THESE GIRLS ROCK!

MARINA AND THE DIAMONDS
Hot ticket: Reading (August 29).
Know it: Welsh/Greek songwriter Marina Diamond's odd-pop tracks are as dazzling as the 23 year old's outfits. Listen out for the quirky stomp of I Am Not A Robot.
Bluff it: "What do you mean you don't know who the Diamonds are? That's what you call her fans."

LA ROUX
Hot ticket: Bestival (Isle of Wight, September 12).
Know it: Londoner La Roux (aka Elly Jackson), 20, is the daughter of The Bill's Trudie Goodwin (June Ackland) - and Lily Allen's a fan.
Bluff it: "Her cover of Blondie's Call Me with Franz Ferdinand was hardcore-pop perfection."

LADYHAWKE
Hot ticket: Lovebox (London, July 19).
Know it: New Zealander Ladyhawke - real name Pip Brown, 28 - melds electro with the stadium hits of old-school band Fleetwood Mac.
Bluff it: "Christina Aguilera's covering Ladyhawke's track My Delirium."

SPEECH DEBELLE
Hot ticket: Bloom (Bristol, August 15).
Know it: Speech, who's 26 and from London, forays into funk and acoustic soul.
Bluff it: "I heard she flew to Oz to part-record her album Speech Therapy."

FLORENCE AND THE MACHINE
Hot ticket: Oxegen, (Co Kildare, Ireland, July 12).
Know it: Londoner Florence Welch, 22, bagged the Critics' Choice Brit Award this year and has a punk-rock Enya sound.
Bluff it: "You have to hear the Green Day covers she did a while back."

PALOMA FAITH
Hot ticket: Standon Calling (Hertfordshire, August 1).
Know it: The 24-year-old actress and Londoner blends soul with pop.
Bluff it: "I'm sure she sold me lingerie when she worked at Agent Provocateur."

BISHI
Hot ticket: Latitude (Suffolk, July 17).
Know it: Bishi Bhattacharya, 25, from London, skips from folk to gypsy to Bollywood beats.
Bluff it: "She's the DJ and 'face' of Soho club Kash Point, don't you know."

BLUE ROSES
Hot ticket: Belladrum (Beauly, Scotland, August 7).
Know it: Prepare to fall in love as you listen to 21-year-old Blue Roses' (aka Laura Groves from Bradford) cherubic, Kate Bush-inspired vocals.
Bluff it: "There's a Laura in Tennessee Williams' The Glass Menagerie - and her nickname is Blue Roses. That's where she got her name from."

EBONY BONES
Hot ticket: Cardiff Big Weekend (August 2).
Know it: You'll see and hear Miss Bones - real name Ebony Thomas, 26, from London - a mile off. She also played Yasmin in Five's Family Affairs.
Bluff it: "I was hooked the moment I heard her recordings with Rat Scabies."

MPHO
Hot ticket: Lovebox (London, July 18).
Know it: Mpho (pronounced Mmmm-poh) 29, from London, is the sound of the summer. Her single Box N Locks waxes lyrical about pigeonholing in the music industry.
Bluff it: "Mpho means 'gift' in Zulu."

PHOTOGRAPHY: REX, RETNA, ALICE HAWKINS, UZO OLEH, DANNY NORTH

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