Blowin' up in '09

Little Boots

Who: The 25-year-old lass born Victoria Hesketh in Northern England first drew attention as part of the raucous girl pop-punk outfit Dead Disco, who had minor Internet success with songs like “Automatic.” Quitting the band while recording in Los Angeles, Hesketh hooked up with Lily Allen producer Greg Kurstin. Taking her solo tunes (and a litany of charming covers) to YouTube, Little Boots has generated enough heat to top a BBC poll of music insiders as the most promising act for 2009.

What: Little Boots cranks out electro-tinged dance-pop that plays like a new millennium Kylie Minogue for the blogosphere set. Her debut single “Stuck on Repeat” is a giddy dance-floor anthem that rides on massive synth melodies and, oddly enough, sleigh bells. Other original tunes like “Love Kills” and “Mathematics” further cement her status as 2009’s go-to girl for after-hours party tracks that you can also sing along to.

Most likely to blow up: While she has a nice cache of stellar songs, “Stuck on Repeat” (which has already been remixed by burgeoning and mysterious producer Fake Blood) could very well be her own “Can’t Get You Out of My Head.”—Scott T. Sterling