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Happy Valentine's Day from Hot Chelle Rae!

Happy Valentine's Day, Buzzworthy loves! Here's one of our many Valentine's Day gifts for you! Well, let me rephrase: If you're one of those annoying lucky people with a significant other today, than this gift isn't for you. But if you're completely single, please enjoy!

Honestly, who the eff actually needs a boyfriend when we're gifting you this exclusive live performance of Hot Chelle Rae's "Keep You With Me"? We admit, the song is bittersweet -- not exactly prime Valentine's Day material, but it's the thought that counts, right?

Watch Hot Chelle Rae's exclusive performance of "Keep You With Me" after the jump!

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Hot Chelle Rae, one of our favorite breakthrough bands of 2011, recently stopped by MTV HQ to record a little acoustic set for us, and it was really hard to contain our excitement (as in... I might have "had to use the bathroom" near the studio about 100 times while they were here). And because Avril was so good at making Christmas cookies, we asked the "I Like It Like That" boys to show us their kitchen skills by decorating some Christmas cookies, too,  the thought being maybe all adorable singers are good at decorating Christmas cookies. Um, and let's just say if this had been a coloring competition, Hot Chelle Rae would be WAY outside the lines.

Lead singer Ryan Follese acted as MC and judge for the holiday baked goods bonanza, while Nash, Ian and Jamie duked it out in three rounds of decorating madness. And we don't think we're going out on a limb by asking these dudes to keep their day jobs -- their "decorated" cookies are some of the wackest desserts we've ever seen. I'm talking to you specifically, Jamie: WHAT was that star cookie?! Those ornaments are for AMBIANCE, not consumption. Oh well. Points awarded for creativity (and because you're very cute). To Hot Chelle Rae's cookie-making credit, they were only allotted 30 seconds per cookie. Lesser artists might've crumbled under such high stakes... Get it? Crumbled? HA!

After Hot Chelle Rae finished up playing merry cookie-making elves, we got a chance to eat the leftovers (I know, I haven't washed my hands since in the hopes I'm living with some kind of HCR DNA on me). The results? Two thumbs-up for taste, "A" for effort, but a solid "D+" for execution. Just being honest!

+ See which member of Hot Chelle Rae wins the cookie competition in the video below, and watch their "Buzzworthy Live" performance of "I Like It Like That" after the jump.

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Related Content Watch Avril Lavigne Make Christmas Cookies While Being Certifiably Adorable, Watch Hot Chelle Rae's 'Buzzworthy Live' 'I Like It Like That' Acoustic Performance, Follow Buzzworthy On Twitter

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UPDATE: A DAY TO REMEMBER has been voted Buzzworthy's Favorite Breakthrough Band Of 2011!

Looking back at 2011 in music, some of the year's biggest stories were ruled by major pop stars -- Katy Perry and Rihanna's chart domination, Lady Gaga's ongoing costume changes and baffling videos, Beyoncé's ongoing flawlessness, Adele's never-ending vocal glory. And, of course hip-hop's heavy hitters like Jay-Z and Kanye's collaboration, Drake's long-awaited (and worth-the-wait) album and Wiz Khalifa's big breakthrough.

But what about the bands that broke through in 2011? The groups that grew from music blog acclaim to radio chart-climbers to... wait... are they playing "Cough Syrup" AT MY STARBUCKS? Well we weren't content to let some of our favorite bands that went from near-obscurity to near-ubiquity in 2011 not get their due. So we took a good hard look at some of the most-buzzed-about bands (specifically, big musical acts that consisted of at least two or more people, and no, Lady Gaga and Jo Calderone do NOT count as two people in this case) and came up with a list of our favorite breakthrough bands of the year. Those bands are: A Day To Remember, All Star Weekend, Big Time Rush, Black Veil Brides, Breathe Carolina, Foster The People, Hot Chelle Rae, Karmin, Mindless Behavior, Odd Future and Young The Giant.

Check out the list of breakthrough bands below, and vote for your favorite breakthrough band of 2011. Voting closes Friday, Dec. 16 at 11 a.m. ET, and we'll announce the winner on Friday, Dec. 16, at 12 p.m. ET!

