Week of March 5, 2012
Two songs enter, but only one will be crowned this week's most awesome new track, as voted by you. The champion's spoils? Gobs of Popdust love, a sparkly championship belt (metaphorical only) and the right to go on and face a fierce new challenger - next week.

GIRLS' GENERATION

Vote for
"The Boys"

  THEY ARE: The nine-strong South Korean girl group, growing in popularity in their home country since their 2007 debut, and currently setting their sights on the international market, even working with renowned US producer Teddy Riley (Michael Jackson, Blackstreet) on their latest album, also entitled "The Boys."

WHERE THEY'RE FROM: Seoul, South Korea, where they've topped the charts with each of their first six albums.

WHAT THEY'RE LIKE: Picture a Korean Pussycat Dolls, multiply them by two (in number, if not necessarily in intensity), and you'll be on the right track. Unlike PCD, however, Girls' Generation has stayed consistent in membership over its five-year existence. And, uh, no burlesque connections. (Check out our slideshow of all their many collective and individual looks here.)

THEIR HOBBIES: Well, they certainly love commercials, endorsing everything in their home country from the Nintendo DSi to Lipton's Iced Tea. Several group members have also done modeling work for Christian Dior.

THE HITS: "The Boys" marked Girls' Generation's sixth straight #1 single in their home country, following such hits as "Gee," "Oh!" and "Hoot." The group's US breakthrough is still slow-coming, with "The Boys" yet to break the Hot 100, though it did scrape the national iTunes charts upon release a few months ago.

THE SONG: "The Boys" is a cocky, strutting boast of how the Girls—specifically those of this Generation—have the ability to bring the boys out. With a hard-hitting beat and some impressive layered chorus harmonies—there are nine of them, after all—"Boys" seems like a single designed for world domination.

TYGA

Vote for
"Rack City"

  HE IS: Tyga, born Michael Nguyen-Stevenson, is a friend to the likes of Patrick Stump and Travie McCoy, but more importantly, part of the Young Money/Cash Money stable of rappers (well, OK, now Limp Bizkit, but mostly rappers), a crew that's been quite good to Lil Wayne, Nicki Minaj, Drake and various other people who get high billing. There are worse gigs to have.

WHERE HE'S FROM: Compton, Calif.

WHAT HE'S LIKE: True, until now he's been overshadowed by Young Money's other artists and best known for guest spots, but the other way to put that is that he's a versatile enough rapper to complement whomever he's with, whether his YMCMB labelmates or others like Gym Class Heroes, Ciara or even Mindless Behavior. Chances are, you've heard him before without knowing it.

HIS HOBBIES: Here's a telling, if much-written-about anecdote: after years of releasing mixtapes and otherwise hustling, he got his break while talking shoes and hip-hop with Travie McCoy at a Flight Club L.A. store. Since then, one imagines he spends most of his time on the latter.

THE HITS: "Coconut Juice," Chris Brown's "Deuces" remix, and the track you're hearing now...

THE SONG: "Rack City," one of 2012's first true breakout songs, is built around a riff so minimalist it might as well not exist; it's one of the most intentionally claustrophobic, ominous productions around right now. Lyrically, it takes a page from YC's earlier "Racks," and "rack city, bitch, rack rack city, bitch" works just as well as its predecessor.