Oops! She Did It Again

It's not news to anyone, but Britney Spears is back. This week, Britney became the first artist in over a decade to debut a "non-American Idol coronation song" at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. The last artist to do so was Lauryn Hill with "Doo Wop (That Thing)" in November 1998.

Britney's new song, "3" is an absolute trash fest, and I'm not just talking about the song's subject. Though Britney has reached new skanky heights by singing about the appeal of threesomes. I don't even know if you can call "3" a song. It hardly has a hook and Britney's goat bleating (aka singing) is at its worst. The song's appeal is dumbfounding. I'd rather listen Sanjaya Malakar cover No Doubt's "Bathwater." Oh wait, that already happened.

Now I'm not one to have superior musical taste. I have Britney songs like "Oops! I Did it Again" and "Lucky" on my iPod. (At least Britney attempted to have a voice back then.) However, her new "music" has jumped the shark. Sure, "Womanizer" and "Gimme More" were "foot tap" worthy, but don't get me started on "Radar" and "If U Seek Amy."

I'm not sure what Britney's recent success says about the music industry. We live in a time where singers rely on synthesizers and vocal modulation. Some don't even bother to try and sing live (Britney!) while others try but sound heinous (I'm looking at you Katy Perry). Again, I am as big offender as anyone when it comes to falling for catchy music, but when the most talented new singers of the last decade come from reality television, I think we have a problem.

So even though Britney is a talentless hack, at least we have Kelly Clarkson. (You didn't really think I'd write a post on music without bringing her into the mix, did you? Come on now. Lets be serious.) On her new tour, she covers (and absolutely kills) the White Stripes' "7 Nation Army," and shows why there is still hope for the future of pop music. Watch the video below and enjoy.