The second round of the Choose the Cover of Rolling Stone contest is under way. After hundreds of thousands of votes were cast online, the 16 acts vying for the cover of Rolling Stone – as well as an Atlantic Records contract – have been narrowed down to a group of eight. During a recent trip to New York City, all eight acts performed before our cameras, as well as a panel of Rolling Stone editors and Atlantic Records executives.

Now you can check out the footage for yourself and vote for your favorites.  Voting for round two will end on April 14th, and the final four contestants will be announced at the end of the month.

Here's a rundown of each of the artists and what they performed for the judges.

Fictionist: The Utah quintet played "Great Escape," a swooping ballad that falls somewhere between the romantic drama of Coldplay and the ragged, crunchy rock of Neil Young.

Lelia Broussard: The Los Angeles singer-songwriter put on her warpaint and led her band through a spirited rendition of her jumpy rocker "Masquerade."

Mod Sun: The self-proclaimed "hippie-hop" rapper treated the judges to a very physical performance of his track "No Girlfriend (Millyun)" that had him strolling away from the stage and into the studio.

The Romany Rye: The Los Angeles quintet showed off their country rock chops with a gently harmonized version of their tune "Untitled (Love Song)."

The Sheepdogs: The Canadian boogie rockers laid down a thick bass groove for their new song "How Late, How Long."

Skyler Stonestreet: The 23-year-old Los Angeles singer-songwriter performed a solo version of her perky pop tune "Crazy," accompanied only by her electric keyboard.

Tha Boogie: The SoCal pop crew were the most theatrical performers of the bunch, pulling off imaginative dance moves and encouraging audience participation while rocking their way through "The Best Around."

Empires: The Chicago rock quartet delivered an intense and passionate performance of their Springsteen-esque anthem "The Night Is Young."

See exclusive Behind The Scenes videos and photos from the final eight bands