Does Every Pop Star Have to Be Blonde Now?

Katharine McPhee has gone platinum, following Lady Gaga and Pink. But does it help record sales?

What is up with Katharine McPhee's blond hair? Hate it! Is it a requirement to have blond hair to be a top singer? Madonna, Brit, Jessica Simpson, Christina, Gaga, Shakira, Gwen Stefani...
—Lori S., via Facebook

True, hot blond mess Ke$ha is at the top of the Billboard Hot 100 as I type this, but really? Hair color? As a factor in who tops the charts? Come on.

Besides, to prove your argument, you'd need to solve one of the greatest mysteries of modern man: What the heck is Lady Gaga?

As I type this, Gaga's "Bad Romance" is No. 5 on the Billboard Hot 100, behind Ke$ha, the multitressed Artists for Haiti, the Black Eyed Peas (fronted by often-brunette Fergie) and BedRock. Most of Gaga's wigs are blond, so for our purposes, I guess that's what she is. Still, there's evidence she wasn't always so yellow.

And do you consider Beyoncé to be a blonde or brunette?

Tough to tell, the way she keeps thrashing her hair around in her videos. Seems mostly brunette to me.

At any rate, she ranks No. 2 on Billboard's top-artist chart for all of 2009. And she isn't alone among the dark-haired types: The only other blondes on the list are Taylor Swift (No. 1), Gaga (No. 3), Britney (No. 7). Frequent hair changer Pink came in at No. 10. I consider Miley Cyrus (No. 5) to be a brunette. The Black Eyed Peas (Fergie, again, often brunette) came in at No. 4.

But I'm not quite through shredding your theory. Let's take a look at the biggest artists of the past decade.

Per Billboard, the No. 1 act is Usher, followed by Beyoncé, Alicia Keys, Rihanna (mostly brunette) and Nelly. The only other act on the Top 10 who even comes close? Kelly Clarkson, who sometimes has blond streaks in her hair.

One final fact: The No. 1 debut on the Billboard 200 at this hour? Brown-haired Sade.