Showing posts with label Rihanna. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Rihanna. Show all posts

Tuesday, March 14, 2023

Tems' Symbolic #OscarsSoWhite Costume at the 95th Oscars

 


Tems' Symbolic #OscarsSoWhite Costume at the 95th Oscars 





Tems, the co-writer of Rihanna’s Oscar-nominated song, “Lift Me Up” was the talk of the annual 95th Academy Awards held on Sunday, March 12, 2023 at the Dolby Theater in Los Angeles. Her spectacular white costume blocked the view of those sitting behind her. 

Of course, she and the designer deliberately wanted to raise eyebrows at the Oscars and make news headlines and they succeeded. The white Lever Couture gown “stole the show" and became the talk of Tinseltown from Hollywood to Nollywood of her own country, Nigeria. 

To me, Tems' awesome all white costume echoed the #OscarsSoWhite first tweeted in 2015 by activist April Reign in response to the 20 acting nominations for the Academy Awards all being granted to white actors. The hashtag raised the question of white racism of the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) and called for diversity and inclusion in the nominations for the Academy Awards. But as much as AMPAS has tried to end the dominance of Whites in the American nominees, we can see that the Oscars are still So White.


Monday, June 27, 2011

Chris Brown, 2Face Idibia and D'Banj shine at 2011 BET AWARDS



Sensational American R&B singer Chris Brown was the star of the night at the 2011 BET AWARDS Sunday night at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, hosted by Kevin Hart. Chris went home with the awards for Best Male Artist, Coca-Cola Viewer's Choice, Best Collaboration, and Video of the Year Awards.

Popular Nigerian artistes 2Face Idibia and D'Banj shared the Best International Act award.




Chris Brown


The following is the full report.

27 Jun 2011 07:55 Africa/Lagos


CEE LO GREEN CHANNELS HIS INNER PATTI LABELLE IN FULL COSTUME DURING HER TRIBUTE PERFORMANCE FOR THE LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD
JUSTIN BIEBER FLIRTS WITH NICKI MINAJ ON STAGE
ALICIA KEYS PERFORMS NEW SONG "TYPEWRITER" AND SHARES STAGE WITH BRUNO MARS AND RICK ROSS
STEVE HARVEY INSPIRES THE AUDIENCE AS THE HUMANITARIAN AWARD RECIPIENT

PR Newswire

NEW YORK, June 27, 2011

NEW YORK, June 27, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- The hilarious Kevin Hart kept the crowd laughing out loud as a Hollywood House Husband during the BET AWARDS '11 opening act with Bobby Brown , Jermaine Dupri , Anthony Anderson , Nelly, and Nick Cannon . Chris Brown's powerful performance medley of "She Ain't You," "Look at Me Now," and "Paper Scissor Rock" illustrated just why he was named the 2011 Best Male R&B Artist, Video of the Year, Best Collaboration, and Coca-Cola Viewer's Choice Award winner when he took to the stage in two performances collaborating with Busta Rhymes and Big Sean. Later, a precocious Justin Bieber propositioned Nicki Minaj on stage when he said, "I'm all grown up now. I turn 18 next year so...what's up?"

(Logo: http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20070716/BETNETWORKSLOGO )

Legendary songstress and diva extraordinaire Patti LaBelle was the recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award and her tribute was a performance unlike anything ever seen before. Beginning with a special introduction from another musical icon, Gladys Knight , Cee Lo Green took to the stage in a throwback Patti LaBelle costume performing "Somebody Loves You Baby," while Marsha Ambrosius jazzed up the room with her spot on rendition of "If Only You Knew," before the great Shirley Caesar took the crowd—and Patti LaBelle —to tears singing "You Are My Friend." But it was Patti herself that brought the house down performing two of her greatest hits, "Love, Need and Want You" and "Lady Marmalade." Steve Harvey uplifted the audience in his acceptance speech for his Humanitarian Award.

