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This is some soulful, sentimental pop that starts with a piano-driven lead and proceeds to tell a bittersweet love story. The trio’s frontman, Danny O’Donoghue, engages with a conversational delivery, before diving into well-timed harmonies and a booming chorus filled with vocal swells reminiscent of Coldplay’s Chris Martin.

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Kick back, snack on some chips, and soak in the sunny vibe. Newcomer Little Jackie plays corner reporter on “The Stoop,” relaying big-city buzz from the steps of a Brooklyn brownstone. Imani Coppola is responsible for the free-flowing pop/R&B vocals, while beatsmith Adam Pallin takes credit for the production — a bouncy Motown-style rhythm spiked with horns and keys. File somewhere between Amy Winehouse and Lauryn Hill.

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Lenka is a pop singer from Sydney, Australia, whose song “The Show” is a sugary bit of indie-tinged sweetness. It’s hard not to use the word “cute,” but there it is and we mean it in the most endearing sense possible. The pianos are jaunty and give the track a bit of bounce that’s furthered by the subtle horns in the backdrop. Lenka’s little-girl-lost vocals are the clincher, though. By the end, it’s impossible not to start grabbing hands anonymously and trying to skip, frolic, and otherwise enjoy life.

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Chilean teen pop sensation Kudai set its sights on the U.S. with the band’s third studio album Nadha, the first to be released here in the States. The song “Lejos de Aquí” is an electro-tinged pop track with airy vocals and lyrics focused on global warming, reminding us that we all have to take responsibility for our actions that impact future generations.

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Belanova shows that synth pop is not just the playground of tech-savvy Brits or Americans. On “One, Two, Three, Go!,” the Guadalajara, Mexico, trio (Denisse Guerrero, Edgar Huerta, Ricardo Arreola) cut loose with programmed beats, shout-along hooks and Guerrero’s high-pitch yelp reminiscent of Le Tigre’s Kathleen Hanna. “One, Two, Three, Go!” is a sweet blast of international pop, equally useful on the treadmill and the dance floor.

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A star of screens both small and large, Ximena Sariñana has also flirted with music throughout various periods in her young career. But the music contained on her official full-length debut, Mediocre is her most complete statement yet. Her individual songwriting style has a wounded jazzy style that is somewhere between Norah Jones and Fiona Apple, but she has a more evocative way of enunciating - and the instrumentation has a luscious, rock-edged feel.

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Cut from the same singer-songwriter cloth as Jack Johnson and Jill Sobule, Tristan Prettyman applies a warm Carnauba wax to her acoustic California pop, then burnishes it to a deep glow. A troubadour in flip-flops, Prettyman’s sunny take on heartbreak, “Madly,” appears on her second album Hello.

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Madita comes to us from the world of downtempo electronics,where she has made a name for herself as a vocalist. Her debut album has less identifiable trappings - integrating classic soul, jazz, and pop with uninhibited style. Try “Better Brother” today.

If you like the track, check out the album.  Or visit Madita’s MySpace page.

Don’t miss a single performance.  Immediately following the FOX broadcast, pre-order your favorites and you’ll receive and email as soon as they are available for download.  Some of the performances will be offered as a free download while others are offered at the normal iTunes audio price of 99 cents.

 The current free download for American Idol is by Renaldo Lapuz and his performance of We’re Brothers Forever.

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The quartet known as I Nine from South Carolina first came to our attention when they were included on the soundtrack to Cameron Crowe’s film Elizabethtown. Now the group’s Avril-meets-Evanescence mixture of moodiness and big pop hooks is available as our Single of the Week.