Ray Charles Tops VH1's Annual Holiday CD Wish List Poll for the Second Year in a Row

Ray Charles Tops VH1's Annual Holiday CD Wish List Poll for the Second Year in a Row

Country Hunk Tim McGraw Also Returns to Top 5 with "Live Like You Were Dying" and the Rolling Stones Land at #7 for Second Consecutive Year

NEW YORK, Dec. 12 /PRNewswire/ -- Ray Charles has done it again! The late music legend tops music listeners' wish lists this holiday season for the second year in a row, according to a recent VH1 Poll that asked music lovers which artists topped their wish lists this holiday season. Ray Charles' "Genius and Friends" ranked #1 in a telephone poll commissioned by VH1 that surveyed a random national sample of approximately 1,000 20-49 year-olds who listen to music.

Additional findings revealed that timeless artists continue to be popular in 2005 with Santana and Tim McGraw ranking in the top 5, as well as the old- school sounds from the soulful Alicia Keys. Other results include The Rolling Stones landing for the second year in a row at #7 this time with "Bigger Bang" while Bruce Springsteen's "Born To Run 30th Anniversary" scores the #9 spot and U2's "How to Dismantle An Atomic Bomb" appears on the poll again arriving in the top 20. This was also the first year that renowned musician Stevie Wonder made the list with "A Time To Love."

The Top 10 CDs People Most Want This Holiday Season are:
1. Ray Charles - "Genius and Friends"
2. Alicia Keys - "Unplugged"
3. Santana - "All That I Am"
4. Stevie Wonder - "A Time To Love"
5. Tim McGraw - "Live Like You Were Dying"
6. Mariah Carey - "The Platinum Edition - The Emancipation Of Mimi"
7. Rolling Stones - "Bigger Bang"
8. Black Eyed Peas - "Monkey Business"
9. Bruce Springsteen - "Born To Run 30th Anniversary"
10. Gwen Stefani - "Love.Angel.Music.Baby"

Other intriguing findings in the VH1 poll ... .

-- The top CD for men was Ray Charles' "Genius & Friends" while women
chose Alicia Keys' "Unplugged."

-- Eminem's "Curtain Call" was the #1 CD in this year's poll among 20-29s.

-- The top 10 rankings were similar regionally. Ray Charles' "Genius &
Friends" was #1 for the Northeast and the South while Alicia Keys'
"Unplugged" took the top slot for the Midwest and Santana's "All That I
Am" was #1 for the West.

-- Women's tastes tend to mirror consumers overall, with key exceptions
being female performers Destiny's Child's "#1s" at #6 (#15 overall) and
Sheryl Crow's "Wildflower" at #8 (#18 overall).

The VH1 poll also broke out favorites in four regions of the U.S.: Northeast, Midwest, South and the West as well as male and female breakdowns. Regional and gender breakouts follow below:

Northeast Top 10
1. Ray Charles - Genius & Friends
2. Gwen Stefani - Love.Angel.Music.Baby
3. Alicia Keys - Unplugged
4. Bruce Springsteen Born To Run 30th Anniversary
5. Stevie Wonder - A Time To Love
6. Green Day - Bullet In A Bible (LIVE)
7. Dave Matthews Band Stand Up
8. Tim McGraw - Live Like You Were Dying
9. Santana - All That I Am
10. Faith Hill - Fireflies

Midwest Top 10
1. Alicia Keys - Unplugged
2. Santana - All That I Am
3. Rolling Stones - Bigger Bang
4. Black Eyed Peas - Monkey Business
5. Jamie Foxx - Unpredictable
6. Kenny Chesney - The Road And The Radio
7. Ray Charles - Genius & Friends
8. Eminem - Curtain Call
9. Bruce Springsteen Born To Run 30th Anniversary
10. Nirvana - Sliver: The Best Of The Box

South Top 10
1. Ray Charles - Genius & Friends
2. Santana - All That I Am
3. Alicia Keys - Unplugged
4. Stevie Wonder - A Time To Love
5. Tim McGraw - Live Like You Were Dying
6. Outkast - Idlewild
7. Sheryl Crow - Wildflower
8. Kelly Clarkson - Breakaway
9. Mariah Carey - The Platinum Edition - The Emancipation Of Mimi
10. Kenny Chesney - The Road And The Radio

West Top 10
1. Santana - All That I Am
2. Ray Charles - Genius & Friends
3. U2 - How To Dismantle An Atomic Bomb
4. Rolling Stones - Bigger Bang
5. Black Eyed Peas - Monkey Business
6. Alicia Keys - Unplugged
7. Green Day - Bullet In A Bible (LIVE)
8. Dave Matthews Band -- Stand Up
9. Gwen Stefani - Love.Angel.Music.Baby
10. Foo Fighters - In Your Honor

Male Top 10
1. Ray Charles - Genius & Friends
2. Santana - All That I Am
3. Eminem - Curtain Call
4. Stevie Wonder - A Time To Love
5. Alicia Keys - Unplugged
6. Green Day - Bullet In A Bible (LIVE)
7. Rolling Stones - Bigger Bang
8. Outkast - Idlewild
9. Nirvana - Sliver: The Best Of The Box
10. Bruce Springsteen - Born To Run 30th Anniversary

Female Top 10
1. Alicia Keys - Unplugged
2. Santana - All That I Am
3. Ray Charles - Genius & Friends
4. Tim McGraw - Live Like You Were Dying
5. Black Eyed Peas - Monkey Business
6. Destiny's Child - #1s
7. Stevie Wonder - A Time To Love
8. Sheryl Crow - Wildflower
9. Gwen Stefani - Love.Angel.Music.Baby
10. Mariah Carey - The Platinum Edition - The Emancipation Of Mimi

* More Results Available Upon Request

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VH1 connects viewers to the music, artists, and pop culture that matter to them most with series, specials, live events, exclusive online content, and public affairs initiatives. VH1 is available in 87 million households in the U.S. VH1 also has an array of digital services including VH1 Classic, VH1 Soul, VH Uno, VH1 Mega Hits, and VH1 Country. Connect with VH1 at www.VH1.com.

VH1 is a registered trademark of MTV Networks, a unit of Viacom International Inc. MTV Networks also operates and offers joint ventures, licensing agreements, and syndication deals whereby its programming can be seen worldwide.

Contact: Brett Henne/VH1 Maura Wozniak/VH1

212-846-6752 212-846-7325

Source: VH1

CONTACT: Brett Henne, +1-212-846-6752, or Maura Wozniak,
+1-212-846-7325, both of VH1

Web site: http://www.vh1.com/
http://www.tns-global.com/

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