[Zeke.]

You can evolve as an artist without abandoning your brand equities and ditching your USP (unique selling proposition).

I hate it when people try to play the "well, he/she is trying to grow as an artist card" when a musician goes and completely changes everything you enjoyed about their music. If I wanted to marvel at the "growth" of something, I'd plant a damn flower. You think people gave a shit when Coke tried to "grow" as a beverage? No, there was outrage. Or imagine if you went into a store you love - you've come to rely on them for a very specific look - and suddenly, everything in the store was different, but it still carried the brand name. For me, musicians are no different than anything else I enjoy; I come to have a taste for their style of music, rely on them to feed me that "sound," and when I am served a plate of something entirely different, I'm disappointed, and left in search of that sound that I connected with so much, that just can't be found in the exact context as it was originally found in anyplace else on earth.

For example, there's a group called "E-Rotic" I fell in love with when I was young. It's basically AQUA on acid with the entire concept regarding the group based around sexual innuendos. It was fun, light, energetic, and catchy as fuck. They released 12 albums and never once did they abandon their sound. As I continued to discover their material throughout the years, there was always more surprises to be found - the sound evolved slightly, but it always felt super on par with the artist/group and their "brand" of music. I never ever grew tired of it, and I still enjoy listening to them to this day. I never felt like they left me wanting more (well, I could never get enough but not "more" in the sense that there wasn't at least a large portion of tracks on the albums for me to enjoy). I think it large part it was due to the fact that a single producer was behind all of it, and it was that sound that I fell in love with. The sound always takes precedence over the person providing the vocals - at least for me. I fall in love with the MUSIC, not the individual.