Paramore

Why was Paramore the breakout band from this year's Warped Tour? As its appearance at Warped's Denver stop demonstrated, the Tennessee-based outfit (currently touring with the Starting Line and Set Your Goals) has plenty of appeal, albeit of the gender-specific variety. While the group didn't deliver a powerhouse set, singer Hayley Williams provided tween and teen girls with a cute/tough role model straight out of central casting: With her bouncy walk and trendy fashion sense, she came across like the fictional frontwoman of a band on an episode of Gossip Girl. Predictably, dudes in the crowd seemed less than persuaded by "Misery Business" and the other slabs of peppy power pop she and her sonic helpmates churned out. Then again, they had other options; the Warped lineup certainly didn't suffer from a shortage of aggro male singer-shriekers. For young women developing a taste for slightly harder stuff, however, Paramore was virtually the only game in town — and it still is. The group represents a triumph of marketing over music, but a triumph nonetheless.