There's not many more exciting things in music than hearing a great key change during a huge pop song. However, it takes a brave musician to try to pull one off. Succeed, and you'll blow your fans away, but if you don't quite nail it then you'll face more than your fair share of criticism.

We've taken a look at a few of our favourite key changes in recent memory, both in pop and other genres, and what made the key change so memorable. Key changes often make a song much more exciting (but a lot harder to sing at karaoke).

Beyoncé - Love On Top

Beyoncé's track Love On Top doesn't have one key change. It doesn't have two, or even three. Bey's vocal efforts on Love On Top see her belt out four key changes, all of which build on the last. At the end of the track, Bey sings the chorus four times in a row, changing keys each time. It's a vocal flex, and a huge one at that.

The track is influenced by mid-'80s R&B, and it saw her win the award for Best Traditional R&B Performance at the 2013 Grammy Awards. Honestly, you'd hate to have been in the same category as Love On Top that year. It's hard to compete with four key changes, no matter who you are.

Adele - All I Ask

Adele's All I Ask, taken from her third album 25, is a collaboration with Bruno Mars. It's a piano-driven ballad, and it's already an emotional listen, but when the third chorus hits, Adele takes it to the next level with a key change. All I Ask is definitely a song that's driven by the key change.

Speaking about his part in writing All I Ask, Bruno Mars says he loved working with Adele. "There was a moment when she was singing in the booth -- and I'm not exaggerating at all -- and the water was vibrating. Like, you know that scene in Jurassic Park? The water starts jiggling. She's got some pipes on her and she's just a superstar." We can't wait for Adele's next album - she never lets us down.

Taylor Swift - Love Story

It's been over 10 years since Taylor Swift released the song Love Story, and it would be fair to say it marked the start of her crossover from being a country musician to one of the world's biggest popstars.

The song, she told 60 Minutes, mirrors the story of Romeo and Juliet - with a twist. “I feel like they had such promise and they were so crazy for each other. And if that had just gone a little bit differently, it could have been the best love story ever told.

"And it is one of the best love stories ever told, but it’s a tragedy. I thought, why can’t you… make it a happy ending and put a key change in the song and turn it into a marriage proposal?” That key change will always be firmly implanted in our memory. We love a happy ending.

Daft Punk - Within

While it might not be one of the biggest tracks to emerge from Daft Punk's 2013 album Random Access Memories, Within helped make the album into one of Daft Punk's crowning achievements. The key change within the track serves as a transition from the first block of songs on the album to the next, guiding the listener along.

No matter how simple a Daft Punk track seems at first glance, there's always a lot more going on. While Within isn't the most sonically dense track on the list, the use of the key change within the track is right up there with the others mentioned.

Lady Gaga - Perfect Illusion

Lady Gaga knows how to make a grand entrance, or in this case, a re-entrance. Her comeback single Perfect Illusion contains one of the boldest key changes we've ever heard - and yes, she pulls it off to perfection.

Two-thirds of the way through the song, the key change hits - and from there, the track takes on a new life. As far as comeback singles go, it was a great way to announce her return. It's a key change that'll get stuck in your head, even if you don't want it to. It's just that good.

Ariana Grande - Greedy

Ariana Grande loves to flex her vocals every now and then, and on Greedy, a track from her album Dangerous Woman, she navigates falsetto leaps and a key change that simply needs to be heard to be believed.

Fans went wild for the key change when the song dropped, and we can't blame them - after all, this tweet sums it up better than we ever could. In some cases, key changes might be a little Greedy, but on Greedy, it's a key change that's more than deserved.

the key change in Greedy by Ariana Grande. retweet if you agree

— nathan zed (@NathanZed) May 26, 2016