Taylor Swift
This is not to suggest that Taylor has not experienced pain. Everyone has. But where she fails -- and where most pop music fails -- is that she has not communicated that pain in an honest way. She is not leveling with us, and in music, that doesn't fly.
WHAT'S HAPPENING
A note to moms: If you're thinking about taking your daughters to see Taylor Swift as their first concert, and maybe your first show since the Indigo Girls in 1996, please don't. If you're thinking you'll see a sweet Southern singer/songwriter on stage with her guitar, a few pretty dresses, and simplistic but heartfelt lyrics, you won't.