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Unicultism: A system of belief created by pop star cult leader Unicole Unicron in order to raise herself out of the pits of despair and into a state of near-constant joy. It may seem strange to some, but the Unicult has been gaining a devout following in the 2 months since MTV aired an episode of True Life, a documentary series, called I'm Starting A Religion. I first heard about the Unicult, like many others, through True Life in December 2015. From first glance I quite honestly thought Unicole Unicron was a deranged hippie tripping on shrooms. Her strange make up and even stranger clothing led me to make a lot of irrational judgments of a complete stranger. The more I heard her ideas of spirituality, inner peace, love and acceptance the more I realized how much in common I have with her. After the episode ended, I looked her up. I had so many questions. I needed answers. What was her gimmick? Was this all a joke to her? She can't be serious about this stuff, right? I came across one of her websites and began reading everything she had posted. For some reason I was drawn to the Unicult; it almost felt like an overnight obsessions, though I wasn't sure why. I don't consider myself religious or spiritual, if anything I identify as atheist, but the Unicult was unlike anything I'd seen before. There were no exclusions, no one was being judged, everyone was accepted. It was the first and only belief system based purely around inner happiness. Upon further reading, I found the answers to my questions. This was not a gimmick. This was not a joke. Unicole Unicron was very serious. The passion she has for herself, her beliefs and the desire to spread happiness is something you can't fake. Besides, who could ever disagree with wanting happiness? One of the main concepts of the Unicult is to create your own reality. You create your own set of beliefs. You aren't chained to outdated and patriarchal expectations. You create your own path to happiness. The idea of self-sufficient ascension and 'belief makes real' have been extremely important to me during my recovery of alcoholism and depression. I've begun to look deeper within the initial feelings I had towards Unicole. Why was it easier for me to place negative judgments onto a stranger than to listen and learn from them? Why was my initial thought to tear down another woman? We've been brainwashed since birth to degrade ourselves and other women. We're taught other women aren't deserving of happiness. We're taught to be envious and hateful creature. We've been brainwashed to hold each other up on this unrealistic standard of beauty and social standards. Realizing these things impacted me. It's helped deepen my feminism. It's helped me become a more conscious thinker. Several weeks ago I made the conscious decision to follow through the Unicult's brainwashing program. I know, brainwashing? Is she serious? Believe me, I had the same initial reactions as you do. But within a week I began to view the world in way I didn't think was possible. The constant negativity, shame and envy I felt was a valid and normal aspect to the human experience began to leaving my body. My initial thoughts turned from judgments to curiosity. I could feel myself becoming a better version of myself. Today, I have been gift with the opportunity to interview someone I admire deeply. Someone who has challenged me to become a better person. Someone who has strengthened by sense of well being. Someone I hope you find inspiration in, Unicult founder Unicole Unicron. Since being on True Life, how has your life changed? Has the exposure impacted the Unicult in anyway? The opportunity I was given by being on MTV helped a lot of my dreams become true! I have finally started reaching a large number of people with my messages which has always been my intent. I was able to quit my job in tech and dedicate myself 100% to my video healing services, online store UNICULT Supply Co, and strengthening the materials of UNICULT to benefit the members. What would you consider the biggest misconceptions about you and the Unicult? It's difficult for me to even know how people are understanding what I'm putting out. The only miscommunication I ever see are when people don't give the ideology the attention it deserves and assume, based on the name "UNICULT" that we're "evil" or something. I'm not really sure how you could think that after learning about UNICULT for more than 5 minutes though. You describe yourself as a Pop Star Cult Leader; what musicians have impacted you the most? Who was the first pop star you admired? Has your connection to them changed over the years? I was a preteen when Britney Spears first