MTV O MUSIC AWARDS Will Attempt to Break Jay-Z's Guinness World Record

Viacom Music Group, which includes MTV, VH1, CMT and Logo, today announced that its groundbreaking and Webby Award winning O Music Awards, www.omusicawards.com, a digitally driven event that celebrates and honors the artists, fans and innovators impacting digital music culture, will return on June 27th. The third iteration will be the world's first 24-hour award show live stream, an event that will unfold via a historic bus ride through the Mississippi Delta, the birthplace of rock 'n' roll.

Running tandem with the awards, one courageous band will board a tricked-out bus and zigzag across the region in attempt to break Jay-Z's Guinness World Records® title for the Most Live Concerts In 24 Hours (Multiple Cities) hitting a total of 8 cities starting in Memphis and ending in New Orleans. Beginning today, fans can suggest potential categories and nominees via OMusicAwards.com. Categories, nominees and the band attempting to break the world record will be announced at a later date. Confirmed sponsors include Honda, SK Energy and Starbucks® Frappuccino® blended beverages.

With each cycle, O Music Awards continues to best itself and smash records in the process. O Music Awards 2 beat out April's debut as MTV's second biggest live stream ever, nearly doubling the previous numbers, generating more that 1.4 million live streams and 22.3 million votes.
Having already invaded Las Vegas' iconic Fremont Street last April and West Hollywood on Halloween night in 2011, O Music Awards now has its sights set on the birthplace of rock 'n' roll: the Mississippi Delta, an area that's been home to musical greats like Elvis Presley, Jerry Lee Lewis, Muddy Waters, Carl Perkins, Johnny Cash, Robert Johnson, W.C. Handy, Howlin' Wolf, Isaac Hayes, Al Green, Justin Timberlake, Alex Chilton and Three 6 Mafia.

But this is no mere road trip down memory lane; it's a celebration of musical roots and a down and dirty, 24-hour live stream where anything can happen. The band in question will be in a constant state of "go" as cameras follow them on the bus, on the stage and everywhere in between. Along the way, the band will stop in 8 different cities and will play alongside a wide range of artists, meet up with fans and presenters who will dole out awards, and, of course, deal with all the pitfalls and unexpected detours that a multi-state road trip entails – flat tires, stops at musical monuments, and perhaps the occasional music-making hitchhiker. The audience at home can watch it all from any screen and, naturally, interact, influence, and play a part in the voyage as they head toward the final destination.

"We started O Music Awards as an experiment and it keeps gaining momentum as an incubator for experimenting with interactive storytelling across multiple platforms," said Dermot McCormack, Executive Vice President of Viacom Music & Logo Group. "We invite the audience in and together we want to push the boundaries of how stories are told. We also have some fun, give out awards and break a few records."

Categories and nominees will be announced on Wednesday, May 23. Past O Music Award winners have included Bjork (Digital Genius Award), Kanye West (Best Tweet), Tokio Hotel (Fan Army FTW), Nirvana (Best Vintage Viral Video), Spotify (Most Addictive Social Music Service), Aquarium Drunkard (Best Independent Music Blog), Way Out West (Most Innovative Festival) and CrowdJuke (Best Music Hack).

In the coming weeks, we'll reveal the identity of the band slated to take on the world record, as well as the artists who will join them on the road. The previous award shows have featured a myriad of performers that span multiple genres, including The Flaming Lips, Robyn and Mumford & Sons; and have been springboards to launch artists including Foster the People, Mac Miller and Alabama Shakes.

Running in tandem with the awards and performances, O Music Awards have successfully made its way into the history books by carving out 3 Guinness World Records. During the inaugural O Music Awards in Las Vegas in April of 2011, rapper Chiddy of Chiddy Bang snagged Guinness World Records titles for the Longest Freestyle Rap and the Longest Marathon Rapping record after rapping for 9 hours, 16 minutes and 22 seconds. For O Music Awards 2, the show took on an even more ambitious goal: Longest Team Dance Marathon. A group of 13 dancers assembled at LA's famed club The Roxy on Halloween Eve to take on this epic attempt. Twenty-four hours later, all 13 were still standing and seized the record.

The effort also raised more than $32,000 to fight bullying, with the money divided equally between The Gay, Lesbian & Straight Education Network (GLSEN), The It Gets Better Project, The Gay Straight Alliance Network (GSA), Human Rights Campaign (HRC), Gay & Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD) and The Trevor Project.

The O Music Awards are much more than just an awards show. With a news blog, monthly live event series (O Music Awards Unboxed) and more, OMusicAwards.com has become one of the premiere destinations for all things related to digital music innovation both online and off.

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