The cast of the Five Heartbeats movie surprised the audience with a reunited performance with R&B crooners After 7 with the famous hit, "Nights Like This," for the 20-year anniversary of the film. The beautiful Kerry Washington graced the stage for BET's Shine A Light moment to honor individuals who make the world a better place for young people.

Celebrating the 10-year Anniversary of her first album, Songs In A Minor, Alicia Keys graced the BET AWARDS '11 stage for a medley of her hits with Bruno Mars and Rick Ross as well as for the world premiere her latest song, "Typewriter."

Additional highlights of the 14 performances include: Trey Songz sexy, shirt-ripping rendition of "Making Love Faces" and "Unusual," and was later joined by Kelly Rowland to perform her smash hit, "Motivation," Donnie McClurkin, Deitrick Haddon and Mary Mary uplifted the audience with their rendition of the gospel hit, "Thank You Lord," in tribute to the late Walter Hawkins; Mary J. Blige , Anita Baker , DJ Khaled, and Jadakiss kicked off the show with a monumental mix of hits "All Night Long," "Joy," "Happy," Dreams," "Real Love," "Rapture," and "Over Til It's Over"; Jill Scott performed a soulful rendition of "Rolling Hills" with actor and DJ Idris Elba ; DJ Khaled, Rick Ross, Drake and Lil' Wayne amped the crowd performing "I'm the One"; and Beyonce closed the show singing "Best Thing I Never Had" and "End of Time" via live telecast from Britain's Glastonbury Festival.

This year's In Memoriam tribute celebrated the lives of Cali Swag District member M-Bone, Clarence Clemons , Teena Marie , Gil Scott Heron and Nate Dogg with performances and appearances by Doug E. Fresh and Cali Swag District, Queen Latifah, Ledisi, Scott Mayo, Snoop Dogg and Warren G.

In continuing the good that BET's S.O.S.: Saving Ourselves initiative has made over the years, the BET AWARDS '11 contained a special moment to show support for the victims of the tornadoes in the Southeast through a special message from Rev. Al Sharpton .

In addition to all of these spectacular moments, the full list of BET AWARDS '11 winners are:

* Best Female R&B Artist: Rihanna
* Best Male R&B Artist: Chris Brown
* Best Group: Diddy-Dirty Money
* Best Gospel Artist: Mary Mary
* Best Female Hip Hop Artist: Nicki Minaj
* Best Male Hip Hop Artist: Kanye West
* Best New Artist: Wiz Khalifa
* Best Collaboration: Chris Brown f/ Lil Wayne and Busta Rhymes "Look At Me Now"
* Video of the Year: Chris Brown f/ Lil Wayne and Busta Rhymes "Look At Me Now"
* Video Director of the Year: Chris Robinson
* Best Actress: Taraji P. Henson
* Best Actor: Idris Elba
* Young Stars Award: Jaden Smith and Willow Smith
* Best Movie: For Colored Girls
* Subway Sportswoman of the Year: Serena Williams
* Subway Sportsman of the Year: Michael Vick
* Centric Award: Marsha Ambrosius "Far Away"
* Best International Act: 2Face Idibia (Nigeria) and D'Banj (Nigeria)
* Coca-Cola Viewer's Choice Award: Chris Brown f/ Lil Wayne & Busta Rhymes - "Look at me Now"
* Humanitarian Award: Steve Harvey
* Lifetime Achievement Award: Patti LaBelle


About BET Networks:

BET Networks, a subsidiary of Viacom Inc. (NYSE: VIA, VIA.B), is the nation's leading provider of quality entertainment, music, news and public affairs television programming for the African-American audience. The primary BET channel reaches more than 90 million households and can be seen in the United States, Canada, the Caribbean, the United Kingdom and sub-Saharan Africa. BET is the dominant African-American consumer brand with a diverse group of business extensions: BET.com, a leading Internet destination for Black entertainment, music, culture, and news; CENTRIC, a 24-hour entertainment network targeting the 25- to 54-year-old African-American audience; BET Digital Networks - BET Gospel and BET Hip Hop, attractive alternatives for cutting-edge entertainment tastes; BET Home Entertainment, a collection of BET-branded offerings for the home environment including DVDs and video-on-demand; BET Event Productions, a full-scale event management and production company with festivals and live events spanning the globe; BET Mobile, which provides ringtones, games and video content for wireless devices; and BET International, which operates BET in the United Kingdom and oversees the extension of BET network programming for global distribution.

