Taylor Swift and fun. fell down swiftly, Rihanna kept shining bright and the inevitable Britney-Katy showdown finally came to fruition: Round 2 of Billboard.com’s Hot 100 March Madness has come to an end, with the 16 remaining Top 5 hits from the past year shrinking to the Elite 8. Another 80,000 votes were cast in Round 2 alone, and it’s time for a third round of voting to determine the Final Four of this year’s tournament.
To help determine the winner of Hot 100 March Madness 2013, check out the updated bracket of songs, and vote for your favorite tracks in the head-to-head match-ups below!
From April 1, 2012 through the charts dated March 9, 2013, there have been exactly 32 songs that appeared in the Top 5 of the Hot 100 chart. The match-ups within this year’s Hot 100 March Madness bracket were decided arbitrarily, with those 32 hit singles placed in random competition in a quest to follow last year’s winner, Britney Spears’ “Hold It Against Me.” Click here to see the original bracket.
On Tuesday (Mar. 19), we’ll reveal the four songs that won their third-round match-ups, and another round of voting begins. On Thursday, Mar. 28, a new Hot 100 March Madness champion — the Top 5 song that you think was the hottest single of the past year — will be crowned.
Looking back at the second round of action, the female pop divas continued to dominate while the male groups fell by the wayside. fun.’s “Some Nights” lost handily to Kelly Clarkson’s “Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You),” earning only 35 percent of the vote in that match-up, while “We Are Young” couldn’t hold off Carly Rae Jepsen’s “Call Me Maybe,” which scored 52 percent of the vote and squeaked by the band’s No. 1 hit. Meanwhile, Rihanna went two-for-two in Round 2, as “Where Have You Been” trounced Ellie Goulding’s “Lights” and “Diamonds” triumphantly took down Taylor Swift’s “I Knew You Were Trouble.”
Speaking of Swift, we knew she was in trouble when her two latest Top 5 hits walked in to Round 2, and sadly for the country-pop superstar, “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together” lost to Nicki Minaj’s “Starships” by fewer than 400 votes. And on the other side of the bracket, Katy Perry’s “Wide Awake” torched the Wanted’s “Glad You Came” with 64 percent of the vote, and now faces its stiffest competition yet: Will.i.am and Britney Spears’ “Scream & Shout.” After breezing by Maroon 5’s “One More Night,” can Will.i.am and Britney continue their hot streak into the Final Four?
Vote now for your favorite tracks below, and be sure to discuss the bracket in the comments section!
Voting in this round is over! CLICK HERE to vote in the Final Four!