Pink

Though more feisty than subversive, Dead confirms Pink's status as our foremost anti-pop pop star. Most are torched love songs -- bitterly (and predictably) cathartic -- but "Dear Mr. President" teams the colorful chanteuse with flamboyant folk stars The Indigo Girls. "You've come a long way from whisky and cocaine," Pink comments to an unnamed politician.

With American Idol rampant, it's nice to have this emotional hipster sticking her celebrity cred in the stupid world's face. She overdoes the ballads, but what kind of teen idol could she be if she didn't? She's got turf to claim before dropping "Dear Mr. President," which assumes, correctly, that Bush did coke and teens care about the homeless. If there's a Bono song like that, the stupid world missed it. And if stardom slips through Pink's cleavage, she's got an answer: "You don't have to like me any more/I've got money now." No, she doesn't mean it--that's just a smarter than usual woe-is-stardom song. Much smarter than usual. (Grade - A-)