SOURCE BET Networks

CONTACT: Marcy Polanco, +1-212-975-3327, marcy.polanco@BET.net, Zabrina Horton, +1-310-481-3737, zabrina.horton@BET.net, both of BET Networks; or Simone Smalls of Simone Smalls PR, Inc., +1-917-388-3890, simone@simonesmallspr.com; or Michelle Huff, +1-212-239-1732, michelle@huffent.com, Debbie Asrate, +1-212-239-1732, debbie@huffent.com, both of HUFF Events & PR; or Charlie Guadano of Simone Smalls PR, Inc., +1-917-388-3890, charlie@simonesmallspr.com

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


Saturday, May 28, 2011

Rihanna is third sexiest woman alive!


Rihanna

The ultra sexy black, bold and beautiful singer Rihanna has been rated the third sexiest woman alive by FHM on the list of the selected 100 sexiest women alive in the world. The second on the list is Katy Perry and the number one is Rosie Huntington-Whiteley,


Rosie Huntington Whiteley

The problem with all these fake ratings is the fact that these dumb American magazines totally ignore the beautiful and wonderful women in Africa and Asia where we have the most beautiful and sexiest women on planet earth.

You can check out the so called Top 99 women by Ask Men, the Esquire magazine voted Minka Kelly as the sexiest woman alive, but Ask Men disagreed. Then the gallery of sexiest black women is full of only black American celebrities without anyone chosen from Africa or other continents.


Katy Perry


Minka Kelly

You can also see the sexiest babes on hottest Play Boy Covers. But any list of the most beautiful or sexiest women alive today without including women from Africa and Asia is absolute bollocks.



~ By Ekenyerengozi Michael Chima

FHM's 100 Sexiest Women in the World 2011

• 100. Izabel Goulart
• 99. Lady Gaga
• 98. Andrej Pejic
• 97. Bar Refaeli
• 96. Chelsy Davy
• 95. Gisele Bundchen
• 94. Leona Lewis
• 93. Christine Bleakley
• 92. Malin Akerman
• 91. Zoe Saldana
• 90. Angelina Jolie
• 89. Miley Cyrus
• 88. Olivia Munn
• 87. Genevieve Morton
• 86. Christina Aguilera
• 85. Hannah Tointon
• 84. Ana Beatriz Barros
• 83. Elizabeth Banks
• 82. Christina Hendricks
• 81. Dianna Agron
• 80. Natasha Alam
• 79. Jessica Lowndes
• 78. Jessica Biel
• 77. Charlize Theron
• 76. Eva Longoria
• 75. Doutzen Kroes
• 74. Avril Lavigne
• 73. Christian Serratos
• 72. Billie Piper
• 71. Jennifer Metcalfe
• 70. Kylie Bisutti
• 69. Keira Knightley
• 68. Emma Stone
• 67. Zoe Salmon
• 66. Olga Kurylenko
• 65. January Jones
• 64. Belinda Stewart-Wilson
• 63. Rachel McAdams
• 62. Candice Swanepoel
• 61. Taylor Swift
• 60. Alessandra Ambrosio
• 59. Lindsay Lohan
• 58. Elle Liberachi
• 57. Holly Willoughby
• 56. Dannii Minogue
• 55. Jessie J
• 54. Anne Hathaway
• 53. Amy Childs
• 52. Rachel Bilson
• 51. Kylie Minogue
• 50. Jorgie Porter
• 49. Rachel Stevens
• 48. Kara Tointon
• 47. Lea Michele
• 46. Nadine Coyle
• 45. Beyonce Knowles
• 44. Miranda Kerr
• 43. Shakira
• 42. Karen Gillan
• 41. Una Healy
• 40. Diora Baird
• 39. Kate Middleton
• 38. Eliza Dushku
• 37. Summer Glau
• 36. Sarah Harding
• 35. Gemma Arterton
• 34. Amber Heard
• 33. Eva Mendes
• 32. Scarlett Johansson
• 31. Pixie Lott
• 30. Kaya Scodelario
• 29. Daisy Lowe
• 28. Abbey Clancy
• 27. Audrina Patridge
• 26. Michelle Keegan
• 25. Britney Spears
• 24. Elisabetta Canalis
• 23. Emma Watson
• 22. Frankie Sandford
• 21. Hayden Panettiere
• 20. Vanessa Hudgens
• 19. Natalie Portman
• 18. Emily Atack
• 17. Ashley Greene
• 16. Mila Kunis
• 15. Kim Kardashian
• 14. Adriana Lima
• 13. Kristen Stewart
• 12. Cheryl Cole
• 11. Jessica Alba
• 10. Irina Shayk
• 9. Nicole Scherzinger
• 8. Kelly Brook
• 7. Marisa Miller
• 6. Brooklyn Decker
• 5. Olivia Wilde
• 4. Megan Fox
• 3. Rihanna
• 2. Katy Perry
• 1. Rosie Huntington-Whiteley







