Musician makeovers can produce hits _ and misses.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)

Byline: Kent Kimes

Makeovers are all the rage, with TV shows such as ABC's "Extreme Makeover" to TLC's "What Not to Wear" promising their subjects a new look and new lease on life.

In the land of pop and rock music, image-driven reinventions and stylistic shifts are common as artists search to remain relevant, capture new fans, explore different genres and amp up sex appeal.

Liz Phair is one of the latest to do a 180, but check out these other pop chameleons who've changed their stripes with varying degrees of success.

Runway-worthy Rod Stewart: The raspy-voiced, spiky-haired Brit has latched on to various trends, from folksy balladeer to hard rocker to disco king. His latest incarnation as an interpreter of American standards has his "As Time Goes By ... The Great American Songbook, Vol. II" poised in the Top 20 of Billboard's most-purchased albums via the Internet.

Metallica: When Metallica re-emerged on the post-grunge scene, the fellas' haircuts grabbed more attention than the band's 1996 disc "Load." But getting sheared couldn't cut down the behemoth that is Metallica. And come on, they would have looked silly trying to retain those hair dryer-damaged locks.

Clay Aiken: Remember those early "American Idol" auditions where North Carolina's favorite son looked like a bespectacled Howdy Doody? Stylists got a hold of him, and now he's a polished best-selling Howdy Doody.