mtvU, MTV's 24-hour college network, today announced the nominees for the 2006 "mtvU Woodie Awards" -- the only awards honoring the music voted best by the college audience. Top nominees this year include Arctic Monkeys and Imogen Heap, who garnered three nods each and will compete in the "Breaking Woodie" (Best Emerging Artist) and "Streaming Woodie" (Most Downloaded) categories. Eleven other artists, including Atmosphere, Gym Class Heroes, Hellogoodbye, Nightmare of You, Plain White T's, Taking Back Sunday, The Academy Is and The Fray followed with two nominations each. Nearly fifty emerging and influential artists have been nominated for the 2006 "Woodies," representing the music that college students lived their lives to this year. Winners will be determined through student voting and announced at a live concert event October 25th at Roseland Ballroom in New York City.
The 2006 "mtvU Woodie Awards" will debut on November 2nd at 8pm ET and mark a significant multi-platform milestone, as the show premieres simultaneously on mtvU, mtvU.com and mtvU Mobile, as well as Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition PCs and Media Center Extenders including the Xbox 360. Timed to the simulcast, the entire show will also premiere on demand at mtvU.com -- giving viewers the power to experience every moment in whatever order they wish, "remix" it, save it to their setlist and e-mail it to their friends. In addition, for the first time, a special half-hour version of the "Woodies" will also air on MTV and MTV2, with the MTV premiere set for November 4th at 10pm ET, and an encore performance on MTV2 scheduled for November 5th at 11pm ET.
College students have helped establish the "mtvU Woodie Awards" as a crystal ball for the music about to break big, propelling their favorite artists to mainstream success including record sales, sold out tours and accolades at other award shows. Some of the most notable success stories from the past two years include Fall Out Boy, the Killers, Matisyahu and the Afters -- all of which saw their careers skyrocket after the "Woodies." More than one million student votes were cast for last year's "mtvU Woodie Awards," as the college audience declared Death Cab for Cutie, Muse, Motion City Soundtrack and My Chemical Romance as the enduring stars of tomorrow.
Powered by college students nationwide, the third-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. All college students are encouraged to log on to mtvU.com, make their voices heard, and vote for their favorites -- either online or via any of mtvU's Mobile partners -- before the deadline of October 20th.
mtvU will host a conference call with "Woodie"-nominated artists, mtvU VJ Kim Stolz and mtvU General Manager Stephen Friedman on Thursday, September 14th at 3pm ET / noon PT. All interested journalists are invited to dial the toll-free call in number 866.534.6618 five minutes prior to the scheduled start time and reference conference ID 6441463.
