Who's Getting a Chunk of Wood? Emerging Artists Vie for 2008 mtvU Woodie Awards

Who's Getting a Chunk of Wood? Emerging Artists Vie for 2008 mtvU Woodie Awards

Cool Kids, Vampire Weekend, MGMT, Tokyo Police Club and Santogold Among Nominees Facing Off As College Fans Vote on Coveted Awards

Battle Begins for Best Campus Radio Station and Campus Band in America

Show Premieres November 19th at 8pm ET on Multiple MTV Platforms including mtvU, mtvU.com and in Hi-Def on Palladia-plus Sneak Peeks on MTV and MTV2

NEW YORK, Sept. 22 /PRNewswire/ -- In what's predicted to be the closest competition in the five-year history of the "mtvU Woodie Awards," MTV's 24- hour college network, mtvU, today announced the 30 nominees for the definitive college music awards. Nominated by college students across the country, the artists selected forsake traditional benchmarks of Gold and Platinum in their quest for a 10-pound chunk of pure wood, symbolizing their connection to college students and new music fans everywhere.

Battling it out for the coveted "Breaking Woodie" category, this year's emerging artists poised to dominate the college scene include All Time Low, We the Kings, There for Tomorrow, Lykke Li, and Tyga. Breakthrough nominees in other categories include Cool Kids, Vampire Weekend, MGMT, Tokyo Police Club, Santogold, Adele, The Ting Tings, No Age and Atmosphere.

Voting begins today at www.woodies.mtvu.com and runs through November 7, 2008. In 2007, 5 million students voted to determine which artists brought home a Woodie Award. This year, fans can also campaign for their favorite artists by posting voting modules to their blogs and social networking pages.

On November 12, 2008 at 8pm ET, the nominees and scores of fans will take over the Roseland Ballroom in New York City for a live concert event, packed with musical performances, where winners will be announced. Previous performers include Beck, Death Cab for Cutie, Lupe Fiasco, Gym Class Heroes, The Academy Is, Imogen Heap and more.

The show will air on November 19th at 8pm ET on mtvU, mtvU.com and will be simulcast in high definition for the first time on Palladia. MTV, MTV2 and MTV News will also show love for Woodies nominees, airing sneak peeks and highlights of the show.

The "mtvU Woodie Awards" have a legacy of tapping into artists before they hit mainstream. Acting as a catalyst for the top emerging artists, college students established the "mtvU Woodie Awards" in 2004 as a crystal ball for the industry, propelling some of their favorite acts to new heights - including surging record sales, headlining tours and accolades at other award shows such as the MTV Video Music Awards. Since the first "mtvU Woodie Awards," artists such as Fall Out Boy (Streaming Woodie '04), the Killers (Breaking Woodie '04), Death Cab for Cutie (Best Video Woodie '05), Plain White Ts (Breaking Woodie '06), Boys Like Girls (Breaking Woodie '07) and Gym Class Heroes (Woodie of the Year '07) catapulted to new heights after winning big at the Woodies.

This year, two breakthrough Woodie nominees include Santogold and the music video "It Had to Be You" for Motion City Soundtrack. Santogold, now a college favorite, broke through following her surprise guest performance at the 2007 mtvU Woodie Awards, with Spank Rock. Motion City Soundtrack's creative "It Had to be You" music video was directed by Texas A &M student filmmaker Lauren Simpson as part of mtvU's series "Breaking the Video" at http://www.bestfilmoncampus.com/.

Best Campus Radio Station and Best Campus Band in America

For the first time ever, mtvU is honoring 20 pioneering college campus radio stations committed to bringing students the latest indie and emerging music. Lauded for championing artists before they achieve mainstream success, these student-run radio stations represent the new music vanguard long since abandoned by traditional FM radio. The top stations were chosen based off accolades from CMJ College Radio Awards, Princeton Review Nominations, and independent questionnaires completed by a cross-section of record labels. One station will bring home the inaugural Woodie for Best Campus Radio Station, as voted on by their peers.

For the second year in a row, mtvU is teaming up with www.bestmusiconcampus.com to recognize the student artists who resonate most with their peers nationwide. Voting is open to all college artists who are currently registered on bestmusiconcampus.com. Of the eligible nominees, one artist or group will take home the "Best Music on Campus Woodie," capturing a $5,000 cash prize, and will be featured on mtvU.

Powered by college students from across the country, the fifth annual "mtvU Woodie Awards" will feature students in front of the camera and behind the scenes, as they present, introduce and honor their favorite music and artists.

The nominees for the 2008 "mtvU Woodie Awards" are:

Woodie of the Year - (Artist of the Year)

The artists who made the biggest splash on mtvU and the college music scene this past year.

Nominees:
Lil Wayne (Cash Money Records)
Paramore (Atlantic Records)
Tokyo Police Club (Saddle Creek)
MGMT (Columbia Records)
Santogold (Downtown Records)

The Breaking Woodie - (Best Emerging Artist)

mtvU is where new developing artists are test driven for the first time by the toughest critics around: college students. One of this year's newest artists will win the coveted "Breaking Woodie."

