The Flaming Lips' recent collaboration with Miley Cyrus might seem like a bizarre and unprecedented mash-up, but this is far from the first time that a pop star has worked with an alternative musician. Here are eight pop stars that have collaborated with alternative artists.
1. Kesha
Miley Cyrus isn't the only pop star that the Flaming Lips have worked with: in 2012, Wayne Coyne worked extensively with Kesha, including the opening track to the band's 2012 collaborative album The Flaming Lips and Heady Fwends, as well as the song "Past Lives" for Kesha's album Warrior. Kesha would also work with Iggy Pop on the album, with the song "Dirty Love."
2. Kanye West
Though he's primarily known as a hip-hop artist, Kanye West has stated that he actually listens to more rock and indie music than hip-hop. His appreciation for indie rock has resulted in some of his more peculiar collaborations, including Bon Iver, who he worked with on his song "Monster" from 2010's My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy.
3. Norah Jones
After her debut album Come Away With Me won eight Grammies and sold a staggering 26 million copies, Norah Jones found herself in high demand, and has collaborated with a huge number of artists since. Though her work on Belle & Sebastian's "Little Lou, Ugly Jack, Prophet John" made sense, as both artists have a knack for traditional pop songwriting, her collaboration with the famously avant-garde Mike Patton for his Peeping Tom project was very surprising and uncharacteristic.
4. Paul McCartney
Though Paul McCartney had handled the production for most of his solo albums through the '70s, '80s, and '90s, for 2005's Chaos and Creation in the Backyard, McCartney worked with Radiohead and Beck producer Nigel Godrich, who more recently is also known as a member of experimental electronic bands Ultraista and Atoms for Peace.
5. Kylie Minogue
Singer Kylie Minogue might be known for her slick dance-pop sound, but 1995 saw the release of "Where The Wild Roses Grow," a sinister duet with fellow Australian Nick Cave for his album Murder Ballads, which as its title suggests, is an album made up entirely of gothic murder ballads.
6. Alicia Keys
For the 2008 James Bond film Quantum of Solace, Jack White was hired to write the theme "Another Way To Die," which he performed with R&B singer Alicia Keys, the first ever duet for a Bond theme. Not everyone was happy about the collaboration, though: Oasis' Noel Gallagher was quite angry that a Bond theme was performed "by a bunch of f**king Americans."
7. Boy George
Though Boy George was a massively successful artist during the '80s as the lead singer for the Culture Club, he hasn't been nearly as active in the last decade. In 2005, however, George contributed vocals to Antony & the Johnson's heart-wrenching ballad "You Are My Sister" from its award winning LP I Am A Bird Now.
8. Elton John
An Elton John and Queens of the Stone Age collaboration might seem like something that would only happen at the Grammys, but the two actually worked together on QOTSA's 2013 album ...Like Clockwork, which featured John on piano and backing vocals for the song "Fairweather Friends."
What other pop stars have worked with alternative artists? Let us know in the comments section!
