The Showdown: Scotty McCreery vs. Easton Corbin

Scotty McCreery took a pretty hard left turn with his new single, "Southern Belle," and so far it's really paying off. He's just beaten Brantley Gilbert in a head-to-head, and moves on to face Easton Corbin in a new Showdown.

"Southern Belle" is an up-tempo track that's more aggressive and not quite as squeaky clean as McCreery's past efforts; though it's hardly a racy lyric, it definitely contains some more mature themes. His fans turned out to vote for it in droves, proving that with great risk comes great reward.

Corbin's new single is "Yup," and it tells the story of a guy who knows he ought to go leave the bar and go on home, but can't resist staying and buying one more drink for a girl who's caught his eye. He maintains a solidly traditional sound for a track that ought to really connect with his fans -- but can he get past McCreery? Only one of these songs can move on to another Showdown round.

Listen to clips of both McCreery and Corbin's songs and vote for your favorite here. You can vote once every hour until this Showdown ends on Monday 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 Monday.

Listen to Scotty McCreery, "Southern Belle"

Listen to Easton Corbin, “Yup”

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.