10 Music Genre Switchups That Made Absolutely No Sense

Like most other hair metal acts, the '90s were not all that kind to Def Leppard. Though they already had to carry on without legendary guitarist Steve Clark, the alternative generation started to throw them for a loop, trying to chase the same kind of crowds that were freaking out over Pearl Jam and Nirvana. Just when they seemed to be back on solid ground on Euphoria in the late '90s, the next step was trying to abandon rock altogether.

For a band that is known to have the word rock in so many of their song titles, X is one of the wildest left turns that they would ever make, being much more in line with pop music than anything else. While Leppard always had their pop side as far back as the days of Pyromania, this feels less like pop rock and more in line with the contemporary pop happening during the '00s. And what's even crazier is that they're not half bad at it either.

Although this kind of whiplash was bound to leave most fans feeling betrayed, Leppard actually came correct on most of these tracks, working with accomplished writers and coming through with a few decent pop songs that could hold their own among their best ballads. It's no surprise when they went back to a more rock focused sound with the covers album Yeah! years later. When you've been in the game as long as they have, you need to make sure that you're always on your audience's good side.