+ A Day To Remember: While the The Ocala post-hard-core band's third album, Homesick, catapulted A Day To Remember into sold-out show status, it was their fourth album, What Separates Me From You, arguably their best album to date, that cemented their punk-superstar status. What Separates Me From You was released in late 2010, but 2011 became the band’s biggest year yet, with increased radio play, increased sales, bigger shows, a headlining spot at Warped Tour and even a spot on "Jimmy Kimmel Live" -- and not to mention, more than 2.5 MILLION Facebook fans, all while perfecting their sound. Haters, that's not selling out. That’s straight-up winning.

+ All Star Weekend: Though the Cali band's been around since, well, the early days of "Sonny With A Chance," the threesome shed their mouse-eared image and emerged as a viable pop-rock contender with their sophomore album, All The Way. All Star Weekend's breakthrough singles, "Not Your Birthday" and "Blame It On September," racked up online video streams and gained them a legion of committed fans -- almost 1 million fans on Facebook -- more grown up than the afternoon-TV set.

+ Big Time Rush: You're probably thinking, well, of course boy band Big Time Rush made this list. Both Buzzworthy and Nickelodeon are rocking on Viacom's dime, after all. And true, "Big Time Rush" the show has been one of Nickelodeon's top shows since it premiered in early 2010, pulling in more than 7 million viewers, making it Nickelodeon's biggest live-action series debut ever. But Big Time Rush the band has become a runaway success in its own right since the 2011 release of their smash singles "Worldwide" and "If I Ruled The World," which have sold millions of downloads. Their sophomore album, Elevate, was just released less than a month ago and debuted at No. 12 on the Billboard 200 chart. It's already poised to outsell their B.T.R. debut. Another year of relentless touring -- including a winter stint at Radio City -- and their upcoming TV movie, Big Time Movie, should help.

+ Black Veil Brides: No, Black Veil Brides are not a KISS cover band (though they cover them on their new Rebels EP). No, they didn't get their start this year, and no, they're absolutely not a joke. At all. The Los Angeles melodic-metal band you may have never heard of has racked up TENS OF MILLIONS of YouTube views and legions of devoted bridesmaids who love them more than they can ever scream. And while their 2010 full-length debut hit No. 1 on Billboard's Independent Release chart, in 2011 alone, Black Veil Brides released a second full-length and just dropped the aforementioned Rebels EP, covered AP magazine's "100 Bands You Need To Know In 2011" April issue, played Warped Tour, turned every head in the house when they walked the red carpet at the VMAs and hit the road on the "Buried Alive" tour. And they'll embark on a world tour in 2012. Oh, and they won Revolver’s 2011 Golden Gods Best New Band Award and have consistently maintained their reputation of being some of the nicest guys in the business. What did you do this year?

+ Breathe Carolina: Sure, Breathe Carolina's David Schmitt and Kyle Even may not GAF about much more than making party-ready synth dance tracks in Denver, but they probably do GAF that their wasted-anthem “Blackout” -- a song that premiered here on Buzzworthy back in June and took them less than a day to write -- became the song that launched their radio career breakthrough hit, earned them a headlining spot on the "Scream It Like You Mean It" tour, and a not-at-all unenviable number of video plays.

+ Foster The People: If you went anywhere in 2011 and DIDN’T hear Foster The People's breakthrough hit, "Pumped Up Kicks," then you either spent the year orbiting Earth from space (and really, that's hardly an excuse) or you don't own ears. Next to Adele's dueling singles, "Pumped Up Kicks" absolutely owned 2011, which, if you're Mark Foster, Mark Pontius or Cubbie Fink, was easily the best year of your career: Coachella, car commercials, Kimmel, Fallon, "Saturday Night Live," nonstop spins at radio, literally MILLIONS of digital downloads, a pair of VMA nominations and a pair of GRAMMY nominations, a No. 1 spot on the Billboard Alternative Songs chart, and certified gold status for their debut album, Torches. Foster The People made it cool to whistle, and even cooler to be Foster The People.

Check out more breakthrough bands of 2011, and vote for your favorite after the jump!

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Related Content The Best EDM Artists Of 2011, The Funniest Music Videos Of 2011, The Biggest Pop Music Trends Of 2011, Follow Buzzworthy On Twitter

Tags A Day To Remember, All Star Weekend, Best Of 2011, Big Time Rush, Black Veil Brides, Breathe Carolina, Foster The People, Hot Chelle Rae, Karmin, Mindless Behavior, Odd Future

You know you work for a dope blog when they can arrange for the winners of the 2011 American Music Awards' New Artist Of The Year to casually stop by for a quickie acoustic performance. #Ballerstatus

Hot Chelle Rae has certifiably exploded onto the pop music mainstream scene this year, and on the heels of their big AMA win -- not to mention recent "Today" and "Late Night With Jimmy Fallon" appearances, the band still managed to find the time to pop by Buzzworthy for an acoustic performance of their New Boyz-assisted club-banger, "I Like It Like That," off their Whatever album.

