Rising Nashville duo Striking Matches have battled their way to the finals of the O Music Awards' "Make A Band Famous" competition — the winner gets a once-in-a-lifetime shot to play VMA weekend in August, and will be featured on MTV, VH1 or CMT — and now, with voting set to close in exactly one week, well, let's just say they're not playing for second.

"You know, we kind of felt like we've won it already, because our fans have been incredible with voting and spreading the word," Matches member Justin Davis said. "And, you know, it's an honor just to make it this far and all that, but we really want to win, if only because our fans have worked so hard just to get us here."

"When we first entered, I was a little scared, only because we're still this little band, you know, all the other bands had such bigger followings," his partner, Sarah Zimmermann added. "But now, we've got a chance to win, and to be involved with CMT, so, yeah ... we're really hoping we can win it all."

Of course, in a way, the Matches — who, in just three short years, have landed songs on the ABC hit "Nashville" and played with everyone from Vince Gill to Kellie Pickler— have already won: They've just been hand-picked by Hunter Hayes to serve as the opening act at his June 18 MTV Artist to Watch LIVE show in New York City, which will not only bring the band to the Big Apple, but brings them full ...

Austin Mahone is putting his heartbreak to a dance beat on his brand-new single, And with his debut album set for release later this year, fans should expect to hear a lot more fist-pumping anthems from the singer.

"It's going great. I'm actually going back to L.A. in a week to finish it up for good. Most of the songs on the album are going to sound like 'What About Love,' kind of like that EDM, like I said, old school/new school," he told MTV News on Monday during during which he opened up about his music. "It's a different sound, different from 'Say Something' or 'Say You're Just A Friend' and I really feel like people are going to enjoy it."

As for tracks like "Say Something," which Mahone has released ahead of his 2013 debut, he's still figuring out if they will make the final cut of the album. He added, "I mean I'm not really sure, it might be but I'm really focusing on the new stuff."

That new stuff is being executive-produced by "What About Love" producer RedOne, who knows a thing or two about creating dance-floor hits, having banked studio time with Nicki Minaj, Lady Gaga and Jennifer Lopez. "He did the entire album. It's cool 'cause I play guitar and piano and all that, so I got to put some of that on the songs. It was kind of like a collaboration. Working with RedOne in the studio, he's just so energetic," the teen star explained. "He really feels the music. ...

At this point in his career, it's difficult to name an artist that Pharrell hasn't worked with, so when MTV News caught up with the super-producer recently, we were curious about his relationship with three of the most dynamic — and very different — members of Odd Future: Tyler, The Creator, Frank Ocean and Earl Sweatshirt.

If Tyler, The Creator is on the "completely off-the-wall" end of the spectrum, then it's safe to say that Frank Ocean falls on the opposite end, while Earl rests somewhere in middle.

"[Tyler's] not as totally turnt up as when you guys see him but he is the same person," Pharrell said of what the public sees, versus what he gets. "It's not fake, and his mom...that's been probably an adventure being his mom [raising him]. And probably a wonderful experience because he's funny...but I can only imagine the stuff he was doing in junior high school. He's hilarious."

Frank Ocean, on the other hand, is a known introvert especially compared to Tyler and his antics, and Pharrell explained that his work on Channel Orange included some effort to have outsiders connect with him intimately. "I think, more than anything else, it was a matter of making sure people didn't misunderstand him because he is a complex individual. He's not your average everyday person. He's an introvert, so he's in his head a lot."

As Ocean works on his official sophomore project though, things have changed a little. "When he did his first album, he knew who he was, but the world didn't ...

Come September, Kaskade will officially be dropping his new album, Atmosphere, to go along with his just announced tour of the same name. MTV News caught up with the EDM superstar on the video set of the album's title track, for which, in an unexpected spin on what he already does so well, Kaskade himself provides the vocals.

"This is the first time I've ever sung on one of my songs. I've written dozens, if not hundreds, of songs over the years ... I've never sung on any of my songs," he explained. "When I wrote this, I knew it wasn't about my vocal performance and being a perfect singer. It was more about capturing the emotion of what I was writing about — it was a very personal song to me."

Singing in front of thousands of his most dedicated fans is definitely not the norm for the producer/DJ, but according to Kaskade, Atmosphere represents an intentional stylistic change. In an effort to stay true to his genre and produce the most genuine music possible, Kaskade has taken a step back from several current EDM trends.

"I think people in electronic music are trying to get these big features: 'Oh my gosh, I'm gonna get the biggest pop star to feature on my track.' For me, Atmosphere was more about looking inwards and reaching out to people close to me. To emphasize the fact that I'm singing on the first single, this album is really more about me and songs that I've written, instead of collaborating with people." This will certainly ...

Donning almost exclusively spandex, Sky Blu and Redfoo stormed the charts as the party-rocking duo known as LMFAO. Together they released fun-loving, fist-pumping dance tracks about being sexy (and knowing it) and taking shots. But last September, LMFAO announced the party was over and that they'd be going on hiatus to pursue projects outside of the leopard-print-wearing group.

Now, with Sky Blu about to drop his solo album, Rebel Music, on July 4, it seems that LMFAO's break is more indefinite than fans had anticipated.

"It's on the hiatus tip because situations happen where me and Foo have been together 10 years strong, working, doing our thing, and LMFAO's been together for about seven. And we've had a great success, and that whole success was based on an organic lifestyle, an organic situation in the studio. And so for that to come out the right way, we got to allow it to have time to breathe," Sky told MTV News. "People [are] always [like], 'Well, we want LMFAO.' OK, well, you didn't want LMFAO before LMFAO got hot. So slow down. LMFAO gonna come back, but we gonna do it right. We're not gonna rush. Nothing can make us rush."

He continued, "We'll definitely satisfy that thirst for [the fans] because it's important. I know how important it is, and so does Foo.

But at this time in our lives — I'm 26 years old and I got some stuff on my chest I need to get off, too. You'll see! This is just the first installment. I got records. ...

The Kings of Leon don't exactly have fond memories of Come Around Sundown, the album that followed their massive Only By the Night but is probably best remembered for Caleb Followill's infamous onstage freakout that came after its release.

Following that incident, the Kings canceled the remainder of the Sundown tour, and bassist Jared Followill hinted at a growing strife within the band, venting on Twitter that "there are internal sicknesses & problems that have needed to be addressed." They'd eventually return to the road, and said problems were never mentioned again. But now, after taking a break from the band, drummer Nathan Followill will admit that it was probably the darkest period in the Kings' career; one they aim to rectify on their upcoming Mechanical Bull album.

"We were able to take a year off, and step away from it for a second, and actually all got to miss what we did for a living," he told MTV News. "It was great being off for a little while, because we all had babies during that time, it was great to connect with the family in that way, but, after a while, we were ready. We bought an old paint factory in Nashville, and converted it into a studio, and we were able to go in there and make a record at our own pace.

"There was no pressure this time around; we weren't coming off the heels of a multi-Grammy winning, multi-million selling record, it was 'OK, we can make the kind of record we want ...