Clarkson, defended.

Last week, I asked for an explanation of Kelly Clarkson's popularity in Boston's hipster community. Got a handful of emails, but here's my favorites (sorry guys, didn't feel like editing your work, so bear with me):

Jay Breitling guessed that "it's because Ted Leo covered "Since You Been Gone" (and mashed it up with Yeah Yeah Yeah's "Maps," no less). As Mr. Leo goes, so goes the indie body politic."

Chris Wyman admitted that "we want to hate Ms. Clarkson; we really do. You could compare her success in hipster circles to the lingering popularity of The Monkees in hipster circles... in theory, we should hate the pre-fab four and everything they represent, but we can't deny the fact that The Monkees Project was responsible for producing some amazingly great music and television... In theory, we should hate both the American Idol pageant and Ms. Clarkson for being its first crownee. But, somehow, the artist in question has managed to rise above her schlocky, golden-ticket beginning and proven all of our instincts wrong."

And Melissa Lo, writing from sunny California, explained it thusly: "Unlike some pop stars who launched their careers on the stilettos of exoticism (Rihanna) or others who are talented but who try way too hard to channel Jean Harlow (Christina Aguilera and, obviously, Gwen Stefani who even got the chance to play Harlow in "The Aviator"), Clarkson managed/manages to top the charts because of her talent. She's not the prettiest and she doesn't have the hottest body, but she's got something better -- a killer voice. With her around, it almost feels like pop justice has been served!"

Right on.