Wearing subtly yet expertly coordinated black, gray and white outfits, Hot Chelle Rae had just stools, their voices (en POINT!), two guitars, nary an ampere of electricity, and a cajón (that's the official name for that percussion box -- aren't we fancy that we know that and that we have one?). And while the New Boyz weren't present, Hot Chelle Rae more than made up for it with their tight harmonies, expert timing (hellllooooo, musicianship) and extremely savory looks. Catch them on their upcoming "Beautiful Freaks" tour before it sells out.

+ Watch Hot Chelle Rae's "Buzzworthy Live" acoustic performance of "I Like It Like That."

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Just in case you thought Hot Chelle Rae might end up a one-hit wonder after "Tonight Tonight" invaded everybody's eardrums last summer, here's proof that the Nashville-based band's got mad staying power. Just days after the release of their second album Whatever, Hot Chelle Rae stopped by VH1's "Big Morning Buzz Live" to tear through some supertight performances of the first two singles off the new record: "Tonight Tonight" and "I Like It Like That." Both crazy-catchy tracks sound just as slick and shiny as they do on the album, and guitarist Nash Overstreet shreds his way through his solo on "I Like It Like That." It also doesn't hurt that the Hot Chelle Rae boys are insanely cute -- we're especially digging singer Ryan Keith Follese's perfectly swoopy bangs and that killer chest tattoo. Umm, call us?

Of course, it's no big shock that Hot Chelle Rae keep it so profesh: Not only is Nash the brother of "Glee"'s Chord Overstreet, but all four dudes are the sons of established musicians and songwriters (mostly in the country genre). So to all those who thought Hot Chelle Rae might not be built to last, we simply say: "La, la, la -- whatever."

+ Watch Hot Chelle Rae perform "Tonight Tonight" live on VH1's "Big Morning Buzz Live" below, and check out "I Like It Like That" after the jump.

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Credit: The Trace

The Trace is that band you bring home to mom. They're badass on the outside, but probably great boyfriends supersweet on the inside. And please forgive me for not opening with a line about how talented The Trace are as musicians, but I got momentarily distracted by THEIR HANDSOME FACES.

Moving on to the tunes: Made up of four dudes from Bethlehem, PA, I'd like to call The Trace a pop-rock band because their songs are hooky enough to be pop tunes and hard-core enough to be rock songs. But there's something else floating around in the mix -- maybe it's the boys' heartfelt lyrics, or maybe it's their supertight harmonies, but The Trace possesses a unique quality that sets them apart from other pop rockers.

It's totally possible that this "quality" is actually the fact that these dudes have shared the stage with like, 10 trillion famous rockers. The Trace have performed alongside Hot Chelle Rae, Boys Like Girls, Yellowcard, The Ready Set, New Found Glory, All Time Low, Iyaz Jason Derulo and Honor Society, to name a few.

But it's not all rock for the boys. Ballads like "All In All" show the boys' softer, dare I say in-touch-with-their-feminine side: "I won't go/Until we're safe and sound/With your taste inside my mouth/Just saying, until this moment leaves/There's no place I'd rather be/Will you stay with me?" Again, this was the kind of band you could bring home to Mom! And Dad probably won't punch them out, either.

The Trace's new album The Trace EP is out now.

+ Listen to The Trace.

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Tags All Time Low, Boys Like Girls, Honor Society, Hot Chelle Rae, Iyaz, Jason DeRulo, New Found Glory, The Buzz On, The Ready Set, The Trace, Yellowcard

Credit: Getty Images

We're not sure what's more impressive: winning the American Music Award for New Artist Of The Year or securing a blazing collaboration with this year's hottest female vocalist. All we know is that Hot Chelle Rae is on an effing roll right now -- they just won their first AMA, and today their collaboration with Demi Lovato has hit the internet.

