Jessie J Actually Has A Great Voice, Not That That's Enough These Days

If you’d only read about Brit singer Jessie J previous to seeing her on Saturday Night Live over the weekend, you may have been shocked to discover that she could, you know, sing. The headlines regarding the artist (in the U.S., at least) have been about her writing songs for Britney, wearing skimpy outfits and being bisexual.

To be fair, the sex stuff is relevant, since Jessie J has a hit called “Do It Like A Dude, in which she sings:

Hey, pour me a beer
No pretty drinks, I’m a guy out here
Rollin’ rollin’ rollin’ rollin’ money like a pimp
My B I T C H’s on my dick like this
Dirty dirty dirty dirty dirty dirty sucker
You think I can’t get her like you, you motherfucker….

Let’s not even get into whether or not she is reinforcing gender stereotypes or busting them. Let’s focus on the heart of the matter: Jessie J can sing! She doesn’t need Britney Spears, crazy outfits or carefully marketed bisexuality. Check out the video at the top of the post, shot by Arcade44 and Giant Step in a New York City subway station: Jessie J can sing. She’s riveting when stripped of the bells and whistles and crutches most other pop stars rely on. She’s gifted, and it’s a pleasant surprise. Which really says something about what we expect from our pop stars right now.