And the nominees for the 1st MTV Asia Awards are...

Amid mounting excitement, MTV Asia unveiled the list of nominees for the inaugural MTV Asia Awards to be held at the Singapore Indoor Stadium in Singapore on Feb. 2, 2002. Nominees for each category have been compiled from votes of key figures from the Asian music, entertainment and fashion industries. Winners will be revealed at the ceremony which will be taped before a live audience of more than 7,000 fans. The complete show will air to over 150 million viewers across Asia, with highlights being seen on MTV’s channels around the world.

Twenty different awards will be raised skyward before an adoring audience, honoring viewers’ choices of the most popular artists or artistic creations. Categories include 11 "favorite music artist" awards from territories around Asia, six "International Music" category awards, one "Fashion" category award, one "Film" category award and one "Inspiration" award.

Some of the nominees are:

Favorite Music Artist (Philippines) – Freestyle, Gary Valenciano, Lea Salonga, Martin Nievera, Regine Velasquez;

International Categories:

Favorite Music Artist – Eminem, Ricky Martin, Robbie Williams, Ronan Keating, Shaggy;

Favorite Female Artist – Britney Spears, Christina Aguilera, Jennifer Lopez, Madonna, Mariah Carey;

Favorite Pop Act – Backstreet Boys, Destiny’s Child, M2M, M’Sync, Westlife;

Favorite Rock Act – Bon Jovi, Coldplay, Limp Bizkit, Linkin Park, U2;

Favorite Video – The Call (Backstreet Boys), Weapon of Choice (Fatboy Slim); 19-2000 (Gorillaz), POP (N’Sync); Lady Marmalade (Pink, Christina Aguilera, Mya, Lil’Kim);

Favorite Film – Charlie’s Angels, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Rush Hour 2, Pearl Harbor, Shrek, The Mummy Returns – among other regional and international categories.

Fans can get more information about the show and nominees as well as the latest updates on the MTV Asia awards from the official website, www.mtvasiaawards.com.

The nominees for each category will be promoted on MTV’s six channels and online sites across Asia from Nov. 12. All award categories (except for the "Inspiration" award) will be selected by the viewers and fans in 10 markets through an open poll from Nov. 12 to Jan. 18, 2002. Viewers can vote online at www.mtvasiaawards.com or at the following local voting partners on ground: Italianni’s Restaurant, Outback Restaurant, TGI Fridays, Sari-Sari, Music One, Odyssey, O, Tower Records, Oxygen

and Penshoppe branches. The "Inspiration" award will be a special honor presented by MTV to either an inspiring individual whom young adults across Asia admire, or to an organization that has contributed to the betterment of Asian youth and the region as a whole. The nominees for Favorite Artist, Pop and Favorite Artist, Film from India will be announced at a later date.

The 2002 MTV Asia Awards will be executive produced by MTV Asia’s senior vice president for content & creative, David Flack, vice president for talent & artist relations Mishal Varma is the event producer, while CheeK, vice president for network editorial is the on-air producer.

Mitsubishi Motors and Panasonic are the official partner sponsors of the MTV Asia Awards. Smart Communications, Inc. also recently came on board as a partner sponsor in the Philippines. "Smart is pleased to be the official Philippine sponsor to the first-ever MTV Asia Awards – an event showcasing Asia’s amazingly creative talents together with some of the world’s best," said Anastacio R. Martirez, personal communications and mobile services division head of Smart Communications. "Like our

previous exclusive tie-ups with MTV, we will develop an online polling service via text messaging catering to the MTV Generation. We, at Smart, believe that the MTV Asia Awards and Smart’s online polls will bring out the best synergy possible between telecommunications and media."