Well, that was intense. After 48 hours of epic Elite Eight battles, we've reached the Final Four of MTV's Musical March Madness. And while making it this far is certainly an accomplishment, there's not exactly a whole lot of time to sit around and savor it.
That's because voting in our Final Four matchups is already under way, and polls will remain open until Sunday (April 1) at midnight ET. You've carried your favorite band to the cusp of championship glory, but can you help push them over the top?
Vote for your favorite band, discuss and share on Facebook and Twitter in the MTV Musical March Madness interactive bracket!
Let's take a look at the four bands still standing in MMM: true, tourney-tested squads that have survived three weeks of brutal back-and-forth battles just to make it to this point. In a way, they're all champions; too bad only one will actually be able to call themselves that.
#5 My Chemical Romance vs. #5 Green Day My Chem are the champions of the Midwest region, having survived a furious rally from upset-minded Metallica in the Elite Eight (seriously, with more than 600,000 votes cast, MCR won by 400). Meanwhile, defending MMM champs Green Day had to stage a serious comeback of their own against Adam Lambert, who led until late Thursday before succumbing to GD's full-court press. At this point of the tournament, there truly are no easy matchups, and this one, well, it's going to be a war. Both bands have been put through the wringer, and both know how to win a close contest; can My Chemical Romance finally take home the MMM title (they've been in the Final Four three consecutive years), or will Green Day make history as the first band to repeat as champions? All we can do is wait and see ...
#1 Evanescence vs. #12 Tokio Hotel Speaking of history: Congratulations to Evanescence, the first #1 seed to make the MMM Final Four. They've battled hard throughout the tournament, having bested tough foes like Paramore, Linkin Park and Dave Matthews Band just to reach this point. As a reward, they draw perhaps the toughest opponent in the entire field: Tokio Hotel, a band that's steamrolled their way through the competition. They've throttled all challengers and even got revenge (big time) against rivals Coheed and Cambria in the Elite Eight. No two bands have enjoyed as much fan support in MMM 2012, which is why we're certain this one's going to be a classic. And not to go out on a limb here, but we suspect the winner of this one may very well be the band hoisting the championship trophy next week. No pressure or anything.
Is your favorite band still alive in the Final Four? Help carry them to the championship — or assist in shattering some dreams — by voting now. Polls close Sunday at midnight, so get cracking — we're so close to crowning a champ!
Vote for your favorite band, discuss and share on Facebook and Twitter in the MTV Musical March Madness interactive bracket!