8 Bizarre Music Collaborations That Were Surprisingly Successful

7. Santana And Michelle Branch - "The Game of Love"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKLnmMacEB4 Carlos Santana had just tasted success for the first time in decades by pairing up with post-grunge enthusiast and butt-rock pioneer Rob Thomas for the mega-hit "Smooth," which subsequently gave him his best-selling album (1999's Supernatural). But aside from more money and fame, what could have inspired the legendary latin guitarist to sink so low as to team up with every mediocre pop star of the day for his follow-up album, Shaman? Oh, it was just the money and fame? Okay then. Santana seemingly picked through the charts for anyone that kids those days liked to bop around to. The results are mixed, with contributions from Dido, Macy Gray, and even the king of butt-rock Chad Kroeger. But the most surprisingly wonderful collaboration came from the moderately folksy, mostly cutesy singer-songwriter Michelle Branch. The saccharine ode to the games we play in love, aptly titled "The Game of Love," might have been dripping with the passionless sentimentality, but it certainly won over the hearts of the listening public as well as the music industry, earning the unlikely duo a Grammy. The guitar playing is tight and on-point, and though Michelle Branch isn't much of a powerhouse vocalist, she's certainly a better compliment to the light, bluesy Santana sound than Rob Thomas' herniated grunting sounds.