8 Musicians Who Sound NOTHING Like They Did When They Started

5. Sugar Ray Was A Nu-Metal/Punk Band

Like their (adult) contemporaries, Goo Goo Dolls, there was actually a time when your mother would have hated going to a Sugar Ray concert. She would have left before the first mosh pit was finished, unless your mom is into that, in which case she deserves a better birthday present this year. In the mid-to-late 90s, Mark McGrath was the lead singer of a thrash/funk/rap metal band that was more interested in playing their instruments fast and harsh than they were in securing a spot on the live-action Scooby-Doo movie soundtrack.

It wasn't until "Fly" (from their second album, Floored) became a surprising hit in 1997 that they started to overhaul their sound to appeal to a more mainstream audience. And by "overhaul," I of course mean "erase any traces of intensity or passion from the records and replace it with lots and lots of money."

Hey, it obviously made them more popular than the sound of their follow-up single to "Fly," the funky, Chili Peppers-inspired "R.P.M." was ever going to.