The Search Is On! MTV Teams Up With Sean 'Diddy' Combs and Mark Burnett To Seek Out The Next Music Megastar In 'P. Diddy's StarMaker' August 16 At 10 PM ET/PT

The Search Is On! MTV Teams Up With Sean 'Diddy' Combs and Mark Burnett To Seek Out The Next Music Megastar In 'P. Diddy's StarMaker' August 16 At 10 PM ET/PT

14 Artists Compete for the Ultimate Prize: An Exclusive Recording Contract from Bad Boy Records and a Career Launch Supervised by Music Mastermind Sean 'Diddy' Combs Himself! Celebrity Guest Appearances Include Pete Wentz, Lady Gaga, Nicole Scherzinger and Kelly Rowland -- Series Will Kick-Off with A Special 90-Minute Premiere Episode

NEW YORK, Aug. 10 /PRNewswire/ -- MTV, Music powerhouse Sean "Diddy" Combs and Emmy Award-winning producer Mark Burnett team up to search for the next big name in music with "P. Diddy's StarMaker." The new ten-episode one-hour series will bring together the most respected names in music and feature industry power players hand-selected by Diddy to teach, test, coach, and ultimately create the world's next global music superstar. Pete Wentz, Lady Gaga, Nicole Scherzinger and Kelly Rowland will make special appearances throughout the series to help Diddy and his team of experts judge the talent. Hosted by Kimberly Caldwell, the series will kick-off with a special 90-minute premiere on August 16, from 10:00 PM-11:30 PM directly following MTV's hit "America's Best Dance Crew."

Each week, contestants will showcase their talents to some of the top names in the music industry as they vie for the ultimate prize: an exclusive recording contract from Bad Boy Records and a career launch supervised by Diddy. From performing in front of an audience each week to handling photo shoots and paparazzi, Diddy will push these contestants with a variety of challenging tasks.

Diddy's hand selected team of industry experts includes:

RODNEY "DARKCHILD" JERKINS -- A prodigy who cracked the top of the charts as a teenager with Brandy and Monica's instant classic the "Boy Is Mine," Rodney Jerkins has been one of music's most successful producers for over 10 years. The resume for this Grammy-award winning songwriter includes superstars like Michael Jackson, Beyonce, Janet Jackson, Pussycat Dolls, Destiny's Child, Mary J. Blige and Britney Spears. He is an inspirational speaker, the CFO of the first online music virtual world MusicMogul.com, and the CEO his own label, Darkchild Records, LLC.

TAMARA CONNIFF -- Tamara Conniff served as the music editor for The Hollywood Reporter for five years before making her name as the youngest and first female editor-in-chief at Billboard Magazine. Tamara recently served as President of Music Services for Front Line Management where she worked with music icons like Guns N' Roses, The Eagles and Christina Aguilera.

LAURIE ANN GIBSON -- "Making the Band's" favorite choreographer is back. After training with the world famous Alvin Ailey School of Dance, Gibson has choreographed megastars like the Jonas Brothers, Mary J. Blige, Alicia Keys and Diddy. Whether she's bringing the "boom kack" or warning artists about the "gotcha gotcha," Laurie Ann gives guidance like no else in the business.

KIMBERLY CALDWELL -- Singer, actress and television personality Kimberly Caldwell has worked as an entertainment correspondent and host for the TV Guide Network. Kimberly first hit the limelight as an artist on another popular reality competition show, which gives her the ability to develop an intimate and empathetic relationship with the aspiring "StarMaker" contestants.

JOHNNY WRIGHT -- Johnny Wright is a legendary star maker who has managed some of the most successful acts of all time including Janet Jackson, New Kids on the Block, Backstreet Boys, *NSYNC, Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake and the Jonas Brothers. No stranger to reality television, Johnny Wright has mentored artists on "Making the Band" and "Making Menudo."

