Name your lame duck artist........


What artist do you put above all others in terms of lack of talent but somehow has achieved success?

For me Madonna has to be the queen of mediocrity (mediocre being a compliment in this case) - can't sing or act and what's with the fake english accent after living there a whole two years.
And don't get me going with all these new female jazz "singers" with that vomit inducing vibratoless whisper that seems to have become mandatory in that genre today......Jones clones.
thomastrouble
Long ago, Wilson recorded for JMT in Japan, direct to two track tape. The records are available on CD and there is even a sampler. The sound is direct and stripped down and very, very good. The singing is straight ahead mostly standards. The LPs of these sessions are long out of print, but show up from time to time.
conceptually, i'd divide the foregoing into specific categories:

1. artists of no discernible musical ability who nonetheless have value as image makers, trendsetters etc. (madonna,bon jovi, cher)
2. especially annoying ass clowns who nonetheless have musical ability (rod stewart, sting, u2)
3. artists who don't have much musical ability but aren't especially annoying ass clowns and have some visceral nice-guy appeal to their misguided, though harmless fans (jimmy buffet, phil collins)
4. artists who play execrably bad music skillfully (norah jones, dave matthews, john mayer)
5. completely worthless "artists" who have neither charisma or visual appeal and whose derivative, addle-brained product is wholly unlistenable (nickelback)

ergo, by careful analysis you must arrive at the conclusion that the single most worthless performer extant is, in fact, nickleback. who, according to billboard, have sold 30 million records, most of anyone in this decade. consider the karmic implications...