The 2009 TIME 100 Finalists

2009 Candidates

Robyn Beck / AFP / Getty

M.I.A.

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AGE: 31
OCCUPATION: Singer
PREVIOUS APPEARANCES ON THE TIME 100: 0

PRO: Her caustic, catchy working-class anthem "Paper Planes" became 2008's flukiest hit single, despite its trigger-happy chorus. And her shimmying Grammy performance — delivered just a few hours before she went into labor — was a buoyant display of preg pride.

CON: "Planes" broke big thanks to a movie trailer — not radio. And she needs to chill with the all-caps MySpace screeds.

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Look back at our fifth annual list of the world's most influential people

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