The third 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 four. Shortly after discovering that they made the cut, those four bands hit the studio with top producers to record a new song, which you can stream and download in the SoundCloud player at the bottom of the page.

Voting for this round will close on May 13th. The two surviving bands will advance to the final round - an epic battle on stage at the Bonnaroo festival in June. The winner of the contest will be announced on the August 2nd episode on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon where they will also make their live television debut. In the meantime, please check out all of the songs and vote for your favorites.

Choose the Cover of Rolling Stone: Vote Now!

Here's a rundown of what each of the bands recorded for the penultimate round of the competition.

Lelia Broussard: The theatrical Los Angeles singer-songwriter brought in a string section for the upbeat, hook-laden tune "Turn Me On," which she recorded with Espionage, the production team behind smash hits by Beyoncé, Train and Chris Brown.

Empires: The Chicago quartet recorded "Hells Heroes," a driving rocker with a soaring, arena-sized chorus, with Fall Out Boy and Gym Class Heroes producer Machine at his studio in Manhattan.

Fictionist: The Utah band teamed up with Paramore and Breaking Benjamin producer David Bendeth to cut "Mouth of the Flame," a dynamic track that builds from a smooth, funky refrain to a power ballad chorus.

The Sheepdogs: The Canadian roots rockers laid down the groovy, hard-charging "Learn My Lesson" with Fountains of Wayne songwriter Adam Schlesinger, who brought a slick studio gloss to the band without sacrificing any of their live energy.

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