Thursday, April 14, 2011

Rihanna tops nominations for 2011 Billboard Music Awards



14 Apr 2011 03:59 Africa/Lagos

Ultra sexy hip-hop and R&B singer Rihanna leads the nominees for the 2011 Billboard Music Awards with nominations in 18 award categories. The following is the complete news report.


Billboard Announces Finalists for the 2011 Billboard Music Awards

Rihanna Takes the Lead As a Contender in 18 Award Categories


PR Newswire

LAS VEGAS, April 13, 2011




LAS VEGAS, April 13, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- Billboard released the finalists for the 2011 Billboard Music Awards today at a press conference in Las Vegas. The winners will be announced at the Billboard Music Awards show airing on ABC on Sunday, May 22nd at 8-11 PM ET/PT. The awards show will take place at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada in partnership with Chevrolet, and the Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA). This is the first year that ABC will broadcast the event.



Rihanna takes the lead as a finalist in 18 award categories including Top Artist, Top Female Artist, Top 100 Artist, Top R&B Artist, Top Dance/Electronic Artist, Top Radio Songs Artist, Top Digital Songs Artist, Top Digital Media Artist, Top Social Artist and Top Streaming Artist. Her collaboration with Eminem places "Love the Way You Lie" as a contender in six song categories. Eminem is a finalist in 16 award categories including Top Artist, Top Male Artist, Top Billboard 200 Artist, Top Digital Songs Artist, Top Social Artist, Top Streaming Artist Top Digital Media Artist and Top Rap Artist.



Lady Gaga follows with 12 categories including three albums all competing for the award of Top Dance/Electronic Album: "The Fame," "The Fame Monster" and "The Remix." "The Fame" is also a finalist for Top Pop Album.

Bruno Mars and Justin Bieber are fan favorites, each earning 11 categories and competing for Top New Artist and Top Male Artist. Other Top New Artist contenders are Ke$ha, Nicki Minaj and Taio Cruz, whose song "Dynamite" is up for five awards including Top Hot 100 Song, Top Digital Song, Top Radio Song, Top Streaming Song (Audio) and Top Pop Song.

The Billboard Music Awards take a holistic look at artist performance based on key fan interactions with music—finalists and winners are determined by chart performance and social and streaming activity as chronicled in Billboard magazine and on Billboard.com during the eligibility period of February 28, 2010 through March 1, 2011. The forty-six award categories are based on measures provided by our data partners including sales data shared by Nielsen SoundScan, radio airplay monitored by Nielsen BDS, streaming data measured by Tubemogul and Nielsen BDS, social media consumption gauged by Next Big Sound and tour grosses tracked by Billboard Boxscore.

