I'm primarily a Mozart and Haydn fan, don't venture much into pop music.
That said, I'm really impressed by Lady Gaga - she's not a "manufactured" pop star, but one who has studied the art and has done her homework. When she was introduced as a guest judge on "So you think you can dance", both Maikki and I shuddered, but not for long. This lady knew her stuff - gave critiques as good as or better than the regular judges. Nowadays there is so much braying that passes for singing. She's had a lot of voice training and it shows. Her performance of the Julie Andrews medley at the 2015 Oscars showed that she can sing. Doing an album with Tony Bennett just highlighted her versatility. The causes she supports aren't bad, either.