Emmy nominated executive producer for "Raisin in the Sun," Sean "Diddy" Combs is the ultimate American entertainer and entrepreneur, while wearing many different hats as record producer, CEO, clothing designer, actor, rapper and much, much more. He's made hit records, huge business deals, designer clothing and founded the chart-topping artists Danity Kane and Day26. "StarMaker" will join an already impressive roster of television shows that Sean "Diddy" Combs has executive produced including the hit MTV series "Making The Band," http://makingtheband.mtv.com/ "Making His Band" "Run's House" http://runshouse.mtv.com/ and the most recent VH1 show that he created "I Want to Work For Diddy http://iwanttoworkfordiddy.vh1.com/."

One of the driving forces behind reality television and a true visionary, Mark Burnett has enjoyed a long history of executive producing Emmy Award-winning television, with "Survivor" (CBS) "The Apprentice" (NBC), "Rock Star" (CBS), "Contender" (ESPN) and "Are You Smarter Than A Fifth Grader?" (FOX). In 2007, 2008 and 2009, Burnett produced the MTV Movie Awards. Burnett's entrepreneurial spirit pioneered the success of the reality "unscripted" drama series, garnered skyrocketing ratings and introduced millions worldwide to an entirely new television genre.

"StarMaker" is executive produced by Sean "Diddy" Combs, Mark Burnett and Audrey Morrissey. Co-executive producers are Jim Roush, Lee Metzger, David Eilenberg and Jane Mun is supervising producer. Tony DiSanto and Jacquelyn French serve as executive producers for MTV.

SEAN COMBS, the CEO and founder of Bad Boy Worldwide Entertainment Group is a multifaceted entertainment powerhouse. Sean "Diddy" Combs was recently declared "One of the Most Influential Businessmen in the World" by Time Magazine and CNN. Combs, 39, oversees one of the world's preeminent urban entertainment companies, encompassing a broad range of businesses including recording, music publishing, artist management, television and film production, recording facility, apparel and restaurants.

About MTV

MTV is the dynamic, vibrant experiment at the intersection of music, creativity and youth culture. For over 26 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 has been the number one rated 24 hour ad-supported cable network P12-24 for 16 straight years. Online, MTV.com scored double-digit growth in 2007 and MTV launched ten dynamic online communities and six new virtual worlds. On the go, MTV Mobile is the #1 music brand in the wireless space - delivering 90% more streams than in 2006. 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.

About Mark Burnett Productions

Mark Burnett is a leading executive producer for primetime television, cable and the internet, and has produced over 1,100 hours of television programming which regularly airs in over 70 countries around the world. Mark Burnett (President of MBP) revolutionized television with hits such as Survivor (CBS), The Apprentice (NBC), Rock Star (CBS), Are You Smarter Than a 5th Grader? (FOX), which is currently being produced in 52 countries, and the daytime syndicated hit Martha. In the summers of 2007 and 2008, MBP entered the world of Award Shows, when Mark Burnett served as executive producer for the MTV Movie Awards. Since 2001, Mark Burnett Productions has garnered a total of 51 Emmy nominations and Mark Burnett has 2 Emmy wins and has won 4 People's Choice Awards. Mark Burnett has been named one of the most influential people in the world by TIME magazine and named TV Guide's most valuable player. He has won both BRANDWEEK'S Marketer of the Year Award and the prestigious ROSE D'OR FRAPA Format Award. In 2007, Mark Burnett was inducted into the Broadcasting and Cable Hall of Fame. In 2008, Mark was honored with the announcement that he is to receive a star on the Hollywood walk of fame.

Source: MTV

CONTACT: For MTV: Stephanie Berman, MTV Communications,
+1-212-846-7175, Stephanie.Berman@mtvstaff.com; or For Diddy: Keesha Johnson,
Dan Klores Communications, +1-212-981-5212, Keesha_Johnson@dkcnews.com; or For
Mark Burnett Productions: Mary Beth O'Toole, Transfer Media Group,
+1-323-424-4574, mb@transfermediagroup.com

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

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