Katy Perry — One Of The Boys

Katy Perry, pop music's It Girl for summer 2008, looks and sounds like a more bad-ass Kelly Clarkson and a more believable, less calculated Avril Lavigne. This isn't to say she hasn't been perfectly groomed and positioned to make her mark on the pop market, working with a small army of producers and songwriters (some of the same who've worked with Clarkson and Lavigne) to get this collection of slick tunes together. That said, there's just something kooky and weird and real about Perry that makes her kind of irresistible. She's the girl you want to hang with at the bar. She sounds best when she's rocking the dirty swagger of "I Kissed A Girl" or the frenetic dance-pop of "Hot N Cold." There's a handful of low-tempo angsty ballads, but it's Perry's bad-girl pop that makes her stand out. Whether she'll progress beyond It Girl status remains to be seen, but this summer is all about her.