single-phile: Outsiders

Outsiders have been getting a bit more attention than usual lately, thanks to a little television program called American Idol, which was almost -- almost -- won this season by Adam Lambert. Besides the fact that he may (or may not) be openly gay, Lambert is not the typical American pop star in any sense (at least not typical for this era). Under normal circumstances, you would never find the dramatic vocals, campy theatricality and, especially, that glam-rock look and sound "Glambert" works so well anywhere near the charts. And yet there he is, digging his polished claws into the Hot 100 with -- count 'em -- four singles (one of them in the Top 20). (Also perched rather high on the charts this week? The cover of "Don't Stop Believin'" by the cast of Glee, an entire new TV show built around outcasts and weirdos.)

Like Lambert, BoA is not a cookie-cutter pop star. A South Korean artist who has spent most of her career singing in Korean and Japanese, BoA might not have an easy time breaking into the historically black-and-white (and English-speaking) American market. But she's got a few things working in her favor: she has a track record of conquering foreign charts (she's a huge star throughout Asia, and she's learned some Japanese and Mandarin in pursuit of that goal). That musical multilingualism serves her well on her English debut, a collection of pitch-perfect dance-pop that's very much in the American idiom and that should (should) get some attention. The dark and sassy first single, "Eat You Up," got some airplay (check out the Flo Rida-featuring remix), and this week's "I Did It for Love" (featuring Sean Garrett, who also co-produced the album).

Another outsider artist who proves wrong this whole idea that only people from certain backgrounds can make American charts-worthy pop is Laura Izibor, our Ones to Watch artist for June. A Nigerian-Irish artist who grew up in Dublin and didn't really give music much thought until she was a teenager, Izibor's gorgeous, soulfully sunny debut single is proof of how much thought she puts into it now. "From My Heart to Yours" is expertly crafted neo-soul in the vein of Lauryn Hill and Estelle, though Izibor's husky yet trilling voice puts a distinctive spin on the style.

The U.K. pop industry has always been a bit more open in its definition of pop stardom, which is how so many artists we'd call "indie" make it big there (hi, Beth Ditto!). Chart-watchers there have not been able to shut up for the last several months about La Roux. In anticipation of their upcoming debut, the electro-pop duo has released two singles: the much-ballyhooed (and deservedly so) "Quicksand," a kind of '80s-dance-pop-meets-'60s-girl-group-meets-synth-steel-drums affair; and this week's "In for the Kill." Normally, I'd say La Roux is way too weird and clubby to ever make any headway around these hook-laden charts, but that's what I said about Lady Gaga, too. OK, they're still probably too "out there" to make it here, but fans of Gaga, Robyn, and Annie-style dance-pop should definitely listen up.