James Joyce Beat Britney to the Dirty Pun

Though she probably had little to do with its edginess, critics say

(NEWSER) - Britney Spears’ new record is actually pretty innovative for a pop album—though Britney herself may have little to do with that.

• Femme Fatale is “the rare dance-pop album that never flags, each track preposterously overstuffed with hooks and sensations,” writes Jody Rosen in Slate . Spears is “a great avant-gardist”: These are some “absurd” tracks, but her “star power provides cover for the weirdness—anything she records, no matter how strange, instantly becomes pop.”

The pop starlet needs to wise up and offer some introspection

(NEWSER) - Britney Spears, and of course her handlers, seem to think she’s ready for a full-on comeback—and judging by the success of new single "Hold It Against Me," she's giving it a good go. But is a Britney comeback possible in the new world of pop, where Ke$ha (who can certainly “offer a few dance hooks in a girl-gone-wild package”) and Lady Gaga (who “has almost single-handedly reinvented the blonde dance beast aesthetic”) have swept in and taken over the spot once held by Brit, wonders Mary Elizabeth Williams on Salon . More»

And, by the way, it's pronounced 'Kesh-a'—not 'Kee-sha'

(NEWSER) - Who the heck is Ke$ha? She’s the decade’s first No. 1 artist on Billboard’s Hot 100, and just had the biggest-selling week of all time, for a female, on iTunes. There's a good chance you've heard the catchy if not lyrically impressive song "TiK ToK", but in case she's not on your radar yet, David Cho has done all the research for you: In a sentence, Ke$ha is “this generation’s pre-Federline Britney Spears,” he writes on The Awl . More»

Singer, tween sensation wants to move on to 'something edgier'

(NEWSER) - The tattoo was only the beginning: Miley Cyrus is ready to shed her pop ways and do "something edgier." The 17-year-old told a British TV show the pop album she's currently working on is "my last for a little while." Up next? A break, during which she'll explore other styles and hopefully change her bubblegum sound. "In a few years, as I grow up, so will my fans," says Cyrus. "I'll be able to have more of the sound of music that I'm into." More»

Pop's newest explosion exploits our obsession with sexuality, salaciousness

(NEWSER) - “Lady Gaga is pretty skanky,” writes James Brady Ryan for Nerve. “That might sound harsh, but there are some facts we all must face: the girl is no fan of pants, for one thing.” She may be crass, outlandish, and over-the-top sexual—but “she is also completely awesome.” And what makes her different from fellow blond sexpots like Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera is that Gaga “is a skank with a brain.” More»