CMT.COM ANNOUNCES TOP 64 CONTENDERS FOR ITSANNUAL ONLINE TALENT SEARCH, “MUSIC CITY MADNESS”
10/21/08
Fans Determine Winners over Six Rounds of Voting in Head-to-Head Online Competition
NASHVILLE – October 21, 2008 – The original online talent search is back as CMT.com announces the top 64 finalists of its third annual MUSIC CITY MADNESS competition and kicks off the first round of voting today. With more than double the number of entries this year, CMT.com picked the top country acts to fill out the voting brackets in the single-elimination tournament. The stakes are higher than ever, as the winning artist will receive an all-expense paid trip to Nashville to record an episode of UNPLUGGED AT STUDIO 330, perform a showcase for A&R executives from Warner Bros. Records and a mentoring session from country superstar, Randy Travis.
All styles of country music including bluegrass, folk, southern rock and Americana are represented among the finalists posted at madness.CMT.com. The nationwide talent search offers unsigned artists a chance to reveal original, unpublished music to fans across the country. Fans will vote online to narrow down the top 64 contenders over the next two weeks. On Tuesday, November 4, the brackets will narrow and only 32 contenders will be left to battle for votes. New brackets will be posted weekly afterwards, until the final round is announced on December 2. CMT developed a custom interactive site utilizing embedded video, where fans can view head-to-head matches onscreen simultaneously and share videos with their friends.
The online contest will be featured in special edition of CMT TOP 20 COUNTDOWN premiering in December, with Lance Smith hosting a round-by-round recap that reveals the top two finalists and highlights the best, craziest and most unique submissions.
Last year, more than four million votes were cast at CMT.com to name 13-year-old Utah native Katelynn Jolley the winner.
Chevrolet is the official online and on-air sponsor of MUSIC CITY MADNESS.
For more information on the MUSIC CITY MADNESS Video Contest, visit madness.CMT.com.
Visit CMT's press-only Web site www.cmtpress.com for more information and downloadable photos on all of CMT's programming.
CMT, a unit of Viacom’s MTV Networks (NYSE: VIA and VIA.B), is the leading television and digital authority on country music and entertainment, reaching more than 87 million homes in the U.S. CMT and its website, CMT.com, offer an unparalleled mix of music, news, live concerts and series and is the top resource for country music on demand. The network’s digital platforms include the 24-hour music channel, CMT Pure Country, CMT Mobile and CMT VOD.
MTV Networks, a division of Viacom (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), is one of the world’s leading creators of entertainment content, with brands that engage and connect diverse audiences across television, online, mobile, games, virtual worlds and consumer products. The company’s portfolio spans more than 150 television channels and 350 digital media properties worldwide, and includes MTV, VH1, CMT, Logo, Harmonix, Nickelodeon, Nick at Nite, Noggin, The N, AddictingGames, Neopets, COMEDY CENTRAL, Spike TV, TV Land, Atom, GameTrailers and Xfire.
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PRESS CONTACT:
Amanda Murphy 615-335-8408 amanda.murphy@cmt.com
