Lady Gaga vs. Britney Spears: Who Will Rule 2011?

As she announced earlier via pants-less Twitter pic, Lady Gaga has a new album out this spring. But she'll have some serious competition as she looks to cement her place as the reigning queen of pop music and culture:

Britney Spears.

Gaga's single, "Born This Way," is due out next month, with her album of the same name set for May. Britney's album is scheduled for a March release.

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Which pop queen will conquer music in 2011?

Which bombshell will rise to the top of the heap? Can they deliver truly cutting-edge music or will they rely on their persona to carry them forward?

On top of musical similarities, the two have rabid fan bases (Gaga, Justin Bieber and Britney have the most Twitter fans worldwide, in that order).

While Gaga's image is unique and experimental, she's still so new to the scene that it's hard to know what to expect in terms of her musical style.

The same is true, oddly enough, of Britney. Despite being a seasoned vet, she's so micromanaged that musically, she's now a veritable blank slate.

These new Britney song lyrics were leaked, but would anything she does fail to satisfy her fans? Spears is as bulletproof as they come in this era.

Because The Fame was so groundbreaking and so fresh, the pressure is more on Gaga to produce something of comparable cultural significance.

Both will rack up huge sales because people are invested in them. Even if the albums are merely average, fans want them to succeed as people.

But if either superstar comes out with an album that's edgy, catchy, different and brilliant on its own merit, that's who will rule the year in music.

What do you think? Whose album will fare better this year?