Multi-Talented Singing Sensation Justin Bieber to Join Mary J. Blige, Neil Diamond, Sugarland, Rob Thomas and Usher in TNT's CHRISTMAS IN WASHINGTON, Hosted by George Lopez

Multi-Talented Singing Sensation Justin Bieber to Join Mary J. Blige, Neil Diamond, Sugarland, Rob Thomas and Usher in TNT's CHRISTMAS IN WASHINGTON, Hosted by George Lopez

Concert Premieres Exclusively on TNT Sunday, Dec. 20, at 8 p.m. (ET/PT)

ATLANTA, Dec. 2 /PRNewswire/ -- Teen singing sensation Justin Bieber is scheduled to perform in TNT's spectacular holiday celebration CHRISTMAS IN WASHINGTON, premiering Sunday, Dec. 20, at 8 p.m. (ET/PT). He will join a scheduled slate of Grammy®-winning artists that includes Mary J. Blige, Neil Diamond, Sugarland, Rob Thomas and Usher. George Lopez is slated to host the one-hour event.

Bieber is a multi-talented, 15-year-old soul-singing phenomenon who first rose to prominence after he posted dozens of homemade videos online, putting his impeccable spin on songs from such artists as Usher, Ne-Yo and Stevie Wonder. The self-taught singer and musician, who also plays the drums, guitar, piano and trumpet, racked up more than 50 million views purely from word of mouth. Seven months after Bieber started posting his videos online, former So So Def marketing executive Scott "Scooter" Braun flew the then-13-year-old singer to Atlanta to meet with his colleagues, including Usher. A week later, Usher flew him back to Atlanta, and in October 2008, Bieber officially signed with RBMG - Island, a joint venture between Braun, Usher and Antonio "L.A." Reid, chairman of Island Def Jam Music Group. His debut album, My World is an intimate look into the mind of a budding young renaissance man. A virtually untapped well of natural artistic talent, Justin Bieber is primed to be a solid force in music for many years to come.

Annually attended by the President and First Lady and other Washington VIPs, CHRISTMAS IN WASHINGTON is a holiday musical celebration benefiting the National Children's Medical Center. The show will be taped at the National Building Museum in Washington, D.C. Sunday, Dec. 13. TNT's Dec. 20 premiere telecast will be the network's 11th presentation of CHRISTMAS IN WASHINGTON, which is in its 28th year overall. The event will be followed at 9 p.m. (ET/PT) by the network television premiere of the film The Nativity Story (2006), starring Keisha Castle-Hughes and directed by Catherine Hardwicke.

CHRISTMAS IN WASHINGTON, a two-time Emmy®-winning program for Musical Direction and 12-time nominee overall, is executive-produced by 12-time Emmy-winner George Stevens, Jr. and directed and produced by Michael Stevens for The Stevens Company. Most recently they produced the We Are One concert at the Lincoln Memorial on the eve of the Inauguration of President Barack Obama and were awarded an Emmy for the The Kennedy Center Honors as Outstanding Special in September. For TNT, Ricki Rosenfeld and David Bryant serve as executives in charge of production, with Mark Shimmel returning for his fifth year as music talent consultant.

TNT, one of cable's top-rated networks, is television's destination for drama and home to such original series as the acclaimed and highly popular detective drama The Closer, starring Kyra Sedgwick; Saving Grace, starring Holly Hunter; HawthoRNe, with Jada Pinkett Smith; Leverage, starring Timothy Hutton; and Dark Blue, starring Dylan McDermott, as well as the newly acquired Southland, from ER creator John Wells. TNT also presents such powerful dramas as Bones, CSI: NY and Numb3rs; broadcast premiere movies; compelling primetime specials, such as the Screen Actors Guild Awards®; and championship sports coverage, including NASCAR and the NBA. TNT is available in high-definition.

Turner Broadcasting System, Inc., a Time Warner company, creates and programs branded news, entertainment, animation and young adult media environments on television and other platforms for consumers around the world.

Follow TNT public relations on Twitter at twitter.com/TNTPR

Source: TBS

CONTACT: Heather Sautter, Atlanta, +1-404-885-0746,
heather.sautter@turner.com, Cassie Bryan, Los Angeles, +1-818-977-4567,
cassie.bryan@turner.com, Susan Ievoli, New York, +1-212-275-8016,
susan.ievoli@turner.com

-------
Profile: intent