Quick Links

They say the devil is in the details.

Looking at the symbols in many music videos and concert performances, you'll find just how true this is. For example, what many refer to as the Rock-On sign (or the Hook 'em Horns hand sign of the Texas Longhorns) also represents the Horned Hand in the Satanic Bible. It's supposedly used as a sign of recognition between members of Satanism. Yet, it's one of the most common gestures in pop culture.

It doesn't end with gestures. Artists throw some scary info in their lyrics too. Sometimes, it's so in-your-face, you have to pause. Take the lyrics from AC/DC's 'Highway to Hell':

"Hey Satan, paid my dues. Playing in a rockin' band"

And this is from an album that went 7 x Platinum!

Whole albums have been devoted to artists telling the world how they love the devil. But it gets scarier when you look at some of the supposedly squeaky clean entertainers and take a moment to really listen.

10. Bob Dylan

When asked in a CBS interview, why he's still touring and performing, he replied with a straight face:

It goes back to the destiny thing, you know, I made a bargain with the (goes silent) a long time ago and I'm holding up my end”

Now, this may just be some debt to a loan shark, right? But his next words are pretty chilling. When pressed by Ed Bradley to explain further he said “I made the bargain to get where I am now with the chief commander on this earth and in the world we cant see”

Oh, and he said he wrote Blowin' in the Wind in 10 minutes. Off the top of his head. He says his earlier songs were “almost magically written”

9. Santana

Carlos Santana was famous in the early 70's, with a couple of top 20 hits. He kept on producing and releasing songs for two decades till the release of his smash hit Supernatural in 1999.

Featuring many much younger artistes, the album went on to earn him nine Grammys! Nothing odd about that, but in an interview with Rolling Stone in 1999, Santana claimed that, whilst meditating, an entity came to him and gave him the list of artists to work with.

In another interview in 2000, he said he tunes into the same invisible radio Jimmy Hendrix tuned into, and he becomes a 'human fax machine'. All he has to do is write down the lyrics and play the music.

It gets freaky, as some of the artists he worked with said he appeared to them even before he approached them about working together. What do you think?

8. Madonna

At 57, Madonna simply refuses to be called a has-been. She's still recording albums for a much younger audience, courting as much controversy as possible and yes she is still as wild and energetic on stage.

Whether it's flashing her bum on the red carpet at the Grammys, dressing up as a high priestess to the Superbowl in 2012 or her mock crucifixion on her 2006 World Tour, she never fails to draw ire. Her actions are seen by many as mocking the Christian faith.

She flirts with using Illuminati-inspired imagery and lyrics where it seems she's conversing with demons. When questioned about it, she is notoriously flippant; in a Rolling Stone interview about her new song 'Illuminati', she said:

"People often accuse me of being a member of the Illuminati, but the thing is, I know who the real Illuminati are and I know where that word comes from."

Take her performance at this year's Grammys, her performance was described as an on-screen satanic ritual. With scantily clad dancers wearing horned masks, theorists debated whether the masks were Baphomet masks or simply staying true to her matador-themed costume.

7. Ke$ha

Take a high pitched voice, add some auto-tune and you have the recipe for a 'good' pop song these days. Add lyrics dripping with angst, scantily clad models grinding on each other and...hey that's every Ke$ha video ever!

She's apparently a very smart young woman, scoring almost perfect SAT scores, but she chooses to push the carefree air-head image. She's also a pretty good writer, penning hits for Ariana Grande, Miley Cyrus and the Veronicas.

Yet most of her songs are dark, filled with debauchery and use highly controversial imagery. Upside crosses, the pentagram used in Satanism and the eye in the triangle are prominent in many of her videos.

In her hit song 'Dancing with the Devil', she sings:

"You and I made a deal

I was young and shit got real

Weaving through Heaven and back...

...I sold my soul, it's a dead-end road

But there ain't no turning back

I keep on dancing with the Devil"

*blank stare*

Little wonder, radios stations across the US pulled her song 'Die Young' in the aftermath of the Newtown Massacre. In an interview with 4Music.com, she actually said she has had sex with a ghost and said it was “fun, spooky and weird.”

What do you think? Is she another poser and all this is carefully calculated? Either way, she needs to remember that she has a very impressionable pre-teen fan base.

6. U2

Forget their album on your new iPhone 6; U2 are way creepier than you could have imagined. In an era where rock bands all glorified devil worship, drugs and drink, Time magazine, once hailed them as the conscience of rock.

But on closer inspection, while their lyrics may not initially sound like full on devil praising, they were pretty clear in their meaning.

From 'Love Rescue Me':

"Though I walk through the valley

of the shadow, yet I will fear no evil.

I have cursed thy rod and staff,

they no longer comfort me"

Further listening to some of their songs, much of their music can actually be considered more blasphemous than even Marilyn Manson!

These may just be lyrics, right? But in a 1999 interview with Gadfly, Bono said “I lie all the time. I only always tell the truth in my songs.”

You decide.

5. Snoop

Tha Doggfather's happy-go-lucky stoner image was a step-up from his breakout image as a hardcore gangsta. A string of hits and collaborations have cemented his place in music history, but Snoop's success seems to have come at a price.

He alludes to doing a deal with the devil in his breakout single, but just look at these lines from 1994's 'Murder was the Case.'

