Russell Brand Is Back!

Russell Brand Is Back!

THE CONTROVERSIAL COMEDIAN RETURNS TO HOST THE "2009 MTV VIDEO MUSIC AWARDS" AS MTV TAKES OVER NEW YORK CITY ON SEPTEMBER 13, 2009 AT 9PM ET/PT Taylor Swift and Muse To Perform For The First Time On The VMAs Stage

NEW YORK, July 14 /PRNewswire/ -- MTV is back to take over New York City and the world should prepare for chaos as comedian Russell Brand returns as host of the most important evening in music and pop culture, the "2009 MTV Video Music Awards." The evening will feature unprecedented performances by today's most popular artists, staged all over Manhattan, including Radio City Music Hall, and will feature appearances by the biggest names in music, television and film. MTV's 26th annual Video Music Awards will air live from New York City, for the 14th time in its history, on Sunday, September 13, 2009 at 9PM (Live ET/Tape delayed PT).

For her first VMA performance, country-pop superstar Taylor Swift will sing a never before heard version of "You Belong With Me," off her multi-platinum album Fearless. Marking their first ever TV performance in the U.S., British rockers Muse will debut their latest single "Uprising" from their upcoming album The Resistance. Stay tuned for more big announcements regarding performers, nominees, and presenters.

"We are thrilled that despite numerous death threats from Jonas Brothers fans, Russell Brand has accepted our offer to put his life on the line and host the VMAs again this year," said Stephen Friedman, GM of MTV. "We're also excited to be coming home to bring the most rambunctious night in music back to New York City."

"MTV began in New York City and -- like many of us -- never left," said Mayor Bloomberg. "New York City's music scene is second to none. Every night of the week, our clubs, cabarets, and concert halls are overflowing with the latest and greatest sounds. The Video Music Awards showcase the best in music, production and art, I'm thrilled to welcome the show back to the Big Apple for the 14th time. The VMAs will bring even more excitement to the City That Never Sleeps, and they'll give us a chance to introduce thousands of visitors to great music and arts attractions across all five boroughs."

"This year will be a controversy free festival of love and discrete orgasms," said Russell Brand.

"I'm so excited that MTV and the VMAs have invited me to perform, because I think this year's show will be unlike anything they've ever done! I love incorporating theatrics into my performances, and the VMAs have always allowed artists to run with that. MTV has been so good to me, and I could not be more excited about this year's VMAs!" - Taylor Swift

"We are honored to be invited to play at the VMAs which will be our first ever U.S. TV performance, and the first ever U.S. performance of our debut single from our new album 'The Resistance' coming out September 15th in the U.S., and of course another great excuse to hang out in New York City for a few days!" -Matt Bellamy, Muse

Russell Brand shot to fame in the U.S. when he was featured as the rocker "Aldous Snow" in the Judd Apatow produced hit comedy, Forgetting Sarah Marshall. The film, which was written by and starred Jason Segel, grossed $63 million at the domestic box office. 2008 also saw Brand starring opposite Adam Sandler in the Disney film Bedtime Stories. It was in September of 2008 though that Brand cemented his fame in the U.S. as the host of the "2008 MTV Video Music Awards."

2009 saw the U.S. release of Brand's writing debut, My Booky Wook. The award winning autobiography, already a huge success in the United Kingdom, went on to make the New York Times bestseller list, staying in the top ten for several weeks. Continuing his stand-up tour in the U.S., Brand's third live DVD "Russell Brand in New York" was released after originally airing on Comedy Central.

Upcoming projects for Brand include the highly anticipated comedy Get Him to the Greek. Being reunited with producer Judd Apatow and director Nick Stoller, Brand will star opposite Jonah Hill and reprise his role as "Aldous Snow". Brand will also be seen in the role of "Trinculo" in Julie Taymore's version of The Tempest. He is also attached to play the titular characters in the remakes of Drop Dead Fred and Arthur.

From performer announcements to rehearsal details, fans will be the first to know all the VMA news by following the "insideMTV" twitter account at www.twitter.com/insidemtv. Exclusive tweets, videos and photos will be posted all the way leading up to and throughout the big show.

Additionally, Verizon Wireless customers will be able to sign up for VMA text alerts by texting VIP to 8911 to receive VMA news and behind-the-scenes action delivered directly to their Verizon Wireless phones.

MTV has once again tapped Jesse Ignjatovic/Den of Thieves to executive produce this year's "MTV Video Music Awards." Jesse and Den of Thieves, which he launched in 2007, have a slate of shows debuting this year including "The T.O. Show" on VH1 and "Peak Season" on CTV/MTV Canada. Ignjatovic spent many years as Vice President of Music & Talent Development, creating, executive producing shows like the GRAMMY award winning "MTV Ultimate Mash-Ups" featuring Jay-Z/Linkin Park, J Lo's "Dancelife," Snoop Dogg's "Doggy Fizzle Televizzle," Meet The Barkers," and "MTV Icon." Jesse recently executive produced Russell Brand's first U.S. comedy special, "Russell Brand in New York City," for Comedy Central.

Jesse Ignjatovic/Den of Thieves is the Executive Producer, for the "2009 MTV Video Music Awards." Dave Sirulnick is Executive Producer. Garrett English is co-Executive Producer/Executive in Charge of Production. Amy Doyle is co-Executive Producer. Joanna Bomberg is Executive in Charge of Music and Talent. Jen Jones is Producer. Hamish Hamilton is Director. Robin Reinhardt-Locke is Celebrity Talent Executive.

Official sponsors of the "2009 MTV Video Music Awards" are 5 Gum, Febreze, Pepsi, Rhapsody , Sears, Taco Bell , U.S. Army and Verizon Wireless.

The "2009 MTV Video Music Awards" will be available to a potential viewing audience of more than 1.2 billion people via MTV's global network of 68 channels reaching 577 million households around the world as well as through syndication. In addition, its convergent programming & content will reach the entire interactive community, via MTV's more than 200 digital media properties around the world.

About MTV:

MTV is the dynamic, vibrant experiment at the intersection of music, creativity and youth culture. For over 27 years, MTV has evolved, challenged the norm, and detonated boundaries -- giving each new generation a creative outlet and voice that entertains, informs and unites on every platform and screen. On-air, MTV is the number one rated full-day ad-supported cable network for P12-24. Online, MTV.com averaged 21.7 million monthly unique visitors during the first quarter of 2009 -- up +7% from the 4Q/2008. Total video streams for the first quarter of 2009 increased by 13% from 4Q/2008 and by 21% over the same time period last year. And MTV's successful sibling networks MTV2, mtvU and MTV Tr3s each deliver unprecedented customized content, super-serving music fans, college students and young American Latinos like no one else. MTV is part of MTV Networks, a unit of Viacom (NYSE:VIA)(NYSE: VIA.B), one of the world's leading creators of programming and content across all media platforms. Wanna know more? Come on in. . . www.mtvpress.com.

Source: MTV

CONTACT: Melissa Barreto, +1-212-846-7226, melissa.barreto@mtvstaff.com,
or Emily Yeomans, +1-310-752-8074, emily.yeomans@mtvstaff.com, both of MTV

Web Site: http://www.mtv.com/

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