The first punch in the Battle of M.I.A. v. Gaga has been thrown-current Score: M.I.A.-1:Gaga-0. Who didn't see this one coming?

M.I.A. has been praised for her originality in both musical styling and personal appearance, so it's not wonder critics have been comparing the two chanteuses since Lady Gaga first popped onto the scene with her eclectic attire and edgy attitude. Similar in superficial appearances? Perhaps. But in terms of drawing a parallel between the two artists, a superficial one is as far as M.I.A. is willing to go.

In an interview in the upcoming issue of NME, M.I.A. criticizes Gaga as a phony: "Lady Gaga - people say we're similar, that we both mix all these things in the pot and spit them out differently, but she spits it out exactly the same! None of her music's reflective of how weird she wants to be or thinks she is. She models herself on Grace Jones and Madonna, but the music sounds like 20-year-old Ibiza disco, you know? She's not progressive, but she's a good mimic. She sounds more like me than I f***ing do!" (Via Pitchfork)

These are some seriously slanderous words coming from one pop-star to another, especially considering that both are currently signed to the same label, Interscope Records.  As of yet, Lady Gaga has not retaliated in any way, and M.I.A. has not gone further to embellish her remarks from the interview.  Only time will tell if this will turn into the pop-feud of the year...