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In her latest video, Lorde stands on a misty road, dressed in a red pantsuit. She moves among the wealthy at a cocktail party. She dances alone in a cheap motel room. Haunting background vocals are dark, her facial expressions, pained.

聽聽鈥淵ellow Flicker Beat鈥� is featured as the lead single on the upcoming 鈥淗unger Games鈥� film soundtrack. The latest in the blockbuster film series, 鈥淭he Hunger Games: Mockingjay 鈥� Part 1鈥� (2014), tells the story of a young woman rebelling against her country鈥檚 government in a dystopian world.聽

The video鈥檚 darkness 鈥� literally, as many of the shots show Lorde in dimly lit spaces 鈥� simply reflects the topics portrayed in the 鈥淗unger Games鈥� film.聽In a recent interview, on KROQ in Los Angeles, Lorde said:聽

But the themes are a far cry from Lorde鈥檚 previous work.

The 17-year-old pop star broke into the U.S. music scene with 鈥淩oyals,鈥� an upbeat single that stayed on the Billboard Hot 100 for nine weeks. In that video, Lorde is in a suburban home, wearing a white T-shirt. She sings, 鈥淲e鈥檒l never be royals.鈥�

The song sold more than 5.4 million digital copies in the U.S.

Just one year later, she mingles among the 鈥渞oyals,鈥� who raise glasses of champagne and smile. But should Lorde be worried about how a changed image could affect record sales?

She鈥檚 certainly not the first star to transition between iterations of pop, though many established stars have taken more time to change their tones.

Whitney Houston shifted from bubble gum to a darker shade of pop as she grew in fame. 鈥淚 Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me),鈥� her first single on her 1987 album 鈥淲hitney,鈥� peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. The music video鈥檚 splashy colors mixed with an uptempo beat that hooked listeners from the first rolling drum.

A decade later, her 鈥淢y Love Is Your Love鈥� brought R&B and ballads to Ms. Houston鈥檚 repertoire. The album had several hit singles and was well reviewed by critics, but the melodic tone of 鈥淲hen You Believe,鈥� on which she collaborated with Mariah Carey for the 鈥淧rince of Egypt鈥� (1998) soundtrack, could not be more distant from the 1987 pop hit.

Maroon 5 took the opposite path. The U.S.-based group initially gained popularity with 鈥淪ongs About Jane,鈥� released in 2002. Slower alternative rock hits like 鈥淪he Will Be Loved鈥� and 鈥淪unday Morning鈥� made the Los Angeles-based band鈥檚 album go multi-platinum in the U.S. and the U.K.

In 2012, singles from the group鈥檚 鈥淥verexposed鈥� album were primarily pop tracks 鈥� the group worked with Martin and Ryan Tedder, who recently contributed to Taylor Swift鈥檚 latest album, "1989."聽

By tying her transition to the mammoth 鈥淗unger Games鈥� hit, Lorde likely has little to worry about 鈥� the soundtrack to the most recent film, also featuring Lorde, was the聽seventh best-selling soundtrack album of the year. The third film, which will be released later this month, is projected to earn about $150 million in its opening weekend.聽

But, as they say in the 鈥淗unger Games鈥� saga 鈥� may the odds be ever in her favor.聽