Weekend Rock Question: Who Is the Best New Artist of 2011?

Foster the People, Lana Del Rey and Tyler the Creator perform.

Kevin Winter/NBCUniversal/Peter Wafzig/Roger Kisby/Getty

2011 has been a great year for new artists, with acts such as Lana Del Rey, Foster the People, Frank Ocean, Sleeper Agent, Yuck, Tyler the Creator, Wild Flag, Cage the Elephant, the Joy Formidable, Danny Brown and the Weeknd all making their first big splash in pop culture. Our question for you this week is: Who is your favorite new artist of 2011?

You can vote here in the comments, on facebook.com/rollingstone, or on Twitter using the #weekendrock hashtag.

Last weekend, we asked you to choose the best song of 2011, and we compiled the results in this video gallery.

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Song Stories

“I'm Yours”

Jason Mraz | 2008

Jason Mraz re-emerged after his disappointing second album with this lead single, a Jack Johnson-esque ditty about giving yourself fully to someone else. The success of the reggae-tinged song (it earned two Grammy nods and a spot on the Billboard singles chart for well over a year) was something the folk-pop singer never predicted when he wrote it in 15 minutes at home. "I played a happy-hippie chord progression that would probably work without 50 different Bob Marley songs," he told Rolling Stone. "I thought, 'It's too novelty. This is a nursery rhyme,'" concluding that "you can never guess what's gonna be a hit."

More Song Stories entries »

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