I've noticed an odd trend in my music preferences lately: a sudden interest in artists whose music I have previously either disliked or been indifferent to. Namely, these artists are Lady Gaga, Lana del Rey, and Kesha(/Ke$ha).
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When Lady Gaga's music first came out, I wasn't really interested because at the time I both just disliked the overly pop/dance-y style music she put out and because I was trying really hard to curate a collection of music that could only be described as "hipster." I've never been super into mainstream pop, and to me, that seemed to be everything Lady Gaga's music was about. I also thought she was super bizarre for no reason (see: meat dress) and I just didn't get the cultural obsession.
Then, last year, came Joanne. I don't remember what exactly made me listen to one of the first singles or which song it was, but I do remember being super surprised that she could actually be musical. I'd liked ArtPop pretty well, but Joanne was a complete departure from her earlier work that really appealed to me. It seemed like each song was so different from each other and each one brought some new dimension to her musicality that I really liked. I especially liked the title song, which really helped me after one of my best friends from high school died of a rare heart condition last summer.
I'm still not into her earlier work, but if her future music is anything like what she put out on Joanne, I'll probably be as excited as everyone else is about it.
Lana del Rey is the second singer I've gotten into lately who I honestly used to hate. I did actually try to get into her music when it first came out because I saw her as a little cooler and more unique than most mainstream pop artists, but her voice made me uncomfortable and I thought all of her songs sounded the same. I still kind of think that, but now I'm more into her voice, which, in my opinion, often sounds like she's having a musical orgasm for the length of whatever song she's singing. The song "Carmen" drives me totally nuts for some unknown reason, but other than that I really like her first album. I haven't listened to the second two as much, and I have yet to have the funds to buy Lust for Life, but I've liked the clips and songs I have been able to listen to from it.
I still hate that she said that feminism doesn't "interest" her, and if I'm honest, that was also one of my main reasons for hating her. I feel a little guilty for liking her now because she hasn't changed her stance on that as far as I know, unlike, say, Taylor Swift, who I used to dislike for the same reason (though, let's be honest, T. Swift is a total white feminist). However, this has not stopped me from putting her music on playlists for long car rides or singing her music in the shower, even though my voice is not quite low enough to reach the full stretches of her range (the pains of being probably a mezzo soprano). Lana del Rey is definitely more of a guilty pleasure artist for me because of her views on feminism, but even I have to admit now that her music can be pretty enjoyable, despite it often sounding very similar.
The singer I recently got into who inspired this whole post is Kesha. I never listened to her early music for the same reasons I didn't listen to Lady Gaga (too much pop and trying to be a hipster). I don't think I could ever get into her albums before Rainbow, but damn, Rainbow. I feel like Rainbow is such a good contemporary album and so many of the songs spoke to me, which I was totally shocked by. One of the reasons I tend to prefer music that's more on the indie side of things is because it typically goes into deeper emotions than pop music, but when I first listened to Kesha's new album, I was definitely hanging off every lyric, even "Hymn" and "Praying," despite not being a religious person. Plus, her voice is perfection and she has so many fun songs.
I feel kind of weird about liking Kesha for the same reasons I feel weird about liking the other musicians on this list (mainly because they're so popular and that's normally something I try to avoid), but I'd like to think I'm getting more comfortable with the idea of liking musicians and other artists just because I like them and not because I'm trying to be a certain way or prove something to myself or other people. Maybe these aren't the most intellectual or creative artists out there, but I like them, and I'm starting to realize that maybe that's enough.
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