The only way to properly bridge the generation gap is by having cultural ubiquity, by having the sort of demographic spread and cross-generational traction that wins elections and appeals to critics, aficionados, and those who simply need something to stick in the CD player when they’re driving to and from work. Oh, and children. Look at the history of any truly mass pop act and they will more than likely have been hugely popular with the under tens…

My own kids love her records, in spite of the fact she doesn’t look or sound like Rihanna, Beyoncé, Lissie, or any of the other female singers they tended to like previously. Although my ten-year-old daughter has some reservations about the subject matter of her songs.

“They’re all about love,” she said to me at breakfast one morning. “Why can’t she write some songs about what it’s like to wake up in the morning or going to the supermarket…”

Excerpted from The Biographical Dictionary of Popular Music by Dylan Jones. The Biographical Dictionary of Popular Music © 2012 by Dylan Jones. All rights reserved. Reprinted by permission of Picador.

Biographical Dictionary of Popular Music: From Adele to Jay-Z (PHOTOS)

More Galleries