Ke$ha is sort of awful, but not for the reasons you think.
Yeah, her music is terrible. It's fun music you don't really need to think about. But it's alleged that the songstress is smarter than people give her credit for. It's rumored that she scored a 1500 on her SATs and has a 140 IQ. She even admits to surveying Cold War history classes at her local community college, just for yucks.
The online community Reddit even speculates that her entire act is just a spectacular satire meant to comment on Paris Hilton-type career party girls and society's fascination with slut shaming. Maybe that's what the dollar sign in her name means -- that she has been able to bank on being a stereotype.
All of that might explain why she's been able to churn out something that isn't completely horrific. Actually, it's achingly good. A video posted on YouTube two days ago shows off the complete audio of Ke$ha covering Bob Dylan's "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right."
It's all for a compilation called Chimes of Freedom: The Songs of Bob Dylan. Other singers on the compilation include Miley Cyrus, Sugarland and My Chemical Romance.
Ugh. Let's all hope they're secret geniuses, too.
Here are a few other universally despised pop moguls known for their crappy craft, but actually have serious talent, plus a peek at that Ke$ha/Dylan thing (unless it gets nabbed by the YouTube police before you can listen).
Justin Bieber
He has been playing drums since he was two years old and singing since seven-year-olds started to find him cute. Really, can we all agree that Bieber's singing voice pretty much sucks? That's his job by day, though. On the side, he's actually a surprisingly good rapper. I'm not sure if he wrote these rhymes himself or had help. Either way, his flow is sick. You have to give credit where credit is due.
Lady Gaga
If you've already made up your mind about Lady Gaga, you're not going to believe me. I know you're sick of being bombarded with her pop songs, but knowing that she writes them all herself is reassuring. You have to admit, she has an incredible voice. Here, she combines looking normal and that powerhouse range as Stefani Germanotta, NYU college student.
Katy Perry
Remember when Katy Perry played guitar when she first broke onto the scene? No?
Instead, she took her career in the poptart direction, which is cool. She has certainly made more money and gained more exposure branding herself as a popstar, rather than the vintage-wearing, guitar-wielding answer to Zooey Deschanel.
Here, she performs a song she wrote in 2001 as Katy Hudson, the religious songwriter behind the mystique of Katy Perry. Skip to 2:28 for the performance, but the opening talk is pretty adorable.
