EVERY year, dozens of musicians polish their shoes and put on a happy face, hoping to be the shiny new mug that becomes this year’s buzz-tastic Hot New Thing. Here are our picks for artists that’ll rock – or gently sing – your socks off this year.
Cannonball Jane
It’s easy to get hot for elementary schoolteacher Sharon Hagopian, who’s changing the face of pop electronica under the moniker Cannonball Jane. Miss Jane is pure fusion (as a teacher she’d probably correct that oxymoron), yet her mix is interesting because it handily blends the rawness of garage rock with the control of both dance beats and synthesizer swirls. On her just-released EP, “Knees Up!,” her quirky, sassy vocals lend the music an appealing playfulness – probably the quality that attracted Beastie Boy Ad-Rock to remix her well-titled original, “Take It to the Fantastic.” – Dan Aquilante
Estelle
Brit soul rapper Estelle, 27, took a risk moving to New York from London (where she was famous), but with a little push from R&B singer John Legend she’s now on the fast track to stardom here, too. No doubt it will help that her upcoming spring release “Shine” features production by an assortment of hitters including will.i.am [“Wait a Minute (Just a Touch) download it at nypost.com], Cee-lo, Mark Ronson and Swiss Beats, as well as guest turns by both Kanye West and her Legend-ary mentor. While her record has elements of reggae and hip-hop, Estelle is best when she delves into funk, where she sounds as if she’s a natural. – D.A.
Serena Ryder
You don’t want to mess with this Canadian. Schooled in the folk tradition, the 24-year-old soulful singer/songwriter hits hard with her expressive, quivering vocals, sound lyrics – sometimes tough, sometimes vulnerable – and acoustic guitar. Already a star in her homeland, Ryder released the EP “Told You in a Whispered Song” in the US last year. Now the world awaits – with bated breath – for her major-label US debut, due in the late spring. Listen to “Weak in the Knees,” one of the EP’s outstanding tracks, at nypost.com. – Mary Huhn
Tokio Hotel
Twin brothers in music is a winning formula. To wit: Good Charlotte, Nelson, Clap Your Hands Say Yeah and Jagged Edge. Which means that twins Bill (Goth-y lead singer) and Tom Kaulitz (dread-locked guitarist) and their cohorts have a fighting chance. A splash in their native Germany, the thrice platinum-selling pop-rock boy band is now angling to be the next big US import. Shouldn’t be too hard, especially when they’ve already got support from people like AFI’s Jade Puget, who remixed the track “Ready, Set, Go” off the group’s US debut, “Scream,” expected in early April. – Maxine Shen
Black Tide
These young metalheads – they’re still teenagers – have already made a name for themselves thanks to a monthlong slot on Ozzfest’s main stage last summer. Now they’re gearing up for their February debut album, “Light From Above.” Part Guns N’ Roses, part Iron Maiden, the Miami-based quartet shreds, swaggers and encourages anthemic chanting as easily as bands decades older – even though lead singer Gabriel Garcia is a mere 14-years old. – M.S.
Kate Nash
Britain’s streak of producing cheeky female singers continues. Following on the tipsy heels of Lily Allen and Amy Winehouse comes Nash, whose debut disc, “Made of Bricks,” arrives today. Mixing carefree lyrics with techno-enhanced grooviness and folksy acoustics, the 20-year-old artist speeds up the beat in “Foundation” and strips down the sound with “D–khead.” To whittle down a list of her songs for her album, Nash, who grew up in working-class London suburbs, chose her most embarrassing ones to play, figuring people would like those the most. Catch her blushing at the Bowery Ballroom tomorrow. – M.H.
Laura Izibor
With an Irish brougue that screams Dublin, darts and a pint of Guinness, singer/songwriter Laura Izibor startles you when she steps to her piano and sings soulfully and seductively in an Aretha-meets-Alicia tone. The 20-year-old, who has been honing her craft since she was 13, puts it all together on her righteous CD debut of original – yet traditional – gospel/soul, “Let the Truth Be Known.” Download one track, “From My Heart to Yours,” at nypost.com before that album’s spring release. Movie fans might already be familiar with Izibor from recent films including “The Nanny Diaries,” “P.S. I Love You” and “Why Did I Get Married?” – D.A.
Matt King
In the cracks between mournful mountain music, bright bluegrass and straight-up rock, North Carolina native Matt King has found a unique style that fits his tales of backwoods saints and sinners. King has a smooth, rolling tenor that makes him sound convincing when he croons about falling for the devil’s daughter, dirt-floor meth labs, mountain justice (download “Shanty Town” at nypost.com) and the evil that lurks in the hearts of man on his record “Rube,” out next month. While King says he enjoys the genteel art of Dumpster diving and ciphering prime numbers, don’t mess with this singer who claims to be kin to the Hatfield side of the Hatfield ‘n’ McCoy feud. – D.A.
Ludo
Formed while its members were still in college, the St. Louis-based quintet is entering the big leagues with its major-label debut, “You’re Awful, I Love You” (out Feb. 26), featuring the vitriolic – “high maintenance means you’re a gluttonous queen” – and catchy lead single, “Love Me Dead” (download it at nypost.com). It’s only one of many power-pop standards showcasing a great sense of humor – think blink-182 before the group got all deep – and compelling storytelling, all set to a sound that the band likes to call “extremo-rock.” – M.S.
Charlotte Sometimes
The New York-based, guitar-playing, nu-jazz chanteuse picked her moniker, which doubles as her band’s name, from the Cure song – and it totally works, since Charlotte is her middle name, which she sometimes goes by. (She swears she’ll never reveal her first and last names.) The band’s February debut album, “Waves in the Both of Us,” is full of genre-crossing songs that run the gamut from uplifting to traumatic, reflecting the many sides of the singer who mined her love life and neuroses for song subjects.