Who the heck is Sierra Swan?

I’ve just about forgiven Linda Perry for that “Hey, hey, heeeyyyyy, what’s goin’ on?” song. (Uh-oh, there it is again.) After all, the woman has produced Christina Aguilera, Pink, and, um, James Blunt to some pretty interesting compositional conclusions: “Beautiful,” “Get the Party Started,” and, um, “You’re Beautiful,” respectively. And she’s got guts: According to MTV, the next item on her to-do list is to oversee a comeback album for Courtney Love, whom she calls the queen of rock & roll. “That woman is brilliant,” she says, “and I can’t allow myself as a music lover and someone who really respects that artist to go down with America’s Sweetheart. That record sucked. She knows it. The world knows it. It was a horrible, crap-ass record.” Good on you, Linda.

In the meantime, her latest discovery, Sierra Swan (pictured), will drop her debut album, Ladyland, on May 23. Until then, you can preview a few tracks on her website. So is Sierra the next great pop diva? Not to my ears (the phrase “poor man’s Fiona Apple” comes to mind), though Slezak has dubbed her “catchy” – which means she’ll either be the next Xtina, or she’ll take her (cough, rightful) place on his Failed Diva altar, right next to Jody Watley’s hoop earrings and a tube-top from Anastacia’s Kmart collection. Listen for yourself, and let us know which of us is right — remembering, of course, who your blogfather is.