JUDGES NAMED FOR CMT’s “CAN YOU DUET”

03/05/08

Naomi Judd, Brett Manning and Aimee Mayo On Board To Judge New Music Competition Show From FremantleMedia North AmericaPremiering Monday, April 14

NASHVILLE – March 5, 2008 – Country superstar Naomi Judd, acclaimed vocal coach Brett Manning and award-winning songwriter Aimee Mayo have signed on to be the panel of judges for CAN YOU DUET, the new weekly music competition series from “American Idol” producers FremantleMedia North America that will seek to find country music’s next great duo. Hosted by Rossi Morreale, CAN YOU DUET premieres Monday, April 14 at 10:30 p.m., ET/PT on CMT.

Unlike other talent competition shows, each contestant on CAN YOU DUET will compete as part of a duo, sometimes working with different partners as the competition progresses. As a result, viewers will witness first-hand all the on and off-stage drama to be had in creating a dynamic musical duo. In addition to critiquing each performance and deciding who will advance to the next round, be sent home, and ultimately be crowned country music’s next great duo, judges Judd, Manning and Mayo will also serve as mentors to guide, groom and develop the duets along the way.

First known to the world as half of the famous mother/daughter duo, The Judds, Naomi Judd is an accomplished singer/songwriter, spokesperson, entrepreneur, author and television personality. After selling over 20 million albums, garnering numerous No. 1 singles, winning five GRAMMY® awards and a vast array of other honors, The Judds bid farewell in 1991, but Naomi did not step out of the public spotlight. Since that time, she has remained an important advocate for women’s health issues and domestic violence, as well as an active spokesperson for anti-violence programs.

In 2004, her self-penned bestseller, “Naomi’s Breakthrough Guide, 20 Choices to Transform Your Life,” remained on The New York Times best-seller list for over eight weeks. The following year, Naomi wrote her third children’s book, “Gertie the Goldfish,” and in 2006, “The Transparent Life” hit the shelves. Last year, Naomi penned and released yet another best-seller entitled “Naomi’s Guide to Aging Gratefully.” Most recently, she was the host of “Naomi’s New Morning,” a weekly talk-show on the Hallmark Channel which ran from 2005 to 2007.

Brett Manning is one of the most sought after vocal coaches in the country. With over 20 years of experience, Manning has trained some of the most recognizable music artists including Taylor Swift, Keith Urban, Brian White, Hayley Williams of Paramore and members of Take 6. His client roster includes Grammy and CMA Award winners, artists on both independent and prominent record labels including Capitol Records, Columbia Records, Atlantic Records, Interscope Records, Lyric Street Records, MCA and Sony Records.

Manning's work with Broadway includes coaching the casts of “Les Miserables” and “Jekyll and Hyde,” as well as the Broadway tour of Elton John's “Aida.” He is the founder of Singing Success which implements his revolutionary vocal techniques through seminars, workshops and a collection of CDs with basic to advanced exercises. Manning shares his life with his four children and his beautiful wife, Bethany. The Mannings live near Nashville, Tennessee.

An award-winning songwriter, Aimee Mayo is one of the most successful songwriters in the country music genre, penning hits for superstars such as Tim McGraw, Faith Hill, Kenny Chesney, Martina McBride and many others. She co-wrote her first song with her father Danny – also an accomplished songwriter who wrote hits for country greats Alabama, Tammy Wynette, George Jones and Hank Williams Jr. – at the age of eight. Mayo wrote the cross-genre hit, “Amazed” for the group Lonestar, which won Academy of Country Music Song of the Year, BMI Song of the Year, NSAI Song of the Year and was nominated for a GRAMMY® award. In 2001, Mayo was named BMI Songwriter of the Year. Collectively, Mayo’s songs have spent 25 weeks in the No. 1 spot on the Billboard charts, and albums featuring her songs have sold over 110 million units worldwide.

“Can You Duet” is produced by FremantleMedia North America. Jeff Boggs (Nashville Star, Spy TV) is executive producer. Bob Kusbit and Melanie Moreau serve as executive producers for CMT.

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. CMT has a rich history of finding and creating dynamic musical pairings with such series as CROSSROADS, which joins country music stars with artists from other genres. Recent CMT CROSSROADS combinations include Robert Plant and Alison Krauss, as well as Maroon 5 and Sara Evans.

MTV Networks, a unit of Viacom (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), is one of the world's leading creators of programming and content across all media platforms. MTV Networks, with more than 150 channels worldwide, owns and operates the following television programming services - MTV: MUSIC TELEVISION, MTV2, VH1, mtvU, NICKELODEON, NICK at NITE, COMEDY CENTRAL, TV LAND, SPIKE TV, CMT, NOGGIN/THE N, VH1 CLASSIC, MTVN INTERNATIONAL and THE DIGITAL SUITE FROM MTV NETWORKS, a package of 13 digital services, all of these networks trademarks of MTV Networks. MTV Networks connects with its audiences through its robust consumer products businesses and its more than 300 interactive properties worldwide, including online, broadband, wireless and interactive television services and also has licensing agreements, joint ventures, and syndication deals whereby all of its programming services can be seen worldwide.

FremantleMedia North America (FMNA) is the U.S. production division of global media giant FremantleMedia. Based in Burbank, California, FMNA produces entertaining and innovative television programs for network, cable and syndicated platforms, including the Emmy-nominated musical/reality phenomenon “American Idol” (FOX), "American Idol Rewind" (syndicated), "American Idol Extra" (Fox Reality Channel), “America’s Got Talent” (NBC), "Farmer Wants A Wife" (The CW), "Can You Duet" (CMT), “The Janice Dickinson Modeling Agency” (Oxygen), “Property Ladder” (TLC), “Family Feud” (syndicated), “Temptation” (syndicated), “Million Dollar Password” (CBS), and the longest-running game show in television history, “The Price Is Right” (CBS). For further information, visit http://www.fremantlemedia.com.


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