Most blogged artists: MGMT, Drake, Gorillaz

Brooklyn indie duo MGMT is the most blogged musical act on March 10, according to The Hype Machine. In second and third place are the British "virtual band" Gorillaz and Sparklehorse, the moniker for American alternative rock musician Mark Linkous, who died March 6.

MGMT is due to release its second album, Congratulations, on April 12, following up on the success of 2008's Oracular Spectacular, which went platinum in the UK and Australia and was named best album of 2008 by NME Magazine and a top album of the decade by Rolling Stone. On March 9, the band offered an MP3 of the song "Flash Delirium" on its website. Bloggers are describing the track as more of a rock song than an electronic track - the band dabbles in both - and Earmilk (www.earmilk.com) says it shows "flashes of pop, funk and psychedelic influences, all the while coming together to create that signature MGMT sound."

Also in the top ten is Drake, a Canadian rapper who has worked with Lil Wayne, Birdman, Kanye West, Eminem, and Jay-Z, and generated considerable hype with his mixtape So Far Gone. The rapper's much-anticipated debut studio album, Thank Me Later, is due out in spring 2010, and "Over," the album's first single, was released March 4 on Drake's blog. Both the single and the first round of DJ remixes are now being passed around the blogosphere.

The 10 most blogged artists on The Hype Machine on March 10 at 10:30 AM GMT:

• MGMT (new)
• Gorillaz (-1)
• Sparklehorse (new)
• Cults (+1)
• Drake (+1)
• Mumford & Sons (new)
• RJD2 (-1)
• the morning benders (new)
• Foals (-7)
• Kavinsky (new)

Launched in 2005, The Hype Machine aggregates information from more than 1,000 music blogs worldwide. Known for identifying up-and-coming artists, the site enables music fans to easily find out what music is hot in the blogosphere and to instantly hear and buy MP3s.

http://hypem.com