The Atlantic

The New Prince of Pablum

In a wave of interchangeable Millennial pop stars, Charlie Puth’s dorkiness on his album <em>Voicenotes</em> proves an asset.
Source: Brendan McDermid / Reuters

It’s been said that the concept of the “guilty pleasure” is outdated. When cool-kid guitar-slinger Ryan Adams Taylor Swift’s plastic pop, when the Pulitzers lend to a platinum-selling rapper, when the musical subversive Grimes capitalist caricature Elon Musk, who are you to fret that any particular Max Martin song or any particular bag of Flamin’ Hot Cheetos is not you? “If you want to listen to Rihanna while reading the latest from Dean Koontz, just go ahead piece “Against ‘Guilty Pleasure,’” and it’s come to feel as though plenty of folks took her advice.

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