MTV Viewers Have Spoken With Britney Spears Claiming Three Moonmen and Coveted Best Video of the Year at the '2008 MTV Video Music Awards'

MTV Viewers Have Spoken With Britney Spears Claiming Three Moonmen and Coveted Best Video of the Year at the '2008 MTV Video Music Awards'

Kanye West And Christina Aguilera Return to VMAs, Chris Brown Takes Home 'Best Male' And Tokio Hotel Nabs 'Best New Artist' At 25th Annual Awards Show

HOLLYWOOD, Calif., Sept. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- Britney Spears opened the show to a standing ovation as her moonman losing streak finally came to an end at the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards. The pop princess led the way with three moonmen for "Video of the Year," "Best Female" and "Best Pop Video" for "Piece of Me." Host Russell Brand kept viewers and sensors on their toes as he brought plenty of unexpected and memorable moments taking aim at the Jonas Brothers' virginity as well as charming the ladies. Throughout the night, in a nod to the 25th annual VMAs, new and familiar faces took the stage to celebrate the music that has consistently made the VMAs one of the most memorable nights in entertainment.

This year, for the time, the fans helped to determine the nominees and winners for this year's show. Adding a touch of Hollywood, Demi Moore presented Chris Brown with "Best Male" for "With You." Linkin Park won "Best Rock Video" for "Shadow of the Day." The Pussycat Dolls grabbed their first VMA win for "Best Dancing in a Video" with "When I Grow Up." Lil Wayne continued his unstoppable year, winning the "Best Hip Hop Video" award for "Lollipop."

Pete Wentz presented "Best New Artist" nominees throughout the show with special guests Danity Kane, Ashlee Simpson, Heidi Montag and Spencer Pratt. Teen worlds collided as The Hills' Lauren Conrad and Gossip Girl's Chace Crawford presented the "Best New Artist" award to Tokio Hotel for "Ready, Set, Go!"

MTV took over the historic back lot at the legendary Paramount Pictures Studios for live music video performances. Taylor Swift had the honor of announcing her good friends, the Jonas Brothers, as they performed their new single "Lovebug" live for the first time. Their performance revealed the magic behind movie and music video making, with the trio transitioning from a brownstone stoop in NYC to a stage ambushed by fans. Giving a fiery musical showcase of her new single "So What," Pink incited a rally for female empowerment after descending 15 feet down a fire escape and demonstrating her explosive persona. T.I. utilized every set, facade and movie prop on the lot during his performance of the current #1 song, "Whatever You Like," as he strolled down the streets of Chicago and into a Rolls Royce Phantom. Continuing his performance onto the main stage, he was joined by Rihanna for the first ever televised debut of their duet "Live Your Life."

The nominees were reflective of the past year, but the performances were all about today as some of the artists debuted their latest songs for the first time EVER. Rihanna made a grand entrance by gliding onto the main stage and transforming Paramount into a dark and mysterious world while performing her #1 hit "Disturbia." She also honored VMA history with a musical tribute to the Eurythmics' "Sweet Dreams" and The White Stripes' "Seven Nation Army."

Fresh off his record-breaking performance at the Beijing Olympics, Michael Phelps made his VMA debut in a nod to his pre-race ritual and favorite rapper, Lil Wayne. Leona Lewis started things off by singing Nina Simone's mesmerizing vocals of "Don't Get It," which led into a medley of his hits "A Milli" and "Got Money." After arriving to the red carpet on an elephant, T-Pain joined Lil Wayne center stage as they worked the entire room and had everyone out of their seats.

Just when fans thought they knew what would come next, Paramore took to the stage to perform "Misery Business," in a scene reminiscent of LA's legendary club Whisky A Go Go. To further prove nothing is what it seems, they broke down the walls to reveal screaming fans surrounding the main stage on the Paramount Lot.

Starting with a video montage of her memorable musical moments, Christina Aguilera made a bold return to the VMAs with a reinterpretation of her classic hit "Genie In A Bottle." Set in a futuristic city, Christina also belted out an energetic performance of her new song "Keeps Getting Better."

Kid Rock gave a kick-ass performance of his hit single "All Summer Long" for a good ole' rock n' roll vibe, with Lil Wayne accompanying him on stage with a little help from a Run-DMC beat.

In an unexpected return to the VMAs, Kanye West closed the show with a never before released song "Love Lockdown." A sea of 1,400 fans and 20 taiko drummers set the tone from the enormous water tank on Paramount's back lot.

DJ AM and Travis Barker kept the party grooving all night as they celebrated 25 years of music with new and classic hits. They collaborated with a number of special guests, including Katy Perry singing Madonna's "Like a Virgin" and her current hit "I Kissed a Girl," LL Cool J with "Going Back to Cali," Lupe Fiasco with "Superstar" and The Ting Tings with "Shut Up and Let Me Go."