Nominees:
All Time Low (Hopeless Records)
We the Kings (S-Curve Records)
There For Tomorrow (Hopeless Records)
Lykke Li (Atlantic Records)
Tyga (Decaydance Records)

Left Field Woodie - (Most Original Artist)

They're genre-busters. They resist classification. They came out of left field, and we're still not sure what section of the record store to find them in.

Nominees:
No Age (Sub Pop Records)
Chromeo (Vice Records)
Yelle (Capitol Records)
She & Him (Merge Records)
Cool Kids (C.A.K.E Records)

Best Video Woodie - (Best Video of the Year)

The music video that is so incredible, we'd watch it even without the music.

Nominees:
Gnarls Barkley "Who's Gonna Save My Soul" (Atlantic Records / Downtown)
Erykah Badu "Honey" (Universal Motown Records)
Vampire Weekend "Cape Cod Kwassa Kwassa" (XL Recordings)
Adele "Chasing Pavements" (Columbia Records)
Motion City Soundtrack "It Had to be You" (Epitaph Records)

The Good Woodie - (Greatest Social Impact)

The award for the artists whose commitment to a social cause has effected the greatest change this year.

Nominees:

Eddie Vedder (Vandenberg Communications) - For continued activism surrounding veteran issues, Bridge School benefit, PETA, and Children's music programs.

Emmanuel Jal (Sonic360) - "Gua Africa" - A former child soldier himself, Emmanuel founded the organization to work with individuals, families and communities to help them overcome the effects of war and poverty.

Ludacris (Def Jam Recordings) - "The Ludacris Foundation" - Since 2001, the foundation has donated $500,000 to support grassroots organizations that work to help youth and has connected with youth to build stronger families and communities.

Jack's Mannequin (Warner Bros Records) - "Dear Jack Foundation" - Established by lead singer, Andrew McMahon, a leukemia survivor, this group raises money and awareness for cancer research.

Mary J Blige (Geffen) - "FFawn Foundation" - This new foundation's goal is to empower women through scholarships, grants and other educational resources, building confidence and career skills.

Performing Woodie - (Best Tour)

For those artists who take to the road and never let up, always giving that memorable live performance.

Nominees:
Kanye West (Def Jam Recordings)
Atmosphere (Rhymesayers Entertainment)
NERD (Interscope Records)
The Ting Tings (Columbia Records)
Simian Mobile Disco (Wichita Recordings)

Radio Woodie - (Best Campus Radio Station)

For the station out there breaking the latest, emerging music, acting as pioneers in the industry.

Nominees:
KALX, University of California, Berkeley
KZSC, University of California, Santa Cruz
KSSU, Sacramento State University
KZSU, Stanford University
KCSU, Colorado State University, Fort Collins
WSOU, Seton Hall University
WERS, Emerson College
WICB Ithaca College
WBSR Brown University
WUSB Stony Brook University
WUTK University of Tennessee
WRAS Georgia State University
WEGL Auburn University
WWVU West Virginia University
WXYC University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill
KSLU St. Louis University
KUOM University of Minnesota
WGRE DePauw University
WDBM Michigan State
WITR Rochester Institute of Technology

The fifth-annual "mtvU Woodie Awards" are sponsored by Army ROTC and Garnier Fructis.

Production Credits
Supervising Producer: Tracy Hellerud
Executive-in-Charge of Production: Joe Buoye
Executive Producers: Ross Martin, Eric Conte

About mtvU

Broadcast to more than 750 college campuses and via top cable distributors in 700 college communities nationwide, mtvU reaches upwards of 9 million U.S. college students - making it the largest, most comprehensive television network just for college students. Twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, mtvU can be seen in the dining areas, fitness centers, student lounges and dorm rooms of campuses throughout the United States, as well as on cable systems from Charter Communications, Verizon FiOS TV, Suddenlink Communications, AT&T u-Verse and nearly 70 others. mtvU is dedicated to every aspect of college life, reaching students everywhere they are: on-air, online and on campus. mtvU programs music videos from emerging artists that can't be seen anywhere else, news, student life features and initiatives that give college students the tools to advance positive social change. mtvU is always on campus, with more than 250 events per year, including exclusive concerts, giveaways, shooting mtvU series and more. For more information about mtvU, and a complete programming schedule, visit www.mtvU.com.

mtvU also owns and operates the College Media Network, the largest interactive network of online college newspapers in the United States, and RateMyProfessors.com, the Internet's largest listing of collegiate professor ratings. The College Media Network comprises nearly 600 campus publications that serve institutions including Brown University, the University of Illinois, the University of Southern California, the University of Texas at Austin and Duke University, with a combined enrollment of over 5.5 million students, reaching an average of 5 million unique users each month. RateMyProfessors.com reaches approximately 2.9 million college students each month, via the site's more than 6.6 million student-generated ratings of over 1,000,000 college professors.

Source: mtvU

CONTACT: Janice Gatti of mtvU, +1-212-846-8852, or
janice.gatti@mtvstaff.com

Web site: http://www.mtv.com/
http://www.mtvu.com/
http://www.bestfilmoncampus.com/
http://www.bestmusiconcampus.com/
http://www.ratemyprofessors.com/

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