Pop singers that are actually, well...talented!

[The 1-2-3 Killam]

Pop music, on the whole, sucks. The perfection of auto-tune kinda spelled the downfall of the industry, as you can literally make ANYBODY sound like a platinum artist. Take the douche he played at SummerSlam, for instance. But there ARE pop artists out there, and whether they are just milking the industry for millions of dollars or truly love pop music, are extremely talented.

So, who makes the cut, in your opinion?

The first I'll submit myself, and it goes without a doubt to Christina Aguilera. I'm not a fan of 95% of her pop music, but there is no denying that she has a killer voice. And that's really what I'm looking for; a truly gifted artist can make even the most boring, contrived pop garbage sound interesting. Here's a collaboration she did with Herbie Hancock, among others:

[YOUTUBE]CCzBuyLE134[/YOUTUBE]

 

[Pay Per Ghost]

Kelly Clarkson, great voice and stellar live performance.

 

[jmt225]

Pink. She's by far above everyone else and has been the last five years or so. Incredible artist.

 

[Dowdsy McDowds]

Pink. She's by far above everyone else and has been the last five years or so. Incredible artist.

I do have a soft spot for Pink, but it seems that her singles tend to alternate between being fine on her own and then needing someone. Blow me (one last kiss) was a good compromise though.

Plus she's chums with City and Colour which is good.

I listened to a few acoustic versions of Fun's songs last night and the singer has a pretty good voice. Also enjoy that he used auto-tune in Some Nights for the word "lies", thought that was quite clever.

 

[red ass skull muhfukkah]

Pop music, on the whole, sucks. The perfection of auto-tune kinda spelled the downfall of the industry, as you can literally make ANYBODY sound like a platinum artist. Take the douche he played at SummerSlam, for instance. But there ARE pop artists out there, and whether they are just milking the industry for millions of dollars or truly love pop music, are extremely talented.

I hate when people act like Pop music is intended to have songs that are masterpieces or are sung/played by amazing musicians. Pop music is intended to be catchy and accessible to a majority of the population. It's not my genre of choice (I do listen to it in the car sometimes) it's not because I think the genre sucks, I just prefer other music. There's a reason any band that you think should be on the radio isn't on the radio, because most people just like simple, catchy tunes. There's nothing wrong with that.

I know you live in Portland so I'll forgive you this time for the hipster mindset.

 

[The Dragon Saga]

Lana Del Rey.

Don't know if shes broke America yet, but shes pretty big across the pond. Wouldn't classify her as pop though, more indie-pop, and as someone who doesn't like a majority of indie music it's saying even more for her. Not only is she vocally fantastic but lyrically her songwriting abilities are good, which is rare in modern day mainstream music. "Video Games" and "Born to Die" exhibit this.

 

[Lee]

The Beatles.

 

[hatehabsforever]

Love me some Taylor Swift. Very talented and not too hard on the eyes either.

 

[JGlass]

Pink. She's by far above everyone else and has been the last five years or so. Incredible artist.

Alicia Keys begs to differ.

[YOUTUBE]rywUS-ohqeE[/YOUTUBE]

 

[Tastycles]

If anyone could do it, everyone would.

 

[Snitsky4GM]

Lady Gaga is really talented.

 

[JGlass]

Lana Del Rey.

Don't know if shes broke America yet, but shes pretty big across the pond. Wouldn't classify her as pop though, more indie-pop, and as someone who doesn't like a majority of indie music it's saying even more for her. Not only is she vocally fantastic but lyrically her songwriting abilities are good, which is rare in modern day mainstream music. "Video Games" and "Born to Die" exhibit this.

She did, mostly because of this...

http://gawker.com/5876449/lana-del-reys-infamous-snl-performance

 

[Alastor]

Bruno Mars, Adele and Katy Perry. Yeah I said Katy Perry.

 

[jmt225]

Alicia Keys begs to differ.

Well, Alicia Keys sings R&B, not Pop.

And while Alicia may be a better singer than Pink (though it's really, really close), she isn't as good of all around artist as Pink. You can't watch these two live performances and tell me Alicia Keys could ever come close to pulling this off, or any musician for that matter.

[YOUTUBE]3stsDXki__U[/YOUTUBE]

[YOUTUBE]4FbN4L4SM8E[/YOUTUBE]

Pink is in a league of her own. In a mainstream music World filled with puppets, shock artists, and sell-outs, it's really a blessing to have her around, although she won't ever be as appreciated as she should until she's gone.