The Showdown: Jon Pardi vs. Toby Keith

Jon Pardi is taking no prisoners so far in the Showdown. He's just won his third straight contest and moves on to face a tough new challenge from one of the biggest stars in country music.

Pardi has really caught the attention of fans with his new single, "Head Over Boots," which is the first taste of his upcoming sophomore album. The song finds the California native changing direction slightly, going lighter on the party themes and pairing a swinging musical track with a lyric that's a love song, but not cloyingly sweet.

That approach gave him a whopping 75 percent of the vote in the last round, but Pardi is up against the latest from Toby Keith this time around. Keith touches on a common theme — drinking — in his new single, "Rum Is the Reason," but he does it in a new way, teaming up with Jimmy Buffett's Coral Reefer Band for a beach-y track that is different than anything else he's ever done. Will he be able to unseat Pardi?

Listen to clips of both Pardi and Keith’s songs and vote for your favorite here. You can vote once every hour until this Showdown ends on Friday at 8AM ET, so come back and vote often to be sure your artist wins. The winner of this matchup will face a new challenger on Friday.

Listen to Jon Pardi, “Head Over Boots”

Listen to Toby Keith, “Rum Is the Reason”

Showdown Rules: The song with the most votes wins, and the winner goes on to face a new challenger in the next Showdown. Vote as much as once per hour online. If a song wins five Showdowns in a row, it will be retired into the Taste of Country Showdown Hall of Fame to allow for new songs to compete. Some songs will be considered for a second Showdown if voter turnout is healthy in a losing effort.