Posted by Andrew Unterberger on 01/14/2013 at 10:15 AM News

The Popdust Files: austin mahone, Fifth Harmony, next pop superstar of 2013, tournaments

People have been calling them the next One Direction, and if your enthusiasm for them in our tournament to decide the Next Pop Superstar of 2013 is any indication, they might end up being just that. You guys came out in record numbers to help select Fifth Harmony as the artist most likely to breakout in the coming year, with over 3.5 million votes going to the girl group in the final round. And they needed nearly every one of them to beat runner-up Austin Mahone, who finished with over 3.4 million votes himself.

For those of you still unfamiliar, Fifth Harmony is a late-’90s-style girl-group, consisting of (duh) five members—Ally, Normani, Lauren, Camila and Dinah—assembled from all over the country on the second season of the U.S.’s X Factor. The group wowed viewers with their renditions of contemporary pop hits like Taylor Swift‘s “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” and Ellie Goulding‘s “Anything Can Happen,” advancing to the season’s top three. They finished in third on the show, behind runner-up Carly Rose Sonenclar and winner Tate Stevens, but are reported to be signing to Sony nonetheless.

The competition between Fifth Harmony and the Texas-born teen heartthrob Mahone was a fierce one, with both sides coming out in droves, and the topics “#5HPopdust” and “#IVotedAustinMahone” both trending nationally on Twitter. But despite the considerable efforts of the Mahomies, it was Fifth Harmony that reigned triumphant in our finals, earning the status of the Next Pop Superstar of 2013. Congrats to the quintet, and may their new year be every bit as successful as their fantastically devoted fans have predicted it to be!

See … 17 awesome photos of Fifth Harmony!

(And maybe check out 23 adorable pics of Austin Mahone.)