Let's face it. Humans love a great conspiracy theory. People always want to think that they've cracked a case no-one else has, and guess what? We're no different!
We've taken a look at some of our favourite music-related conspiracy theories (including a couple of ones that have been confirmed/nearly confirmed), to understand what makes them so exciting. Some of them are pretty out there, but you have to admit that the evidence is pretty convincing. The truth is out there...
David Bowie predicted Kanye West's birth
There's a school of thought that believes David Bowie predicted Kanye West's birth, and the evidence is somewhat convincing. Firstly, on the cover of his 1982 album, The Rise And Fall Of Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars, an album about a fictional alien rock star, there's a sign that says, "K. West". Could this be referring to Kanye?
That's not the only evidence from the album, though. There's also a track on it called Five Years. Guess who was born five years after the album's release? (Spoiler, it's Kanye).
On David Bowie's last album, Blackstar, the title track features the lyrics, “Something happened on the day he died / Spirit rose a meter and stepped aside/ Somebody else took his place, and bravely cried/ ‘I’m a blackstar, I’m a blackstar!’” People have speculated that these lyrics are referring to Kanye - and with Bowie gone, there's no way to know.
When David Bowie passed away, Kanye wrote, “David Bowie was one of my most important inspirations, so fearless, so creative, he gave us magic for a lifetime.” Maybe David Bowie saw Kanye West's birth and knew his legacy would eventually be left in his hands. There's no real way to tell for certain.
Dr. Dre started Burning Man
Back in 1986, Larry Harvey, Jerry James and a couple of friends burned a 9-foot wooden man on a beach in San Francisco. This is widely considered the beginning of the Burning Man festival. However, the truth might be a bit different.
A letter from Dr. Dre in 1995 suggests that he came across a group of people setting up for Burning Man, and he found out that thousands of people were coming along for a free festival. He was looking for a location for an upcoming video shoot with Hype Williams, and he met the group of people.
As the theory goes, he discovered that no-one was paying any money for the festival - so he swooped in and got involved. Coincidentally (or not), 1995 was the first year that Burning Man charged for admission...
The Daily Beast reached out to Dr. Dre's camp to confirm his involvement, and it was denied. However, that might just be a red herring. If you want to learn more about the conspiracy, there's a whole Tumblr dedicated to it. Once you've gone down the rabbit hole, there's no coming back.
Bella Poarch is a cyborg
This one doesn't really have any basis in fact, but it does make us laugh. On a TikTok live, someone asked if Bella Poarch was a robot. She responded in Tagalog, saying, "Robot daw ako tangina. Anong klaseng tanong yon? Robot daw ako upakan kita diyan eh."
Translated, that means, Am I a robot?" She/He said I'm a robot, what the fuck? What kind of question was that?" Robot? I'mma beat your ass Anyways... Um.... Yeah." Pretty strong denial - but then again, that's exactly how we think a robot would respond...
Britney Spears was paid by the White House to create controversies
Pop culture and politics often cross over, but not always like this. Fans have often suspected that Britney Spears was in cahoots with the White House to distract people from important moments in George W. Bush's presidency, and the evidence is pretty convincing.
For example, just before the United States V. Libby case, the trial of a former high-ranking official in President Bush's administration, Britney married Jason Alexander in Vegas - only for their wedding to be annulled 55 hours afterwards.
That's not the only coincidence, though. A day before the 2006 midterm elections, Britney split with Kevin Federline, ensuring that they would be dominating the headlines.
In 2007, Britney found herself in the news again after shaving her head, and George Bush used the opportunity to increase the number of American troops deployed to Iraq. Veeeeery interesting timing...
In the film Fahrenheit 9/11, Britney publicly placed her trust in President Bush, saying, "Honestly I think we should trust our President in every decision that he makes and we should just support that and be faithful to what happens." Do you believe in coincidences?
Lorde is an anonymous onion ring critic
While this one has actually been proven to be true, we still love talking about it. Back in 2017, a new onion ring critic emerged onto the scene, @onionringsworldwide. Unfortunately, Lorde was exposed as the owner of the account, and it went dormant.
Thankfully, towards the end of 2020, the account was revived, with Lorde posting, “This reviewer stopped ordering onion rings after her identity was leaked to the press in the great debacle of 2017. I’d get a smile and a wink from waitstaff — it got embarrassing, you know? But it occurred to me that some things are too good to let the internet spoil.”
It was a fitting end to the crazy year that was 2020. Since then, Lorde has been reviewing circular fried treats, and even releasing new music. All's well that ends well.
Kendrick Lamar used a body double at the Day N Vegas
We wrote about this one back in 2019, but it's too good not to share again. Fans at the 2019 Day N Vegas festival were convinced that Kendrick Lamar had someone stand in for him. ScHoolboyQ even got involved and suggested that he was looking for more stage time!
It was me.. I needed more den 30mins ? https://t.co/Og1Ug1LNa5
— ScHoolboy Q (@ScHoolboyQ) November 5, 2019
Fans took to social media to post footage from the show, and while we're pretty sure it IS Kendrick Lamar in the video, it wouldn't be the first time an artist has used body doubles - the late MF DOOM was infamous for sending along DOOM clones to shows.
Why wasn’t Kendrick Lamar performing??? #DayNVegas and who was this??? pic.twitter.com/g9CXgkUbeL
— Cristina (@tinalovesyou91) November 4, 2019
READ MORE: Hooligan Hefs And UK Legend Tinie Throw It Back To Summer In Their Huge Remix Of 'SEND IT!'
Taylor Swift travels in a suitcase
Zayn Malik revealed to British Vogue that Taylor Swift actually travels in a suitcase sometimes to avoid paparazzi. With his eyes wide open, he told them, "She was travelling around in a suitcase".
Back in 2018, photos emerged of security guards carrying around a human-sized suitcase into a car outside Swift's apartment. You can check out the photos thanks to Consequence Of Sound here. We have to admit, it's a genius way to avoid being photographed. Maybe we'll give it a try?
