Funny thing is the OP can't even stick to his arbitrary standards. Taylor Swift should fit your definition of a real artiste perfectly - she started out on her own doing local performances, signed with an indie label, writes all her own material - yet you spend a couple of paragraphs deriding her supporters.
Apparently what is actually baffling to you is that artists you don't like can be liked and critically acclaimed by others. So I shouldn't be surprised that you're asking all the wrong questions.
When you publically admit that you don't care about the quality of the music, like you did, just the machinations behind the scenes, you admit that you're a fraud whose only interest is image and superficial values, and that artistry is the last thing on your mind. That's YOU, Messofanego, and that's not a preconception, that's solid empirical research.