came on the scene and her whole trajectory has been deeply inspirational to me. The walls of my room growing up were always plastered with celebrity pictures cut out from magazines. I adore celebrities. I couldn't be my true self and get the respect I have if Lady Gaga didn't exist. I owe so much to Lady Gaga for paving the way for me and setting everything up perfectly just as she has Madonna to thank. My life-long idolization has recently turned into a pure colleague energy with these people as I have become truly empowered and see no one above or below me. Recently you released a self-made, self-edited and self-staring pornographic film entitled Uniporn. What lead you to chose this form of expression? It's based on my understanding of Pavlovian response in humans. Repetitive pleasure reward with violent, detrimental, or shame-inducing media deeply, deeply affects our psyche. UNIPORN uses the power of sexuality, which is absolutely holy, and pairs it with ascension rather than shame. Below are a few questions asked by PopHatesFlops members: Will you buy Crybaby by Melanie Martinez on iTunes? Ha! I just wrote her a letter yesterday. I have really high hopes for MM and I hope she takes her power back in the public eye. Favorite flavor of tea? Gypsy Cold Care is the bomb! I also grow my own chamomile and drink it a lot for its healing properties. Star Wars or Star Trek Trek probably but I haven't spent too long with either. Lana Del Rey or Halsey? How could you compare two people? But I am totally obsessed with Lana. She's way more magical than people realize. You can tell it kind of annoys her and I sympathize. Do you feel that sex is an acceptable way to gain success? Would you consider, as one member worded it, fuck your way up to the top? There's a difference between trying to sleep with the right people and using your sexuality to gain attention. Both are holy but for me, the latter is more empowering. I see clearly how much potential there is for sexual healing for us all and when we are able to do that society will reflect it. More authentic sexual expression is hugely important for this. There's nothing "wrong" with sexuality and it's funny that you can get famous through it, as we all have it. What can we look forward to in the upcoming months? Now that I'm done with UNIPORN, I'm glad to dedicate myself to providing next-level video healing, making fairy tale ASMR videos, and working on my music project Outside Time and Space with Jeremy Garner. We'll be touring with our new album AbrAcAdAbrA later this year. For more information regarding Unicole and the Unicult please watch this the intriguing tale of the Unicult's birth told by Unicole Unicron or check out her social media accounts.

This past Monday at the 58th Grammy Awards, Lady Gaga partnered with Intel to pay tribute to the late music icon David Bowie. Gaga and Bowie fans alike praised Gaga for her incredible vocal performance and undeniable appreciation for Bowie's musical craft. Though some compared her attire to a down town L.A. Elvis impersonation, Lady Gaga, without a doubt, was the highlight of the entire show. In honor of the late rock icon, here's a look back at our 10 favorite David Bowie covers. 10. Kittie - Space Oddity Kittie, a Canadian heavy metal band, contributed a cover of to one of Bowie's most well known songs, Space Oddity, on the 2015 tribute album A Salute To The Thin White Duke. Lead singer Morgan Lander toned down her normally abrasive vocals to give Kittie fans a new perspective of her vocal abilities. Though the performance is lacking the emotional depth of other covers on the list, it is great to see Kittie drift away from the style they are most know for (such as fan favorites Never Again and Flower Of The Flesh & Blood) and to give non-metal fans a glimpse into the hidden vocal abilities of heavy metal singers. 9. Behemoth - Hello Spaceboy While this may be the most controversial and disliked choice on this list, blackend death metal band Behemoth covered Bowie in a very unique fashion. While most artists try to keep the covers as close to the original as possible, Behemoth dared to record the most unusual Bowie cover to date. The belligerent vocals and classic black metal instrumentals are a testament to the universal appeal of Bowie's music. 8. A Camp - Boys Keep Swimming A Camp, a side project of The Cardigan's lead singer Nina Persson, included this overlooked Bowie classic on their 2009 EP Covers. Persson, known for such hits as Love Fool and My Favourite Game, transformed this vocally haunting yet unapologetically upbeat hit into an anti-patriarchal anthem that Bowie himself would undeniably praise. 