The song is called "Why Don't You Love Me," and unlike the rowdy "I Like It Like That," "Why Don't You Love Me" takes a softer approach to HCR's infectiously catchy pop-rock. We're not gonna call this song emo, per se, but the boys definitely get in touch with their sensitive sides on this midtempo ballad: "See I can't wake up/I'm living a nightmare/That keeps playing all over again/Locked in a room/So hung up on you/And you're cool with just being friends." The "Skyscraper" singer assists HCR on the second verse, but the song really takes off when everyone gets on the chorus.

On their "Why Don't You Love Me" collaborator, lead singer Ryan Keith Follese admits Lovato's big voice made her the perfect choice for the track: "She's such a powerhouse female vocalist for our generation... She took it up a notch in a way that we couldn't have imagined." Um, not to be rude, but DUHHHH.

Hot Chelle Rae's forthcoming album, Whatever, is out Nov. 29.

+ Listen to Hot Chelle Rae featuring Demi Lovato, "Why Don't You Love Me."

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The year 2011 is quickly, sadly, drawing to a close. Except it's not sad! We're moving ahead with the speed of an iPhone 4S! And before you let separation anxiety and fear of change get the best of you -- no one looks adorable pouting in a party hat -- let's take a moment to reflect on the year in pop music. Being MTV Buzzworthy, the home of all things pop, we took an exhausting, in-depth look the biggest trends in pop music in 2011. It wasn't an easy job, but... it's actually our job! So, here are the songs, sounds and stars who were all over pop music in 2011.

EPIC COVERS
+ Everyone covered and/or remixed "Marvin's Room": Drake did it first, but Chris Brown remixed it, Teyana Taylor covered it, and R&B singer Sammie covered it. Paula DeAnda put out "I Can Do Better," and even CODY SIMPSON put his spin on "Marvin's Room" with "Evenings In London." But no one did it better than JoJo. Even Drake agreed.

+ Everyone covered Lil Wayne's “How to Love”: Justin Bieber made an acoustic remix of "How To Love", Demi Lovato covered "How To Love" on VH1's Top 20 Live, pop solo singer Tinashe and R&B singer Brandon Hines (who is INCREDIBLE, btw) all covered Weezy's heartbreaker.

+ Taylor Swift covered EVERYONE: Over the course of her seemingly endless "Speak Now" tour, Taylor covered Britney, T.I.'s "Live Your Life," Eminem, Nelly, Usher, Bieber, Shawn Colvin, Jimmy Eat World, Switchfoot, Nicki Minaj, Flo Rida, Uncle Kracker (!!!) and even Bryan Adams, often bringing out artists as surprise guests.

EPIC VIDEOS
+ Pop stars put out videos like MACHINES: Beyonce put out SIX official videos this year! Eight if you count her Live At Roseland DVD performance videos. Rihanna and Pitbull put out five videos, six if you count "Fly" with Nicki Minaj. Britney put out four videos, Lady Gaga put out FOUR videos (probably five, since "Marry The Night" is due out any minute, and six if you count her "The Lady Is A Tramp" duet with Tony Bennett, Bruno Mars released four videos, and Katy Perry and Nicki Minaj put out three videos each.

+ Everyone made SUPER dramatic, cinematic videos: Katy Perry's "The One That Got Away" video featured a heartbreaking ending we didn't see coming, Dr. Dre's "I Need A Doctor" video featured a car crash, death and a return to life, Britney's "Criminal" video was shot like a modern-day Bonnie & Clyde, and Rihanna's "We Found Love" terrified us in a very Darren Aronofsky kind of way.

EPIC TOURS
+ 30 Seconds To Mars played everywhere: Seriously, these guys played 135 shows in 2011 alone. By the time December 7 rolls around, they'll set a world record for most shows played within a single album cycle. Top that.

+ Britney Spears lap-danced everyone: Every seat in the house on Britney's "Femme Fatale" tour is a good seat, but one seat in particular was the best seat in the house. The chair (actually, it's a bed?) Britney put centerstage, upon which very special guests were treated to a lap dance. Very lucky fans got a lap dance from Britney, and so did some celebrity VIPs: Britney gave Joe Jonas a lap dance, Jason Trawick got a special ride, and DJ Pauly D enjoyed a lap dance from Britney too.