Today, Billboard launches a microsite for the 2011 Billboard Music Awards at www.Billboard.com/BBMA. Music fans can also follow news about the show and related events on Twitter at www.twitter.com/billboarddotcom or Facebook at www.facebook.com/billboard. To request media credentials please fill out the form available at www.Billboard.com/BBMA and email to billboard@brandlinkcommunications.com. To download images and video from today's press conference visit www.abcmedianet.com.

The 2011 Billboard Music Awards is co-executed produced by Richard Beckman, CEO of Prometheus Global Media, which owns Billboard, and Don Mischer of Don Mischer Productions.

The finalists for the 2011 Billboard Music Awards are:

ARTIST AWARDS:

Top Artist:
Justin Bieber
Eminem
Lady Gaga
Rihanna
Taylor Swift

Top New Artist:
Justin Bieber
Taio Cruz
Ke$ha
Bruno Mars
Nicki Minaj

Top Male Artist:
Justin Bieber
Drake
Eminem
Bruno Mars
Usher

Top Female Artist:
Ke$ha
Lady Gaga
Katy Perry
Rihanna
Taylor Swift

Top Duo/Group:
The Black Eyed Peas
Bon Jovi
Lady Antebellum
Linkin Park
U2

Top Billboard 200 Artist:
Justin Bieber
Susan Boyle
Eminem
Lady Antebellum
Taylor Swift

Top Hot 100 Artist:
Ke$ha
Bruno Mars
Katy Perry
Rihanna
Usher

Top Digital Songs Artist:
Eminem
Ke$ha
Bruno Mars
Katy Perry
Rihanna

Top Radio Songs Artist:
Drake
Bruno Mars
Katy Perry
Rihanna
Usher

Top Touring Artist:
Bon Jovi
Michael Buble
Lady Gaga
U2
Roger Waters

Top Social Artist:
Akon
Justin Bieber
Eminem
Lady Gaga
Rihanna

Top Streaming Artist:
Justin Bieber
Eminem
Lady Gaga
Rihanna
Shakira

Top Digital Media Artist:
Akon
Justin Bieber
Eminem
Lady Gaga
Rihanna

Top Pop Artist:
Justin Bieber
The Black Eyed Peas
Ke$ha
Lady Gaga
Katy Perry

Top R&B Artist:
Alicia Keys
Monica
Rihanna
Trey Songz
Usher

Top Rap Artist:
Drake
Eminem
Lil Wayne
Ludacris
Nicki Minaj

Top Country Artist:
Jason Aldean
Kenny Chesney
Lady Antebellum
Taylor Swift
Zac Brown Band

Top Rock Artist:
Kings of Leon
Linkin Park
Mumford & Sons
Muse
Train

Top Alternative Artist:
The Black Keys
Kings of Leon
Linkin Park
Mumford & Sons
Muse

Top Latin Artist:
Enrique Iglesias
Pitbull
Prince Royce
Shakira
Wisin & Yandel

Top Dance Artist:
The Black Eyed Peas
David Guetta
Lady Gaga
LaRoux
Rihanna

Top Christian Artist:
Casting Crowns
MercyMe
Skillet
tobyMac
Chris Tomlin

ALBUMS AWARDS

Top Billboard 200 Album:
Justin Bieber -- "My World 2.0"
Susan Boyle -- "The Gift"
Eminem -- "Recovery"
Lady Antebellum -- "Need You Now"
Taylor Swift -- "Speak Now"

Top Pop Album:
Justin Bieber -- "My World 2.0"
Black Eyed Peas -- "The E.N.D."
Ke$ha -- "Animal"
Lady Gaga -- "The Fame"
Katy Perry -- "Teenage Dream"

Top R&B Album:
Monica -- "Still Standing"
Rihanna -- "Loud"
Sade -- "Stronger Than Love"
Trey Songz -- "Passion, Pain & Pleasure"
Usher -- "Raymond v. Raymond"

