Kings of Leon & Lady GaGa Lead Awards Race with 5 Nominations
London, Monday 21 September 2009: MTV Networks International (MTVNI), owned by Viacom Inc (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B) today revealed Green Day, Leona Lewis and Tokio Hotel as the first performers in the 2009 MTV Europe Music Awards line-up. In addition, nominations were unveiled for the event, which will take place at the O2 World, Berlin, and will be broadcast live on MTV on Thursday 5 November at 9pm CET. The 2009 EMAs are sponsored by Sony Ericsson and Dell with a further sponsor to be announced shortly.
Kings of Leon and Lady GaGa top the list of nominees with five apiece. Kings of Leon celebrate nominations for Best Song for ‘Use Somebody’, Best Live Act, Best Group, Best Rock and Best World Stage Performance while Lady GaGa scores nominations for Best Song for ‘Pokerface’, Best Live Act, Best New Act, Best Female and Best World Stage Performance.
Californian rockers and stalwarts of the punk scene, Green Day, made their entrée with 1994’s Dookie. Albums Insomniac, Nimrod and Warning followed but it was the massive release of American Idiot in 2004 that propelled the band into global stardom. ‘Know Your Enemy’, from the trio’s latest studio album, 21st Century Breakdown, was exclusively premiered to the world by MTV earlier this year and, in addition to delivering an electric live show at the 2009 EMAs, the trio has also been nominated for Best Live Act, Best Group and Best Rock.
Singer songwriter, Leona Lewis, first showcased her huge vocal ability to the UK public in 2006 on a British talent show. Winning by a landslide, she went onto release the record-breaking ballad Bleeding Love. Her subsequent album, Spirit, entered the UK album chart at #1 and became the fastest-selling debut album of all time. She also became the first British female artist to enter the US Billboard Top 200 Album Chart at #1. Leona’s follow-up album, Echo is set for worldwide release in November - as is the first single from the album, Happy. Alongside what is set to be a powerhouse EMA performance, Leona has also been nominated in the Best Female category.
Leona commented: “I’m thrilled to be able to perform at the EMAs and to share my new music with all my fans across Europe and the world. I’m excited it’s in Berlin – I have had such great support from everyone in Germany and I can't wait to get there!”
German glam rockers Tokio Hotel, who have also been nominated for Best Group at this year’s EMAs, have accomplished four #1 singles and two #1 albums in their native country and multiple platinum and gold sales internationally. Their music has generated global acclaim, so much so that the quartet became the first German act to win a Moonman at the MTV VMAs and awards at Los Premios MTV Latin America and the MTV EMAs in 2008. Now they are ready to unleash their highly anticipated third studio album ‘Humanoid’ worldwide.
More performers, presenters and the Awards’ host will be announced in due course.
Said Antonio Campo’Dall Orto, Executive Producer & EVP, Music Brands, MTV Networks International: “I’m excited to be kicking off the 16th MTV Europe Music Awards with such a potent – and diverse – lineup. We promised a stellar show as part of the 20th anniversary celebration of the fall of the Berlin Wall – and this year’s historic event will not only see music fans from around the world coming together in celebration of artists and pop culture but it will also pay tribute the power of music and the role it plays in the promotion of freedom of expression.”
Commented Bruce Gillmer, Co-Executive Producer & SVP, Talent & Music, MTV Networks International: “The MTV Europe Music Awards prides itself on consistently delivering exceptional live performances by some of the biggest and most exciting musical acts in the world – and this year will be no exception. In addition, the Awards’ nominations honour the musical achievements of a truly broad range of artists from superstars such as Beyonce and U2 to newer acts Daniel Merriweather and Pixie Lott.”
The 2009 EMAs will comprise 13 categories – and 23 Regional Awards. The winners of 11 of the 13 categories (Best Song, Best Live Act, Best Group, Best New Act, Best Female, Best Male, Best Urban, Best Rock, Best Alternative, Best World Stage Performance and Best Push Artist) will be selected by MTV viewers when voting goes live on www.mtvema.com on Monday 21 September. Best Push Artist and Best World Stage Performance categories have been added to this year’s EMAs in recognition of some of the artists that have been supported by MTV on a global basis by both music franchises.