7. My Chemical Romance (feat. The Used) - Under Pressure In 2005 rock bands My Chemical Romance and The Used teamed up for this top 40 charity single to support victims of the Indian earthquake and tsunami. Originally performed by Bowie and fellow rock icon and Queen front man Freddie Mercury, this modern rock cover is a stand out song in both band's discographies. Without a doubt, the best performance comes from a MTV live duet shown below. Bert McCracker (The Used front man) and Gerad Way (My Chemical Romance front man and now solo singer) harmonized their post-hardcore and emo vocals to rejuvenate a classic song while also blessing viewers with one hell of a performance. 6. Bruce Dickinson - All The Young Dudes style="box-sizing: border-box; font-weight: bold;"><a data-cke-saved-href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qu4uzJsqIxE" href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qu4uzJsqIxE" rel="external nofollow">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qu4uzJsqIxE</a><br style="box-sizing: border-box;">   Iron Maiden lead singer Bruce Dickinson created one of the most brilliant Bowie penned covers of all time on his first solo album <em>Tattooed Millionaire.</em> He was able to keep all the things we love from the original while providing Iron Maiden fans with the effortless belting he is most known for. Bowie purists almost unanimously agree that though the video is a bit strange Bruce recorded one of the best Bowie covers of all time.  Iron Maiden lead singer Bruce Dickinson created one of the most brilliant Bowie penned covers of all time on his first solo album Tattooed Millionaire He was able to keep all the things we love from the original while providing Iron Maiden fans with the effortless belting he is most known for. Bowie purists almost unanimously agree that though the video is a bit strange Bruce recorded one of the best Bowie covers of all time. 5. Marilyn Manson - Golden Years What may seem like another oddity on this list is the spooky kid himself Marilyn Manson. While his inclusion may seem odd to some, Manson has cited Bowie as one of his greatest inspirations several times over his nearly 3 decade career . Manson's version is a perfect blend of Bowie's uptempo funk and Manson's industrial rock, creating one of Manson's most accessible songs. 4. Barbra Streisand - Life On Mars The year was 1974 and Barbra Streisand had just finished recording ButterFly - which she described to Larry King in 1992 as her least favorite album. Her producer and then boyfriend Jon Peters rushed an album of modern songs in an attempt to cash in on Babs' success. Though the top 20 album is the most forgettable out of her 40+ album discography, Streisand did record the most alluring rendition of Life On Mars. The tale of a young woman seeking movie stardom is evocative of Streisand's first film role as Fanny Brice in Funny Girl as well as Streisand's own early desires for fame and celebrity. 3. Joan Jett - Rebel Rebel Dubbed the 'Queen Of Rock', the better suited 'Rock Goddess' Joan Jett included her remarkable cover of her friend David Bowie's Rebel Rebel on her album of rarities Flashback. Lyrically, the song is complimentary towards the juvenile successes and androgynous appearances of both Jett and Bowie. Stylistically it fits perfectly into any album by the rock rebels. Joan Jett effortlessly possesses the rock n roll spirit this song was made for. 2. Jessica Lange - Life On Mars Fans Of American Horror Story will quickly recognize this Teutonic rendition performed by freak show owner Elsa Mars. Set in 1952, nearly twenty years before Bowie's original release, Elsa Mars, played by Jessica Lange, takes the stage dressed in a tortoise suite and eye shadow, similar to the ensemble worn by Bowie in the Life On Mars music video. At first, AHS fans were a bit shocked to hear Lange's comic German accent, but by the end of the song Twitter was filled unanimous praise and admiration. 1. Amanda Palmer (feat. Jherek Bischoof & Anna Calvi) - Blackstar Forum favorite Amanda Palmer recently released Strung Out In Heaven: A Bowie String Quartet Tribute in honor of the late music pioneer. Palmer, who is known for her 'punk rock cabaret' style of music, beautifully crafted one of the first covers of the recently released Blackstar. The eeriness of Bowie's vocals can't compare to the unearthly chill of hearing Palmer softly chant 'something happened on the day he died', evoking a sense of despair for all fans to hear. The narrative of the song quickly changes from a tale of a stranger to a recounting of a cultural legend. You can stream Strung Out In Heaven on Amanda Palmer's bandcamp page. Do you agree with this list? Were your favs snubbed? Discuss your favorite Bowie covers below.