Top Rap Album:
Drake -- "Thank Me Later"
Eminem -- "Recovery"
Nicki Minaj -- "Pink Friday"
Lil Wayne -- "I Am Not A Human Being"
Kanye West -- "My Beautiful Dark Twisted Fantasy"

Top Country Album:
Jason Aldean -- "My Kinda Party"
Lady Antebellum -- "Need You Now"
Sugarland -- "The Incredible Machine"
Taylor Swift -- "Speak Now"
Zac Brown Band -- "The Foundation"

Top Rock Album:
The Black Keys -- "Brothers"
Jack Johnson -- "To The Sea"
Kid Rock -- "Born Free"
Linkin Park -- "A Thousand Suns"
Mumford & Sons -- "Sigh No More"

Top Alternative Album:
The Black Keys -- "Brothers"
Jack Johnson -- "To The Sea"
Kings of Leon -- "Come Around Midnight"
Linkin Park -- "A Thousand Suns"
Mumford & Sons -- "Sigh No More"

Top Latin Album:
Marc Anthony -- "Iconos"
Camila -- "Dejarte De Amar"
Enrique Iglesias -- "Euphoria"
Prince Royce -- "Prince Royce"
Shakira -- "Sale El Sol"

Top Dance/Electronic Album:
Daft Punk -- "Tron Legacy (Soundtrack)"
Lady Gaga -- "The Fame"
Lady Gaga -- "The Fame Monster"
Lady Gaga -- "The Remix"
Owl City -- "Ocean Eyes"

Top Christian Album:
MercyMe -- "The Generous Mr. Lovewell"
Skillet -- "Awake"
tobyMac -- "Tonight"
Chris Tomlin -- "And If Our God is For Us"
Various Artists -- "WOW Hits 2011"

SONG AWARDS

Top Hot 100 Song:
Taio Cruz -- "Dynamite"
Eminem Feat. Rihanna -- "Love The Way You Lie"
Bruno Mars -- "Just The Way You Are"
Katy Perry Feat. Snoop Dogg -- "California Gurls"
Usher Feat. will.i.am -- "OMG"

Top Digital Song:
B.o.B Feat. Hayley Williams -- "Airplanes"
Taio Cruz -- "Dynamite"
Eminem Feat. Rihanna -- "Love The Way You Lie"
Bruno Mars -- "Just The Way You Are"
Katy Perry Feat. Snoop Dogg -- "California Gurls"

Top Radio Song:
Taio Cruz -- "Dynamite"
Eminem Feat. Rihanna -- "Love The Way You Lie"
Bruno Mars -- "Just The Way You Are"
Usher Featuring Pitbull -- "DJ Got Us Fallin' In Love"
Usher Feat. will.i.am -- "OMG"

Top Streaming Song (Audio):
Taio Cruz -- "Dynamite"
Eminem Feat. Rihanna -- "Love The Way You Lie"
Lady Antebellum -- "Need You Now"
Bruno Mars -- "Just The Way You Are"
Nelly -- "Just A Dream"

Top Streaming Song (Video):
Justin Bieber Feat. Ludacris -- "Baby"
Eminem -- "Not Afraid"
Eminem Feat. Rihanna -- "Love The Way You Lie"
Lady Gaga -- "Bad Romance"
Shakira Feat. Freshleyground -- "Waka Waka (This Time For Africa)"

Top Pop Song:
Taio Cruz -- "Dynamite"
Bruno Mars -- "Just The Way You Are"
Katy Perry Feat. Snoop Dogg -- "California Gurls"
Katy Perry -- "Firework"
Katy Perry -- "Teenage Dream"

Top R&B Song:
Alicia Keys -- "Unthinkable (I'm Ready)"
Rihanna Featuring Drake -- "What's My Name"
Trey Songz Feat. Nicki Minaj -- "Bottoms Up"
Usher Feat. will.i.am -- "OMG"
Usher -- "There Goes My Baby"

