Smart Pop I'm into

Okay, Call me lazy, or populist or whatever you want, but I have become a big fan of three female artists that iTunes has been sort of pushing down our collective throats.

1. Mindy Smith - Allison Kraus sound, with a little less of the "baby voice". All but three of the songs are great and there's a very cool cover of Dolly Parton's "Jolene" in which DP sings back-up. The two sound amazing togther. Lyrically a bit simplistic, but it's her soul that gives her music teeth. SAMPLE 1
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2 Sara Bareilles - Probably my favorite of the three - Bareilles is a serious force of talent. Amazing lyircs and piano abilities. Great summer album with a lot of "must turn up" kind of catchy tunes and a few real heartbreakers. She can't possibly be old enough to be this mature. Great stuff.
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3. Colbie Caillat - Clean and polished, in the good and bad sense of those words. It's immediaely likable, but perhaps a little shallow. But she's young. I hope that her "cuteness" doesn't make her into a darling of "the bubble gum" or godforbid, booty-shaker portion of the industry. Nelly Furtado was another pretty little thing with a great first album, and look what happened to her.
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So, anyway, I've decided this is my style. I love some folk-rock, (Indigo Girls and Ani Difranco), but I've discovered I'm pretty much a sucker for singer-songwriters who can find a hook and whose lyrics are at least clever.