Viewer voting for the 23 EMA Regional Awards went live online on Tuesday 1 September until Sunday 11 October. The five regional acts with the highest number of votes will be announced on 12 October and those winners will then be nominated for Best European Act, which will be also be viewer voted and presented at the 2009 EMAs. The winner of Best Video will be selected by MTV.
The 2009 MTV Europe Music Awards is one of the world’s most prestigious live music events. The Awards will air live across 212 million homes in more than 40 countries in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. In 2008, the EMAs generated more than 4 million unique visitors to www.mtvema.com and over 100 million online votes.
The nominations for the 2009 MTV Europe Music Awards (in alphabetical order) are:
Best Song
Beyonce - 'Halo'
Black Eyed Peas - 'I Gotta Feeling'
David Guetta feat. Kelly Rowland – ‘When Love Takes Over’
Kings Of Leon - "Use Somebody"
Lady GaGa - 'Pokerface'
Best Male
Eminem
Jay-Z
Kanye West
Mika
Robbie Williams
Best Live Act
Beyonce
Green Day
Kings of Leon
Lady GaGa
U2
Best Urban
Ciara
Eminem
Jay-Z
Kanye West
T.I
Best Group
Black Eyed Peas
Green Day
Jonas Brothers
Kings of Leon
Tokio Hotel
Best Rock
Foo Fighters
Green Day
Kings of Leon
Linkin Park
U2
Best New Act
Daniel Merriweather
La Roux
Lady GaGa
Pixie Lott
Taylor Swift
Best Alternative
Muse
Paramore
Placebo
The Killers
The Prodigy
Best Female
Beyonce
Katy Perry
Lady GaGa
Leona Lewis
Shakira
Best Video
Beyonce – ‘Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)’
Britney Spears – ‘Circus’
Eminem – ‘We Made You’
Katy Perry – ‘Waking up in Vegas’
Shakira – ‘She Wolf’
Best European Act
Nominations announced 12/10/09
Best World Stage Performance
Coldplay
Kid Rock
Kings of Leon
Lady GaGa
Linkin Park
Best Push Artist
Daniel Merriweather
Hockey
La Roux
Little Boots
Metro Station
Pixie Lott
The Veronicas
White Lies
Antonio Campo Dall’Orto is EVP, Music Brands, MTV Networks International and Executive Producer for the MTV Europe Music Awards. Executive Producer for Playmaker is Jane Fraser. Co-executive Producer & SVP, Talent & Music, MTV Networks International is Bruce Gillmer. Executive Producer is Richard Godfrey. Chloe Mason is Producer and Hamish Hamilton is Director.
For more information on the 2009 MTV Europe Music Awards – and to vote – please go to: www.mtvema.com
For further press information and for biographies and artwork please contact:
Polly Stevens
Communications Directorm
MTV Europe Music Awards
polly.stevens@mtvne.com.
+44 207 478 6328
Or go to:
www.ema.mtv.co.uk/press
Note to Editors
The 2009 EMA Regional Award categories are: Best UK & Ireland New Act, Best Adria Act, Best Arabia Act, Best Baltic Act, Best Dutch/Belgian Act, Best Danish Act, Best Finnish Act, Best French Act, Best German Act, Best Greek Act, Best Hungarian Act, Best Israeli Act, Best Italian Act, Best Norwegian Act, Best Polish Act, Best Portuguese Act, Best Romanian Act, Best Russian Act, Best Spanish Act, Best Swedish Act, Best Turkish Act, Best Ukraine Act and Best Swiss Act.)
About the MTV Europe Music Awards
The 2009 MTV Europe Music Awards will be broadcast live in the following countries : Armenia, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Malta, Moldova, Monaco, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia & Montenegro, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom.
About MTV Networks International
MTV Networks International includes the premier multimedia entertainment brands MTV: Music Television, VH1, Nickelodeon, MTVNHD, TMF (The Music Factory), VIVA, Flux, Paramount Comedy, Comedy Central, Game One, Neopets, GameTrailers, Shockwave, Addicting Games, Atom Films and Xfire. MTV Networks' brands are seen globally in 578 million households, in 162 countries and 33 languages via 168 locally programmed and operated TV channels and more than 400 digital media properties. The company's diverse holdings also include interests in television syndication, digital media, publishing, home video, radio, recorded music, licensing & merchandising and two feature film divisions, MTV Films and Nickelodeon Movies. MTV Networks is a unit of Viacom Inc. (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B).
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