Top Rap Song:
B.o.B Feat. Hayley Williams -- "Airplanes"
B.o.B Feat. Bruno Mars -- "Nothin' On You"
Eminem Feat. Rihanna -- "Love The Way You Lie"
Far*East Movement Feat. Dev & The Cataracs -- "Like A G6"
Nelly -- "Just A Dream"

Top Country Song:
The Band Perry -- "If I Die Young"
Lady Antebellum -- "Need You Now"
Miranda Lambert -- "The House That Built Me"
Sugarland -- "Stuck Like Glue"
Taylor Swift -- "Mine"

Top Rock Song:
The Dirty Heads Featuring Rome -- "Lay Me Down"
Florence + The Machine -- "Dog Days Are Over"
Mumford & Sons -- "Little Lion Man"
Neon Trees -- "Animal"
Train -- "Hey, Soul Sister"

Top Alternative Song:
Florence + The Machine -- "Dog Days Are Over"
Linkin Park -- "Waiting On The End"
Mumford & Sons -- "The Cave"
Mumford & Sons -- "Little Lion Man"
Neon Trees -- "Animal"

Top Latin Song:
Enrique Iglesias Featuring Juan Luis Guerra "Cuando Me Enamoro"
Pitbull -- "Bon Bon"
Shakira -- "Gypsy"
Shakira Feat. El Cata -- "Loca"
Shakira Feat. Freshleyground -- "Waka Waka (This Time For Africa)"

Top Dance Song:
Lady Gaga -- "Bad Romance"
Lady Gaga Feat. Beyonce -- "Telephone"
La Roux -- "Bulletproof"
Edward Maya & Vika Jigulina -- "Stereo Love"
Yolanda Be Cool & Dcup -- "We Speak No Americano"

Top Christian Song:
Kris Allen -- "Live Like We're Dying"
MercyMe -- "All Of Creation"
Sanctus Real -- "Lead Me"
tobyMac -- "Get Back Up"
Chris Tomlin -- "Our God"

Additionally, Billboard editors identified three bands from six regions of the U.S. based on a variety of factors, including Heat Score, a formula that measures online fan engagement and drives Billboard's Uncharted chart of emerging artists. Through a contest called "Cruze-ing To Vegas" sponsored by Chevrolet, consumers cast over 217,000 votes, narrowing the competition down to one band from each region. These final six group favorites will each receive the keys to a Chevrolet Cruze for a road trip that will take them from their home base to Las Vegas.

A camera crew will follow each of the bands and will document their journey as they play gigs along the way, rock out to the Cruze's standard XM radio, and engage with fans online and in person. The six bands will communicate with their fans while on the road through blogging, tweeting and by creating and sharing playlists, building a viral audience and improving their social Heat Score, one of the many goals as they set their sights on Las Vegas. All six of the bands will arrive at Fremont Street in Las Vegas on May 18th to compete in the ultimate battle of the bands. The winning band will then be honored as the "Dreamseeker Artist of the Year" at the 2011 Billboard Music Awards.

The six finalists for Dreamseeker Artist of the Year are:

From the Northwest, Hotels (Seattle, WA)
From the West, AJ Rafael (Moreno Valley, CA)
From the Southwest, Otenki (Houston, TX)
From the Midwest, Lightning Love (Detroit, MI)
From the Southeast, Side by Side (Charlotte, NC)
From the Northeast, Gentlemen Hall (Boston, MA)

About Billboard

Now in its 117th year, Billboard is the world's premier music brand consisting of Billboard magazine, Billboard Events, Billboard Bulletin, Billboard.biz and Billboard.com—the online destination of choice for millions of music fans. The Billboard brand is built on its exclusive charts and unrivaled reporting on the latest news, issues and trends across all genres of music. Most recently, Billboard launched the new Uncharted ranking of undiscovered artists, tracking their rising popularity across the Internet. Billboard reaches tens of millions of consumers daily through many strategic relationships with major companies including Reuters, SanDisk, Telemundo, Microsoft Zune, Napster, GTech, Motorola, AT&T, Sony Music Entertainment and Amazon. These relationships leverage Billboard's brand recognition, proprietary chart data and information resources to develop products, live events and print, television, radio, digital and mobile platforms. Billboard produces conferences year-round with programming to address music's role in media and entertainment, including music showcases and awards shows to spotlight talent. In addition to North America, Billboard operates businesses in Brazil, Greece, Japan, Korea and Russia.

