2019):

Here's what the Jonas Brothers' writing style was like for their single, "Mandy" (2005):

Here's what the Jonas Brothers' writing style is like from their single "Remember This" (2021):

Here's what the Jonas Brothers looked and sounded like in their music video for "Year 3000" (2007):

Here's what the Jonas Brothers look and sound like in their music video for "Leave Before You Love Me" (2021):

8.Here's what Demi Lovato looked like on their first album cover, Don't Forget (2008):

Here's what Demi Lovato looks like on their latest album cover, Dancing with the Devil... the Art of Starting Over (2021):

Here's what Demi Lovato's writing style was like for their single "Get Back" (2008):

Here's what Demi Lovato's writing style is like from their single "Anyone" (2020):

Here's what Demi Lovato looked and sounded like in their music video for "La La Land" (2008):

Here's what Demi Lovato looks and sounds like in their music video for "Dancing with the Devil" (2021):

9.Here's what Bruno Mars looked like on his first solo album cover, Doo-Wops & Hooligans (2010):

Here's what Bruno Mars looks like on Silk Sonic's latest album cover, An Evening with Silk Sonic (2021):

Here's what Bruno Mars' writing style was like for his single "Just the Way You Are" (2010):

Here's what Bruno Mars' writing style is like with Silk Sonic for their single "Skate" (2021):

Here's what Bruno Mars looked and sounded like in his music video for "Grenade" (2010):

Here's what Bruno Mars looks and sounds like in Silk Sonic's music video for "Leave the Door Open" (2021):

10.Here's what Alicia Keys looked like on her first album cover, Songs in A Minor (2001):

Here's what Alicia Keys looks like on her latest album cover, Alicia (2020):

Here's what Alicia Keys' writing style was like for her single "A Woman's Worth" (2001):

Here's what Alicia Keys' writing style is like from her single "Time Machine" (2019):

Here's what Alicia Keys looked and sounded like in her music video for "Fallin'" (2001):

Here's what Alicia Keys looks and sounds like in her music video for "Love Looks Better" (2020):

11.And here's what Ariana Grande looked like on her first album cover, Yours Truly (2013):

Here's what Ariana Grande looks like on her latest album cover, Positions (2020):

Here's what Ariana Grande's writing style was like for her single "Almost Is Never Enough" (2013):

Here's what Ariana Grande's writing style is like from her single "34+35" (2020):

Here's what Ariana Grande looked and sounded like in her music video for "Put Your Hearts Up" (2011):

Here's what Ariana Grande looks and sounds like in her music video for "Positions" (2020):