VOTE NOW! Help Decide The Next Pop Superstar of 2013!
This round closes at 9:00 a.m. EST on Wednesday, January 9th.
What: Turn Around
Who: Conor Maynard
Why: Conor is a worthy UK acolyte of the Justin Timberlake school of pop-star genre-hybrid swag. Just don't compare him to that other guy named Justin.
[Listen]
What: New York
Who: Angel Haze
Why: The fiery rapper made headlines last year for her confessional freestyles and underground-scintillating jams, and has already made headlines in 2013 for her new-school feuding with fellow rapper Azealia Banks.
[Listen]
What: Say You're Just a Friend
Who: Austin Mahone
Why: What do you get when you mix Justin Bieber's style with Ryan Lochte's swag? Probably Austin Mahone, a 16-year-old Youtube sensation with a legion of #Mahomies at his beck and call.
[Listen]
What: Spectrum
Who: Zedd
Why: Zedd topped the dance charts with his excellent Matthew Koma-featuring "Spectrum," and can count Lady Gaga and Skrillex among the pop star friends he's done remixes for.
[Listen]
What: Anything Could Happen
Who: Fifth Harmony
Why: This girl group's ecstatic cover of Ellie Goulding's "Anything Could Happen" launched them into the X Factor, where they came in third—just as One Direction did in Britain three years ago. Could lightning strike twice?
[Listen]
What: Change Your LIfe
Who: Little Mix
Why: The latest in a long tradition of British girl groups, Little Mix arrives in the states with stamps of approval from both X Factor audiences (who voted them the winner of the show's eighth season) and Zayn Malik (who is dating member Perrie Edwards).
[Listen]
What: Call Me Maybe
Who: Union J
Why: The four-piece boy band was formed on Season Nine of the British "X Factor," and though they lost the season, their good looks and stellar harmonies were enough to get them a deal with Sony anyway.
[Listen]
What: Swoon
Who: Timeflies
Why: A long way from their days playing dorm parties at Tufts, this electro duo have ridden a wave of social media support to the top of the iTunes charts.
[Listen]