Britney Spears? Adele? Experts Pick 2011's Summer Diva

Perez Hilton tells MTV News a Summer Diva is 'defined by one thing: she is known by just one name.'
By Jocelyn Vena

Britney Spears
Photo: Getty Images

Every summer, there's one lady who rules the beach, one pop diva who manages to rise above the rest thanks to a catchy tune and unstoppable promo campaign. Since the summer basically starts on the Fourth of July and goes right through Labor Day weekend, it's time to start looking at the most likely contenders for the Summer Diva crown.

With everyone from Lady Gaga and Beyoncé to Britney Spears and Katy Perry making a play to be the one-and-only queen of summer pop (and also angling to have the Song of the Summer), only one will have that certain something that stands out. So who is taking an early lead and why?

"Divas tend to rule the summer," Ian Drew, senior music editor at Us Weekly, told MTV News. "They tend to have very fun shows, very bright shows, very poppy shows, stuff that everyone can get into across all levels."

Perez Hilton had his own definition of a Summer Diva. "She is defined by one thing: she is known by just one name," he told MTV News.

Well, that seems to be the case for most of the Summer Diva contenders, but Drew went for one very famous California Gurl as his pick: Katy Perry. "She sort of knows how to rule the summer," he said. "By now, it's a part of her whole architecture. It seems like every single summer, she comes up with the perfect summer jam, ever since 2008. Now she's got 'Last Friday Night.'

"The next is Britney," Drew continued, not wanting to count the veteran out of the race. " 'I Wanna Go' is a clear summer hit. They both have these dueling huge summer tours."

Hilton noted that Perry is on "such a hot streak right now. It looks like Katy may be the queen of the summer." But he's throwing his weight behind a different diva.

"The real queen of the summer — the diva to beat all divas — is going to be Adele," he gushed about the unstoppable singer. "What makes Adele the diva of the summer is that she's doing the best without trying at all. You see Gaga, Beyoncé and Katy everywhere [and] you see Adele nowhere, and she's still outselling them. Adele is connecting to audiences in a big way, and to me, that's impactful, that's relevant."

Who do you think will be the Summer Diva of 2011? Share your picks in the comments below!

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