Changes is a 1971 David Bowie song from his Hunky Dory album, released as a single and built around its stuttered ch-ch-ch-changes refrain and jaunty piano line. Written as a commentary on artistic reinvention, it became one of Bowie's signature songs and a fixture of film soundtracks and adverts for decades, including a 2004 cover recorded for the Shrek 2 soundtrack. Its message made it a natural fit for before-and-after content, and short clips of the hook now soundtrack countless glow-up and transformation edits across TikTok and YouTube.
About this sound
The opening piano and vocal hook from David Bowie's 1971 classic Changes, a short music clip creators drop over transformation, glow-up and before-after moments.
This eight-second clip lifts the most recognisable moment of David Bowie's 1971 song Changes, opening with the jaunty piano riff that kicks off the track before Bowie's theatrical voice leans into the famous ch-ch-ch-changes hook. It is bright, swaggering and unmistakably seventies, with a melody most viewers can name within a beat. Dropped into an edit, it works like a neon sign flashing TRANSFORMATION: anything that follows feels like a reinvention, a reveal or a fresh start. The familiarity does the heavy lifting, so even a simple before-and-after cut lands with wit and a little rock-star confidence.
