Leigh Belz

Natalia Kills dropped a new single "Free," which features will.i.am. Listen to the track!

British duo Smoke Fairies have debuted their first album Through Low Light and Trees.

Meet the two biggest bands of summer. Leigh Belz talks to Foster the People and The Vaccines.

Michaela Wallace made an acoustic video performance of her hit song "Justin Bieber's Girlfriend."

A few weeks ago, Ben J and Legacy (aka New Boyz) stopped by my office to tell me about their second album, Too Cool to Care. The full-length was a labor of love for the pair of Californians, who met in high school and released their debut, Skinny Jeanz & A Mic, in 2009. (The LP featured their breakthrough single "You're a Jerk.") Once they finished high school, the duo says they were excited to put all of their energy into the new album.

Last year singer-songwriter Sarah Jaffe's debut album, Suburban Nature, earned her rave reviews from The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and Interview magazine. The Red Oak, Texas, native spent the winter and spring of 2011 touring behind the release with acts like Midlake and Norah Jones.Sarah's sound is similar to Cat Power's, Isobel Campbell's and Sharon Van Etten's soulful folk with a sharp edge and lyrical depth. Her sound is similar to Cat Power, Isobel Campbell and Sharon Van Etten soulful folk with a sharp edge and lyrical depth.

Rachel Goodrich releases her new music video for "Wereman," a single from her self-titled second full-length album.

Brandi Carlile released a new live-concert album, Brandi Carlile--Live at Benaroya Hall, with the Seattle Symphony.

The Lonely Forest and The Joy Formidable perform at Webster Hall.

Video premiere of Breanne Duren's song "Gold Mine," off her first EP, Sparks.

Despite some cloudy weather, my Monday got a whole lot brighter when Scotland's Biffy Clyro popped by the office after lunch. The three guys-vocalist/guitarist Simon Neil, bassist James Johnston and drummer Ben Johnston-are gearing up for a few weeks on tour with Foo Fighters, starting May 17th in Tulsa, Oklahoma.

This morning, San Diego rock band Augustana premiered "Steal Your Heart," the first video from their upcoming self-titled album. (You can my full review of the record in the June/July issue of Teen Vogue.)

British pop star Ellie Goulding talks to Leigh Belz about hitting the top of the charts in the U.K. and starting fresh in the U.S.

Your faithful music blogger loves hearing live or acoustic versions of her favorite songs, so I was doubly excited to hear that two of my favorite artists Ellie Goulding and Natalia Kills had live tracks featured on Cherrytree's compilation, The Cherrytree House Sessions, along with other amazing artists like Robyn, Kelis, Feist, Far East Movement and Keane.

A few weeks ago, I heard singer-songwriter Kina Grannis' re-release debut album, Stairwells, and became an instant fan. I spent last Friday night with some like-minded people at Kina's sold-out show at New York City's Highline Ballroom. The first of two shows at the venue, Kina charmed the crowd with a 15-song set of pieces from the original and new delu version of Stairwells, which is out now.

During the afternoon of March 4th, I took a little field trip away from the office. Hidden inside a very standard looking office building on Manhattan's upper east side, was a studio where MTV was taping a very special Unplugged performance: Swedish singer Lykke Li. I watched the singer and her band work through a set of songs from new album, Wounded Rhymes, as well as some old favorites from her 2008 debut, Youth Novels. The last time I saw Lykke perform, it was to a packed crowd at 2009's Lollapalooza so getting to see her sing in an intimate space was really cool.

Sister act The Pierces (Allison and Catherine) released a new EP, You'll Be Mine, in the UK last month and are readying the release of their fourth full-length later this year. An earlier EP, Love You More, is now available in the US via iTunes. MusicBlogger talked to half of the Alabama-born duo about recording with Coldplay's Guy Berryman, US release dates and inspirations, both in fashion and music

British pop singer Eliza Doolittle wanted to have a little fun when making the video for her song "Skinny Genes." So she rented out a house, called up her friends, got a ton of fun props and costumes, and let things happen.

I don't know about you, but six months after first hearing it, I remain fully obsessed with Christina Perri's song "Jar of Hearts." So I'm very excited that the Pennsylvania-born singer is previewing some new tracks from her upcoming full-length...

Chicago-born singer Patrick Stump (formerly of Fall Out Boy) stopped by the Teen Vogue offices this afternoon to share some songs from his upcoming solo debut, Soul Punk. We learned that our charming guest played every instrument on the album, including the saxophone. In late February, Patrick released the six-song Truant Wave EP, which he's taking on the road (along with material from the upcoming full-length) this April. The twelve-show, sold-out tour makes stops in New York, Boston, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.

On Friday March 18th, the sun was shining in Austin, Texas and the bands were bringing A-game performances.

Do you like Kick Ass star Aaron Johnson? Do you like videos with free-form dancing? Do you like R.E.M.? If you said yes to even one of those three things, you're in luck. (And if you said yes to all three, your head just might explode in a second.)Johnson stars in the short film for the band's new song "ÿBerlin," one of the tracks off of the R.E.M.'s latest full-length, Collapse Into Now. For the album release, the band commissioned artists and filmmakers to direct shorts for each song. The films, curated by lead singer Michael Stipe, will be unveiled over the course of the next few weeks. (Other directors taking place in the Collapse Into Now Film Project include Oscar-nomin

Thursday morning, Austin was warm but overcast. I started my day at the MTV Garage (basically a venue set up on a giant parking structure.) The lineup for the afternoon was pretty stellar, and the queue snaked all the way around the building.

The Last Republic performing. Photo by Leigh Belz. Jessica Lea Mayfield performing. Photo by Leigh Belz. The Foo Fighters performing. Photo by Leigh Belz. Wiz Khalifa performing. Photo by Leigh Belz. The vibe around Austin this year at South...