Unlike the others, MTV proudly gives the power to the people as our experts hand pick the ten most-likely-to’s, then let YOU decide who will be 2010’s brightest new star!

Last year you guys voted in droves with your hearts and fingers, and crowned Little Boots your top-tip for 2009 with a whopping 40% of the vote!

Now, as one decade closes and another opens, MTV proudly presents the class of 2010.

Take a look at this year’s contenders below, watch their videos and exclusive MTV live sessions, then pick your favourite and cast your vote.

As a thanks for voting, if you supply us with your email address, one lucky person and a friend will win tickets to all three of our exclusive 10 For 10 gigs at the end of January, 3 nights accommodation at rock ‘n’ roll hotel The K West AND a recording studio experience!

via MTV.co.uk

Drake talked to Billboard recently. Check it out.

Drake isn’t a singer-and he’s the first to admit it. When he released his highly touted 2009 mixtape “So Far Gone,” which finds the Toronto-raised artist singing and rapping, he thought he made a huge mistake. “People were like, ‘What is this? There’s way too much singing on here,’ ” he says. “We were really nervous about it and for like a week I was having a serious breakdown.”

But a month later, Drake, born Aubrey Graham, realized there was a method to the madness. “Within like four weeks I noticed I had a brand-new sound that takes a while to digest and understand. Things started to pick up and I started to learn the value of taking risks,” he says.

Now, the venture is paying off. Last month when the Grammy nominations were announced, Drake learned he was up for best rap solo performance and best rap song for “Best I Ever Had” off “So Far Gone.”

“I can’t say this is unexpected, because, I mean, it’s something that’s kept me up many nights,” the 23-year-old says. “I dreamed about this for a lot of years and have lost lots of sleep over it. This is like the highest honor and I am humbled by this. It’s one of the few awards that isn’t a popularity contest; you have to make great music to be honored, and this is completely surreal to me.”

It’s an honor, however, that has an unintended side effect. With the two nominations that stemmed from his mixtape, that puts Drake out of the running for best new artist in 2010, when his debut album is released.

Lady Gaga experienced a similar technicality in 2009, as she was ineligible for best new artist since her track “Just Dance” was nominated for best dance recording the previous year. The best new artist rules say the nominated performer is eligible for “the first recording which establishes public identity,” and a prior nomination indicates that this threshold has already been reached.

But that may be just a tiny regret for Drake, who is set up to receive tremendous exposure for his forthcoming set. Drake, who got signed to Universal Motown through mentor Lil Wayne’s Young Money label shortly after the release of “So Far Gone,” is prepping “Thank Me Later,” slated for a February release. “The best part about ‘So Far Gone’ was that I didn’t focus on structure. The only thing that was consistent was the story and the emotion. That’s what I want to do with this album,” Drake says. “I make music for people to get lost in it, so, as long as it takes you somewhere, then I’ve succeeded.”

So far, the album features Kanye West, Wayne, Young Jeezy and Jay-Z, and a collaboration with Sade is on Drake’s wish list. “Something happened last night too that might be great-it might serve as the legendary sprinkle for the album,” Drake says about another potential partnership on the set. “Shut It Down” and “Fireworks” are two tracks slated to make the album’s final cut.

“In 2010 I’m really hoping I can stay true to this new way of life I’ve committed myself to,” he says. “I have a special plan to keep the free flow of music going after the album is released. This is definitely a unique path I’m setting out on, and honestly, it’s great. I’m honored to be in this position.”

via Billboard.com

Drake has been spoiled by the mixtape game. With So Far Gone, he dropped the entire body of work and let the people pick their favorite records (Drake’s is ” A Night Off” with Lloyd, if you were wondering). His album Thank Me Later is still on tap for a March release and despite what you’ve heard about songs such as “Fireworks” and “Light Up,” the 23-year-old said he has yet to pick a single.

“A single? I haven’t really figured it out,” he said. “With So Far Gone it was the same thing — ‘Best I Ever Had’ was the second-to-last song I did. When I did it, I was like, ‘Cool, it adds a little bounce to [the mixtape],’ but I wasn’t crazy about it. And that song went #1. That’s the one thing that’s weird about working on this project, is that I have to choose a single before you actually hear it. I like when people dictate. But I can’t wait until March to put out a single, I have to pick one. But I’ll figure it out … when I have a couple more joints. I know the direction I want it to go. I definitely know I want it to connect with the women again. I think that’s always important for me. On the album everybody will get their moment. Whatever you like or love about Drake will be there.”

Some of Drizzy’s recordings will be produced by Kanye West — they’ve already made music for the album and have plans to connect for a last time before Thank Me Later closes up shop. All those conspiracy theorists who claimed that Kanye sabotaged Drake when he directed the video for “Best I Ever Had” can close out that argument as well — Drake maintains the video is exactly what he wanted, he just wished he could have shot it with a bigger budget.

“I don’t really care about catching flack,” Drake said about fans that were less than pleased with the video collaboration. “Everybody is not gonna love everything we do …

“That’ll never stop me and Kanye from working together,” he added. “Me and Kanye, when we do come together, it’s great. We have great chemistry. That definitely won’t halt us from giving people what they deserve. In a couple of weeks I’m going to Hawaii so I can work with him and No ID some more.”

When asked about the songs they already have in the can, Drake said they were so dope they didn’t need hyping.