The star studded show also included appearances by Michael Phelps, Demi Moore, Jamie Foxx, Kobe Bryant, Shia LaBeouf, Miley Cyrus, Lindsay Lohan, Taylor Swift, John Legend, Paris Hilton, Pete Wentz, Ashlee Simpson, Lauren Conrad, Chace Crawford, Leona Lewis, Ciara, Zac Efron, Vanessa Hudgens, Ashley Tisdale, Corbin Bleu, Tokio Hotel, Slipknot, Slash, Kristen Stewart, Robert Pattinson, Taylor Lautner, Cam Gigandet, Heidi Montag, Spencer Pratt, Danity Kane, Drake Bell and Josh Peck and Christopher Mintz-Plasse.

   2008 MTV VIDEO MUSIC AWARDS WINNERS:    VIDEO OF THE YEAR   Britney Spears - "Piece of Me"   Britney Spears   "Piece of Me"   Blackout   Jive/Zomba Label Group   Director: Wayne Isham    BEST MALE VIDEO   Chris Brown - "With You"   Chris Brown   "With You"   Exclusive   Jive Records/Zomba   Director: Erik White/Chris Brown    BEST FEMALE VIDEO   Britney Spears - "Piece of Me"   Britney Spears   "Piece of Me"   Blackout   Jive/Zomba Label Group   Director: Wayne Isham    BEST HIP HOP VIDEO   Lil Wayne - "Lollipop"   Lil Wayne featuring Static   "Lollipop"   Tha Carter III   Cash Money Records/Universal Motown   Director: Gil Green/D. Carter    BEST DANCING IN A VIDEO  

Pussycat Dolls "When I Grow Up" Doll Domination Interscope Records Director: Joseph Kahn

BEST ROCK VIDEO

Linkin Park "Shadow of the Day" Minutes to Midnight Warner Bros. Records Director: Joe Hahn

   BEST POP VIDEO   Britney Spears - "Piece of Me"   Britney Spears   "Piece of Me"   Blackout   Jive/Zomba Label Group   Director: Wayne Isham    BEST NEW ARTIST  

Tokio Hotel "Ready, Set, Go!" Scream Cherrytree/Interscope Records Director: Warwick/Haering

Official sponsors of "2008 VIDEO MUSIC AWARDS" are GM, Pepsi, TAG Body Spray, Taco Bell, Rhapsody, Verizon Wireless and Nikon.

Jesse Ignjatovic/Den of Thieves is the Executive Producer, for the "2008 MTV Video Music Awards." Dave Sirulnick is Executive Producer for MTV. Chris Choun/Ish Entertainment is Co-Executive Producer. Jane Mun is Producer. Amy Doyle, Joanna Bomberg and Robin Katz are Music Talent Executives. Robin Reinhardt-Locke is Celebrity Talent Executive. Garrett English is Executive in Charge of Production.

Telescope is the Official Business Advisor of the "2008 MTV Video Music Awards" Nominee Voting period.

About Telescope Inc.

Telescope is a participation media and mobile marketing pioneer. The company provides mobile, phone, and internet interactivity services. This includes mass-scale participation television with the world's largest phone voting solution; and mobile marketing and content programs, such as user-generated content, social networking; and CRM for media and advertiser clients. Telescope is headquartered in Los Angeles, California, with offices in New York and London. Visit us at www.telescope.tv.

About MTV

MTV is the dynamic, vibrant experiment at the intersection of music, creativity and youth culture. For over 26 years, MTV has evolved, challenged the norm, and detonated boundaries -- giving each new generation a creative outlet and voice that entertains, informs and unites on every platform and screen. On-air, MTV has been the number one rated 24 hour ad-supported cable network P12-24 for 16 straight years. Online, MTV.com scored double-digit growth in 2007 and MTV launched ten dynamic online communities and six new virtual worlds. On the go, MTV Mobile is the #1 music brand in the wireless space - delivering 90% more streams than in 2006. And MTV's successful sibling networks MTV2, mtvU and MTV Tr3s each deliver unprecedented customized content, super-serving music fans, college students and young American Latinos like no one else. MTV is part of MTV Networks, a unit of Viacom (NYSE:VIA) (NYSE: VIA.B) , one of the world's leading creators of programming and content across all media platforms. Wanna know more? Come on in... www.mtvpress.com.

First Call Analyst:
FCMN Contact: Lameka.Lucas@mtvnmix.com
http://www.telescope.tv/

Source: MTV

CONTACT: Jennifer DeGuzman, +1-212-846-7175,
jennifer.deguzman@mtvstaff.com, Melissa Barreto, +1-212-846-7226,
melissa.barreto@mtvstaff.com, or Emily Yeomans, +1-310-752-8074,
emily.yeomans@mtvstaff.com, all of MTV

Web Site: http://www.mtv.com/
http://www.mtv.com/ontv/vma/2008
http://www.mtvpress.com/

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Profile: International Entertainment