"A voice spoke to me and it slowly started sayin'

"Bring your lifestyle to me I'll make it better"

How long will I live?...

"I'll make your life better than you can imagine.

So relax your soul, let me take control"

These lyrics are further buttressed by the imagery in the video; where a black crow flies into his hospital room and turns into a 'man'. Snoop makes this 'life-saving deal' with the man-crow.

One disturbing scene is where the man-crow morphs quickly into a Jesus like figure and back again theorists interpret this is the Illuminati/Satan mocking Christianity.

4. Shawn 'Jay Z' Carter 

Take the 'Rocafella hand' sign, heavy use of Masonic imagery, even using the tagline of the world's wickedest man, Aleister Crowley and you know who I'm talking about. Shawn Jay Z Carter.

A former drug dealer from Brooklyn's Marcy Projects who has gone on to become one of the worlds richest entertainers (earned $60 million last year.) Though lyrically gifted, Jay reminded us on 1996's Reasonable Doubt that he wasn't a rapper, just a hustler who knows how to rap. Hence the money seems to be the most important thing to him. His uncanny business sense led to investments and deals including flipping stakes in the Brooklyn Nets, Rocawear, the 40-40 Club.

With his constant use of Illuminati linked symbology in his album art, clothing line and music videos, he seems to be alluding that he has done something extra to become the mogul he is. The man hangs out with Warren Buffett and Barack Obama.

With verses like this, from 'Empire State of Mind':

"Hail Mary to the city,

you're a virgin

And Jesus can't save you,

life starts when the church ends"

His influence has spread to his wife Beyonce, protégés Rihanna and Kanye West. Just look at all their lyrics, videos and performances; and note the use of questionable imagery.

3. Katy Perry 

Will the artist formerly known as Kate Hudson stand up?

Katy Perry a.k.a the ex-Mrs Russell Brand has totally ditched her squeaky-clean Christian background as the teen singer Katy Hudson. As one of America's pop princesses, she has sold over 11 million records till date.

How does a singer go from singing and promoting her Christian album to wearing the transparent and sparkly outfit at the 2010 MTV Movie Awards? Looks like the flashing lights and glam of Hollywood happened.

Theorists beg to differ; they claim the dramatic change in character and style hints at a darker force at work. Her rebranding included the introduction of a lot of questionable symbolism and lyrics. In the video for her song, E.T, she played an alien who transforms into a goat legged creature, which led to comparisons with the goat legs of Satan. The song's lyrics included:

"You're so hypnotizing,

could you be the devil?

Could you be an angel?

...they don't understand you."

The story becomes weirder when in 2014, her father referred to her as a 'devil child'. Keith Perry also asked his congregation to pray for her. In a 2009 interview, she talked about wanting to be the next Amy Grant, and when she couldn't, she sold her soul to the devil. Those were her exact words.

With record sales shooting off the charts (her 2010 album “Teenage Dreams” is still on Billboards Top 200, five years later), KP doesn't seem to be slowing down. She also doesn't let the talk about devil worship bother her. When asked about it in a 2014 interview with Rolling Stone, she says she "would like to be invited to join the Illuminati."

This phenomenon isn't only in the music industry. Some actors experience success that is simply unexplainable. Other celebs are famous for well, being famous.

2. Oprah Winfrey 

Oprah was once the world's most popular TV show host. She commands audiences from over 147 countries across the globe. For a girl born in the 50's in rural Mississippi, she's a prime example of how hard work pays off.

Her rise to the top of a male-dominated field and reaping all the benefits that come with it (she's currently worth $ 3 billion), hasn't gone unnoticed by conspiracy theorists. At the beginning of her acting career, she alluded to communicating with the spirits by using channelling. This allowed her to completely immerse herself in roles; in fact she literally seemed to become the character.

The use of channelling and not it's impact on her performance was confirmed by director of the movie Beloved, John Demme who said, “Oprah said it was her desire to channel the spirit of Margaret Garner…This level of infusion of humanity accounts for Oprah’s stunning alchemy and her astonishing abandonment of self in her Beloved performance.”

The story goes that Oprah sought after demonic possession in order to elicit a superior acting performance whereby she might gain a greater influence over her viewers.

Oprah has spoken of her 'moments' where she has episodes with spirit guides. In another interview, she said, “I tried to empty myself and let the spirit of Sethe inhabit me…Every morning, before my scenes, I lit candles and said the names of these slaves. I prayed every day to the ancestors”.

With her support of a New Age doctrine, Oprah continues to fuel speculation about her true beliefs. But all this speculation doesn't keep her from getting richer; she was the first African American woman to get listed on Forbes Billionaire List.

1. Adam Sandler

 Anyone who grew up in the 90's would remember this awful song 'The Thanksgiving Song'. At the time, it seemed catchy, but in retrospect it's just downright revolting. Yet, Mr Sandler has parlayed the SNL beginnings into making over 30 movies, 19 Razzie nominations and five wins, his movies have amassed more than $3.7 billion worldwide!

Folks, he received every Razzie in 2011 for "Jack and Jill". All ten awards!

There are many other celebrities who seem to lack any special skill yet are in the news everyday. There are those that are mediocre, at best, yet seem to rake in tons of cash. In some cases, it may be sheer hard work and hustling, but in others, there seems to be a sinister element to their success.

Sources: illuminatirex.comimdb.comsmosh.com