Week of May 21, 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.
LUKE BRYAN
Vote for
HE IS: An accomplished country songwriter who's emerged from the recording studio in recent years as a legitimate solo performer, releasing three full-length albums since 2007.
WHERE HE'S FROM: Leesburg, Georgia. A Southern boy born and bred, Bryan is the son of a peanut farmer and a former frat boy, spending four years at Georgia Southern University before relocating to Nashville to try his hand at a music career.
WHAT HE'S LIKE: A laid-back gentleman, with songs that celebrate the casualness of country living and charity work that seeks to promote education through his own Luke Bryan Farm Tour Scholarship.
HIS HOBBIES: Writing songs for other artists, covering unexpected pop acts in concert (and pulling it off) and dropping by reality competition shows. Also, his most recent videos suggest he may be itching for an acting career.
THE HITS: Last year's Tailgates & Tanlines has produced platinum hits in "I Don't Want This Night To End" and "Country Girl (Shake it for Me)." The latter, one of Popdust's Best of the Year, is an unapologetic crossover for the dance floor set.
THE SONG: With the days growing longer and the drive to do anything productive lessening, it's hard to object to a track that encourages us to make homemade wine and describe the effects of someone's attractiveness with "boom boom." The easy-going guitar riff and Bryan's complimentary lyrics make this the perfect backyard barbecue accessory.
WHERE HE'S FROM: Leesburg, Georgia. A Southern boy born and bred, Bryan is the son of a peanut farmer and a former frat boy, spending four years at Georgia Southern University before relocating to Nashville to try his hand at a music career.
WHAT HE'S LIKE: A laid-back gentleman, with songs that celebrate the casualness of country living and charity work that seeks to promote education through his own Luke Bryan Farm Tour Scholarship.
HIS HOBBIES: Writing songs for other artists, covering unexpected pop acts in concert (and pulling it off) and dropping by reality competition shows. Also, his most recent videos suggest he may be itching for an acting career.
THE HITS: Last year's Tailgates & Tanlines has produced platinum hits in "I Don't Want This Night To End" and "Country Girl (Shake it for Me)." The latter, one of Popdust's Best of the Year, is an unapologetic crossover for the dance floor set.
THE SONG: With the days growing longer and the drive to do anything productive lessening, it's hard to object to a track that encourages us to make homemade wine and describe the effects of someone's attractiveness with "boom boom." The easy-going guitar riff and Bryan's complimentary lyrics make this the perfect backyard barbecue accessory.
SHAKIRA
Vote for
SHE IS: Shakira Isabel Mebarak Ripoll, bilingual, hip-swiveling worldwide pop star. Since debuting on the scene over a decade ago, Shakira has sold over 70 million albums worldwide, more than any other female Latin singer since Gloria Estefan.
WHERE SHE'S FROM: Barranquilla, Colombia, which she has continued to represent through charity work and public appearances, even doing music for the film adaptation of fellow countryman author Gabriel García Marquez' Love in the Time of Cholera.
WHAT SHE'S LIKE: Shakira's music has been the soundtrack to booty-shaking in just about every continent for the last ten-plus years, crossing barriers of language and culture in the mutual interest of getting down. She's worked within the realms of American dance, pop and hip-hop, but never strays too far from her Latin roots, with her last album Sale el Sol being primarily Spanish-language.
HER HOBBIES: Aside from the previously mentioned charity work—check the Philanthropy section on her Wiki page for the complete rundown—Shakira also has her own beauty line, releases her own series of instructional dance videos, and has done a smidge of acting herself, appearing as herself on Ugly Betty and Wizards of Waverly Place.
THE HITS: You probably remember a moderately popular jam from about a half-decade ago called "Hips Don't Lie"—it hit #1 on just about every chart worldwide, sold 11 million copies and ensured that you hear Wyclef's voice going "SHA-KI-RA SHA-KI-RA!!" in your head every time you see her name. Also: "Whenever, Wherever," "She Wolf" and "Waka Waka (One Time For Africa)."
THE SONG: A short, bouncy number with a sneaky-catchy horn part and a nice little piano groove. (And cowbell. No shortage of cowbell.) "Baby I'm addicted to you" is the only English-language lyric in the song, but what more information do you need, really?
WHERE SHE'S FROM: Barranquilla, Colombia, which she has continued to represent through charity work and public appearances, even doing music for the film adaptation of fellow countryman author Gabriel García Marquez' Love in the Time of Cholera.
WHAT SHE'S LIKE: Shakira's music has been the soundtrack to booty-shaking in just about every continent for the last ten-plus years, crossing barriers of language and culture in the mutual interest of getting down. She's worked within the realms of American dance, pop and hip-hop, but never strays too far from her Latin roots, with her last album Sale el Sol being primarily Spanish-language.
HER HOBBIES: Aside from the previously mentioned charity work—check the Philanthropy section on her Wiki page for the complete rundown—Shakira also has her own beauty line, releases her own series of instructional dance videos, and has done a smidge of acting herself, appearing as herself on Ugly Betty and Wizards of Waverly Place.
THE HITS: You probably remember a moderately popular jam from about a half-decade ago called "Hips Don't Lie"—it hit #1 on just about every chart worldwide, sold 11 million copies and ensured that you hear Wyclef's voice going "SHA-KI-RA SHA-KI-RA!!" in your head every time you see her name. Also: "Whenever, Wherever," "She Wolf" and "Waka Waka (One Time For Africa)."
THE SONG: A short, bouncy number with a sneaky-catchy horn part and a nice little piano groove. (And cowbell. No shortage of cowbell.) "Baby I'm addicted to you" is the only English-language lyric in the song, but what more information do you need, really?
POP-OFF RESULTS
-
THIS WEEK
-
May 14, 201246.8%53.2%
-
May 7, 201242.2%57.8%
-
April 30, 201251.5%48.5%
-
April 23, 201218.0%82.0%
-
April 16, 201257.5%42.5%
-
April 9, 201249.2%50.8%
-
April 2, 201270.8%29.2%
-
March 26, 201250.7%49.3%
-
March 19, 201226.0%74.0%
-
March 12, 201254.5%45.5%
-
March 5, 201286.5%13.5%
-
February 27, 20122.7%97.3%
-
February 20, 201242.4%57.6%
-
February 13, 201260.3%39.7%
-
February 6, 201247.8%52.2%
-
January 30, 201231.4%68.6%
-
January 23, 201243.6%56.4%
-
January 16, 201254.7%45.3%
-
January 9, 201257.0%43.0%
-
January 2, 201280.5%19.5%
-
December 19, 201183.3%16.7%
-
December 12, 201163.2%36.8%
-
December 5, 201140.1%59.9%
-
November 28, 201150.4%49.6%