EVERYTHING GOT EMO AND/OR OKAY
+ Hip-hop got introspective: For every swag-brag record there were real-talk, real-problems introspective tracks, like Jay-Z and Kanye West's “Welcome To The Jungle” (and most of Watch The Throne, for that matter), Eminem/ Bad Meets Evil's "Lighters," and Lil Wayne's "How To Love," plus sad songs by Drake (most tracks, but especially "Doing It Wrong"), Kid Cudi's 2 Be Continuum's navel-gazey "No One Believes Me," and Lupe Fiasco's conscious "Words I Never Said."

+ Pop music got introspective: I'm okay, you're okay, we're all okay, okay? was a recurrent theme in pop music, from Lady Gaga's "Born This Way" to Demi Lovato's epic "Skyscraper" to  Pink's "F****** Perfect" reminded us that we all have insecurities, and that we're all perfect the way we are.

Check out more of the biggest pop music trends of 2011 after the jump!

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Tags 30 Seconds To Mars, Adam Levine, Adele, ASAP Rocky, Best Of 2011, Beyonce, Big K.R.I.T., Blink-182, Brandon Hines, Britney Spears, Bruno Mars, Chris Brown, Chris Webby, Cody Simpson, Coldplay, Curren$y, Danny Brown, Demi Lovato, Drake, Eminem, Enrique Iglesias, Evanescence, Foo Fighters, Foster The People, Gym Class Heroes, Hot Chelle Rae, Incubus, J. Cole, JoJo, justin bieber, Katy Perry, Kreayshawn, Lady Gaga, Lana Del Ray, Lil Wayne, Lil' B, LMFAO, lou reed, Lupe Fiasco, M83, Mac Miller, Machine Gun Kelly, Macklemore, Marc Anthony, Metallica, Mike Posner, Missy Elliott, Nicki Minaj, Odd Future, Pitbull, Rebecca Black, Rick Ross, Rihanna, Scrillex, Selena Gomez, Snoop Dogg, Teyana Taylor, Theophilus London, Tony Bennett, Trey Songz, Tyler The Creator, Usher, White Gun Kelly, Will.i.Am, Wiz Khalifa

Credit: Picture Group/Adrian Sidney

Hot Chelle Rae shot to fame after like, the entire country went nuts for their song "Tonight Tonight." And, judging by the dope new video for their single "I Like It Like That," it looks like these boys are gonna win the fame game after all.

"I Like It Like That" features New Boyz and is a perfect example of a tour video at its finest: We've got behind-the-scenes footage of candid band antics, we've got the obligatory chilling-in-the-tour-bus-while-drinking-a-brewski scene, and most important, we've got shots of band member Ian Keaggy shooting a rubber band into the camera. Typical dudes.

New Boyz pop up next and they take things out of the tour bus and on to a hill with a pretty view to rap their verse (?). But what would a tour video be without crazy-ass shots of HCR's audience going NUTS while they perform? We see Hot Chelle Rae-crazed girls jumping up and down while simultaneously filming the entire show on their phones. The boys rock out on stage and casually head bang while the audience sings along to every word. Oh, and did we mention there's crowd surfing? These boys are cute, can sing and know how to successfully throw their bodies onto a crowd of dancing people. Hot Chelle Rae, can we date?

+ Watch Hot Chelle Rae's "I Like It Like That" video.

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Credit: Getty Images

After providing us the perfect summer soundtrack with their last single "Tonight Tonight," Hot Chelle Rae is back, and it sounds like they didn't get the memo about the changing seasons. With rappers New Boyz, HCR's new tune "I Like It Like That" features the same summer, sugary-pop goodness of "Tonight Tonight," but this time with a bit more bravado.

Hot Chelle Rae's "I Like It Like That" is a polished, hook-laden, synthy pop-rock record about some of our favorite things: chilling out, driving and the many perks of summer (i.e. very little clothing). "I like it like that/Hey, windows down chillin' with the radio on/I like it like that/Damn, sun's so hot make the girls take it off/I like it like that." Then New Boyz drop their verse, and they praise such classic rager activities as beer pong and losing iPhones. Don't judge us if we tell you that hits a little close to home.

Hot Chelle Rae's "I Like It Like That" would have been a perfect accompaniment to the middle-of-summer heat, but let's just act like fall's not coming and keep this track on repeat anyway. Stave off those winter coats for as long as possible!

+ Listen to Hot Chelle Rae featuring New Boyz, 'I Like It Like That."

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Tags Hot Chelle Rae, New Boyz