Billboard is owned by Prometheus Global Media, a diversified company with leading assets in the media and entertainment arenas, including: Music (Billboard and its related conferences and events, including The Billboard Latin Music Awards), Entertainment (The Hollywood Reporter, Backstage, ShowEast, Cineasia, and CineEurope); and Advertising & Marketing (Adweek, Adweek Conferences and The CLIO Awards).

About Chevrolet

Founded in Detroit in 1911, Chevrolet celebrates its centennial as a global automotive brand with annual sales of about 4.25 million vehicles in more than 130 countries. Chevrolet provides consumers with fuel-efficient, safe and reliable vehicles that deliver high quality, expressive design, spirited performance and value. The Chevrolet portfolio includes iconic performance cars such as Corvette and Camaro; dependable, long-lasting pickups and SUVs such as Silverado and Suburban; and award-winning passenger cars and crossovers such as Spark, Cruze, Malibu, Equinox and Traverse. Chevrolet also offers "gas-friendly to gas-free" solutions including Cruze Eco and Volt. Cruze Eco offers 42 mpg highway while Volt offers 35 miles of electric, gasoline-free driving and an additional 344 miles of extended range. Most new Chevrolet models offer OnStar safety, security and convenience technologies including OnStar Hands-Free Calling, Automatic Crash Response and Stolen Vehicle Slowdown. More information regarding Chevrolet models can be found at www.chevrolet.com.

About The LVCVA

The Las Vegas Convention and Visitors Authority (LVCVA) is charged with marketing Southern Nevada as a tourism and convention destination worldwide, and also with operating the Las Vegas Convention Center and Cashman Center. With approximately 149,000 hotel rooms in Las Vegas alone and more than 10.5 million square feet of meeting and exhibit space citywide, the LVCVA mission centers on attracting ever-increasing numbers of leisure and business visitors to the area. For more information, go to www.lvcva.com or www.VisitLasVegas.com.

About the MGM Grand Garden Arena

The MGM Grand Garden Arena is home to concerts, championship boxing and premier sporting and special events. The Arena offers comfortable seating for as many as 16,800 with excellent sightlines and state-of-the-art acoustics, lighting and sound. Prominent events to date have included world championship fights between Evander Holyfield and Mike Tyson as well as Oscar de la Hoya vs. Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao vs. Miguel Cotto; and concerts by The Rolling Stones, Madonna, Elton John, Bruce Springsteen, Paul McCartney, Bette Midler, George Strait, Janet Jackson, Phil Collins, Billy Joel, U2, 'N Sync, Sting, Coldplay, Alicia Keys, Lady Gaga, Jimmy Buffett and the Barbra Streisand Millennium Concert. The MGM Grand Garden Arena also is home to the annual Academy of Country Music Awards and the Frozen Fury NHL pre-season game which features the Los Angeles Kings vs. Colorado Avalanche.

About Don Mischer Productions

Don Mischer is an internationally acclaimed producer and director of television and live events. He has been honored with fifteen Emmy Awards, a record ten Directors Guild of America Awards for Outstanding Directorial Achievement, two NAACP Image Awards, a Peabody Award for excellence in broadcasting and more. Don Mischer Productions credits range from We Are One: The Obama Inaugural Celebration at the Lincoln Memorial and the 100th Anniversary of Carnegie Hall; to the Super Bowl Halftime Shows (Prince, The Rolling Stones, Paul McCartney and Bruce Springsteen), and the Opening Ceremonies of both the Winter and Summer Olympic Games to name a few.

SOURCE Billboard

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