“It’s not much to say — we got some great songs,” he noted. “Kanye just brought extra brushes to the painting session. He just brought some more colors so we can complete this masterpiece. I know he’s eager to complete his record too, so he’s back in that music mode which is great. He was in clothing mode for a second … now I think he’s back and ready to make this all happen.”

via MTV

Lloyd is a very good friend of YM label, and was recently featured in Young Money’s new music video “Bedrock”. Here is what he said about working with Drake:

“He’s an incredibly talented guy. He’s really funny and I really enjoyed hanging around those guys. Anytime you can be amongst a peer who is just talented beyond explanation- it feels good. It’s nothing new to Drake. He’s been making his music out of Toronto and now that it is finally popping off and the world is talking about him it’s like he takes that into consideration every time he raps or sings. He makes you feel like he is giving it everything he got, I enjoy that the most.”

If Drake is not a household name for everyone just yet, the 23-year-old is on the front porch, ringing the bell. That he’s done it without even putting out an official album shows just how far he’s come in 12 months. What a journey it’s been for the Toronto native in 2009.

I first met Drake last year in Los Angeles around Grammy time. Lil Wayne’s co-manager Cortez Bryant introduced me to Drake as a new “singer” that they were working with. Drizzy was cool but barely spoke: At the time, there was no way I’d envision him as having a shot at making the MTV News’ “Hottest MCs in the Game” list, let alone finishing in the top three. He was a “singer,” right?

Everyone — including Drake — is probably surprised at how much he’s achieved this year. On the basis of its quality and impact, Mixtape Daily can say that So Far Gone isn’t just the top mixtape of 2009, but one of the greatest of all time. As a body of work, the project is better than most albums from the past few years.

First off, as promised, homes is singing, and it isn’t anything corny — in fact, one young lady I know was brought to tears after hearing “Brand New.” And his rapping skills were a stunning surprise: His clarity, tone, articulation, confidence and — always paramount — lyrics are first-class.

The impact of So Far Gone built gradually but rapidly, via blogs and word of mouth. As “Best I Ever Had” and “Successful” began picking up radio airplay, Drake began getting offers from just about every major label. Yet he elected to stay with Lil Wayne’s team and inked with their Young Money label, with distribution by the Universal powerhouse, which quickly released an altered version of the mixtape as an EP — and which has led to Drake receiving two Grammy nominations for “Best I Ever Had,” a song that was originally released on a mixtape! From the Net to the streets to the Grammy red carpet: Hands down, this is our mixtape of the year.

Joints We Checked For

» “Lust for Life.” The title alone makes this track (not included on the re-release) a must-listen. Drake gives his declaration of being hip-hop’s newest That Dude. “The game got these old handprints on it/ But I’mma be the one to pour cement on it/ And start over.” His delivery was subtle but effective, like bullets from a silencer.

»”Houstatlantavegas.” Drake described the song to us thusly: “A lot of people think it’s about strippers but it’s not. It’s actually kind of about women who live life with the mentality of a stripper, I guess you could say. Or it’s these girls that sort of drift from place to place and city to city depending on where the event is or where the next show is, where the next awards are. They have guys fly them out, meet guys there and they kind of … I have come across so many women like that either started out like that or I met them and they became like that. And it was just important for me early on, in that disc, to capture that emotion because it actually led to the demise of a relationship that I was in. So yeah, it was just kind of just a way of speaking to a specific type of girl. When I talk about women I don’t like to talk in generic terms, I like to really speak to women — not to say anything they’re doing is wrong but I like to be very specific when I talk to women, so they feel something.”

» “Successful” (featuring Trey Songz and Lil Wayne). Drake: “I remember hearing the record and the drums coming together, and they were just so rocking and it has this pocket and there was no melody yet, and [when the chords came in] it was so eerie. I was like, ‘Yo that’s it!’ Every note fell into place. So I had this beat sitting here that I love so much and I didn’t know what to do with it. Sometimes as an artist you find a musical piece that you love so much that you want to do it justice. It’s a very overwhelming feeling at times. So I actually turned to Trey Songz and I was like, ‘Yo, I got this joint and I know how it makes me feel. I just don’t know how to say it the right way.’ So I sent him the record and he sent me back this hook and was like, I want to call the song ‘Successful.’ ”

» “November 18.” Drake says of this track, which also is not included on the re-release: “My connection with the South is one of the best connections in the world: My father is from Memphis, Tennessee, so at a young age I got a feel for what the South was really about [because] I got to go down there every summer. It really shaped the person that I am to be able to go from a city like Toronto to Memphis. It’s like two different worlds: Toronto being this big city, more cultured, it’s very different than Memphis. So to go to Memphis I used to love the feeling that I would get hanging out with my cousins and hearing the music from the South and seeing how they support Southern artists. Actually, of the first artists that I really got that feeling from was Yo Gotti. In Memphis at the time Yo Gotti was fresh, he was new, he was just popping. I used to go to his shows and I would sneak in. It was just a thrilling feeling to be a part of it. And then I just started listening to music that the South had to offer and it influenced a lot of my sound.”

» “Ignant Sh–” (featuring Lil Wayne). The song that got the most play in our office, its Just Blaze beat (taken from Jay-Z’s song of the same title) has a classic feel. Drizzy was so arrogant on the record, not too many people could have come after him on the beat, but Wayne was a downright rap hooligan on it. It has so many quotable lyrics in such a short time span, let’s just highlight: “Better cover your eyes, your face falling/ Watch the game from the side, I’m playing calling/ No, I didn’t say that I’m flawless/ But I damn sure don’t tarnish.”

If you need any more convincing, be sure to track down both the mixtape and the re-release. And stay tuned for Drake’s official debut LP, Thank Me Later, due in March. Can 2010 be Drake’s year even more than 2009 was?

via MTV

Drake was all smiles when speaking about his collaboration with Alicia Keys, “Un-thinkable (I’m Ready)” from Alicia’s new album The Element of Freedom. “She gave me like one of the best studio experiences in my life,” tells Drake. “Instead of being like, ‘Alright, here’s the beat, get to work,’ she was just like, ‘Play me your favorite songs and let’s battle.’”