Foster The People: Few bands have been able to have a top 10 album as quickly as indie pop up-and-comers Foster the People. With only one album out, Torches, Foster the People has captured the attention of audiences around the world with their hit single, "Pumped Up Kicks." Their success is all the more surprising considering the song deals with a school shooting, but the catchy dance sound that's indicative of the entire album has struck a favorable chord with critics and fans. Those that haven't yet heard Foster the People can catch them on their international tour dates in 2011; the ones that haven't sold out yet, anyway.

Foster the People was formed by Mark Foster in 2009, after years of being kicked around by the Los Angeles music scene. After working as a jingle writer and working on original compositions for a number of years, Foster began combining his favorite musical elements into the sound you hear today. He began posting his songs on the mp3 blog The Hype Machine and eventually began scoring small tour dates, with accompaniment by drummer Mark Pontius and bassist Cubbie Fink. The band was originally called Foster & the People, but was changed after audiences kept mishearing it as Foster the People. The popularity of Foster the People's music online combined with a breakout tour date at South by Southwest led to a record deal and the release of Torches in May 2011. The album quickly broke into the top 10 and shot to #1 of the Alternative charts.

As Torches races towards platinum certification, Foster the People are headed out on many, many tour dates in 2011. Concert dates are already underway and, while many tour dates are already sold out, there are still plenty of chances to catch Foster the People in late summer/early fall. The band is making it's way through tour dates in Texas and Arizona before ending up in California in early July. On July 14, Foster the People will begin concert dates in Europe, including performances at the Melt Festival in Grafenhainichen, Germany and the Lattitude Festival in Suffolk, UK. Foster the people will play tour dates in Australia in late July before touring the US agin from August to October. Foster the People will conclude their 2011 tour dates in the UK in late November, so buy your tickets from Eventful soon before the entire tour is sold out.

MAYER HAWTHORNE: The “retro soul” tag is added to almost any contemporary work that sounds like it was originally recorded before 1980, and Mayer Hawthorne is aware of how trends come and go.

But, he says, he’s not interested in taking it back to the “good old days,” as much as he is in creating the “new good days.” And to fans like producer Mark Ronson, who said, “I have no idea what this is, old or new, but it’s fucking good!!!” upon first hearing Hawthorne’s music, age ain’t nothin’ but a number.

On How Do You Do, his first major label effort for Universal Republic Records, Hawthorne proves that he is not part of a trend. The classic Motown sound that provided the blueprint for his self-produced independent debut, A Strange Arrangement, remains, but is joined on How Do You Do by music reminiscent of late 1960s California pop and the best work from the likes of Steely Dan and Chicago.

“Hawthorne emerges with a jaw-dropping collection of classic soul,” RollingStone.com proclaimed upon hearing A Strange Arrangement, but with this latest release, the formula has been updated. The vocals are stronger, the music more varied and vibrant, but it’s still Mayer Hawthorne. And the message is love.

Hawthorne grew up in Ann Arbor, Michigan, just outside of Detroit, and vividly remembers, as a child, driving with his father and tuning the car radio in to the rich soul and jazz history the region provided. “Most of the best music ever made came out of Detroit,” claims the singer, producer, and multi-instrumentalist, who counts Smokey Robinson and famed songwriting trio Holland, Dozier, Holland among his influences, but also draws inspiration from Michael McDonald, Juan Atkins and J Dilla.

Hawthorne has produced and played instruments for much of his life, but never intended to become a singer. What he became, however, was a new school soul sensation, touring globally and earning accolades from Playboy, NPR and Entertainment Weekly. “He’s an able singer...an arranger of astonishing precision,” wrote the New York Times when Hawthorne first hit the scene.

On “The Walk,” the first single from How Do You Do, Hawthorne plays a man scorned and content with saying “So long, you did me wrong” to the lady in his life. “A Long Time” is both a brilliant homage to Steely Dan’s “Hey Nineteen” and a storied history of Hawthorne’s beloved Detroit, followed by a duet – yes, duet – with the incomparable Snoop Dogg on “Can’t Stop.”

“It's Snoop like you’ve never heard him before,” Hawthorne told Billboard.com before the two performed together at the South by Southwest music festival in March.

The rest of How Do You Do is a trip through generations and tales of love cherished and love lost. Songs like “Hooked,” “You Called Me” and “You’re Not Ready” are vintage fare, while “The News” and “No Strings” add a modern, 21st century flair to the proceedings. The album culminates in “Henny & Gingerale,” an ode to the signature cocktail complete with the party banter and pulsating dance floor R&B of Marvin Gaye’s “Got to Give It Up.”

Snoop Dogg once heralded Hawthorne as his new favorite artist, praise shared via Twitter by other stars such as Kanye West, Justin Timberlake and John Mayer. With the release of How Do You Do, such sentiment is sure to grow, just as Hawthorne himself continues to grow as an artist and performer. It was soul music from which he came, and those roots will never be left behind. But there is more to this artist than just soul music.

“A lot of my other influences are coming out on this record,” Hawthorne told Billboard.com. “There are a lot of other genres that are blending in now.

“It’s just turning into me.”