Tori Kelly to Perform as KIA'S ONE TO WATCH on 2015 Billboard Music Awards

Billboard, dick clark productions and Kia Motors announced today that new music act, Tori Kelly, will perform as "Kia's One To Watch" on the "2015 Billboard Music Awards." Kelly will sing her new hit "Nobody Love," and joins previously announced musical performers Mariah Carey, Kelly Clarkson, Hozier, Nick Jonas, Ed Sheeran, Van Halen, along with special duet performances by "Empire" recording artists Jussie Smollett and Bryshere "Yazz" Gray with Estelle, Fall Out Boy featuring Wiz Khalifa, Little Big Town and Faith Hill, Britney Spears and Iggy Azalea and Meghan Trainor featuring John Legend. The show will also include a special moment with Molly Ringwald introducing Simple Minds who will pay tribute to the 30th anniversary of "The Breakfast Club" with their iconic song "Don't You (Forget About Me). The "2015 Billboard Music Awards" will be hosted by Ludacris and Chrissy Teigen and broadcast LIVE from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Sunday, May 17, on ABC from 8:00 PM-11:00 PM ET.

In sync with efforts to reach youthful audiences, Kia, the Official Automotive Partner of the Billboard Music Awards, has partnered to showcase its Soul and Optima to music fans, while discovering emerging artists. Tori Kelly was discovered by music manager Scooter Braun, who has been unparalleled in recent years in both finding emerging artists and turning them into bona fide stars. Braun took Kelly under his wing three years ago and has been steadily guiding her to increasing success in the music industry. Together, Kia, Billboard and Scooter Braun will tell Kelly's journey to the BILLBOARD MUSIC AWARDS big stage through a rare behind-the-scenes look into her life leading up to and following her first (and likely not last) BBMA performance. To follow Tori's story, visit Billboard.com/kia starting today, with additional content to follow each day through May 18.

Fun performer fact includes:
In 2012, Tori Kelly made her Billboard chart debut with her self-released album Handmade Songs By Tori Kelly. It peaked in the top 10 of the Heatseekers Albums chart, and was followed by her debut EP release for Capitol Records: Foreword. That set debuted in the top 20 on the Billboard 200 and in the top 10 of the Digital Albums chart. This year, she earned her first pop hit single in the U.S. with "Nobody Love," which has over three million video views to date, and reached the top 20 of the Mainstream Top 40 chart and gave the singer her first entry on the Billboard Hot 100.

"Music is all about personal expression and a youthful mindset, and speaks to an important part of our target customers' lives, so partnering with the BILLBOARD MUSIC AWARDS was a natural fit," said Tim Chaney, vice president, marketing communications, Kia Motors America. "Kia supports emerging artists and has had a run of successful music-oriented marketing campaigns for both the Soul and Optima, which will be featured during the Billboard Music Awards."

"We are thrilled to partner with Kia to introduce Tori Kelly, "Kia's One To Watch," to music fans online and to television viewers in more than 160 countries via the Billboard Music Awards' global stage," said Greg Economou, Executive Vice President & Chief Revenue Officer of dick clark productions.

Born and raised in Temecula, California, Kelly is the daughter of musicians, her dad is a singer and bassist and her mom plays piano and saxophone. She sites early influences like gospel singer Crystal Lewis, Jill Scott, Jeff Buckley, and Maxwell. Tori Kelly first rose to attention when her cover of Frank Ocean's "Thinkin Bout You," went viral, racking up over 22 million views. To date, her Youtube channel boasts over ONE MILLION Youtube Subscribers with over 93 million views. Now, two EP's later Handmade Songs, which Kelly self-penned, produced, mixed and released, and Foreword, she makes her Capitol Records full length debut with Unbreakable Smile out June 23rd and available for pre-order now. To coincide with her release Kelly just announced the 'Where I Belong' tour kicking of May 26th at the House Of Blues in Anaheim.

Billboard Music Awards finalists are based on key fan interactions with music, including album and digital songs sales, radio airplay, streaming, touring and social interactions on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Spotify and other popular online destinations for music. These measurements are tracked year-round by Billboard and its data partners, including Nielsen Music and Next Big Sound. The awards are based on the reporting period of March 10, 2014 through March 8, 2015. Since 1940, the Billboard charts have been the go-to guide for ranking the popularity of songs and albums, and are the ultimate measure of a musician's success.

Tickets are now on sale at Ticketmaster.com. Fans can also choose from multiple VIP premium ticket packages which include limited edition BILLBOARD MUSIC AWARDS merchandise, an invitation to the official BILLBOARD MUSIC AWARDS post-party and so much more! VIP premium ticket packages are available at www.cidentertainment.com/events/billboard-music-awards/.

Fan voting for the 2015 Billboard Chart Achievement Award presented by Samsung will continue through the first hour of the awards show, ending at 9pm ET. To vote for finalists Taylor Swift, Iggy Azalea or Meghan Trainor go to BillboardMusicAwards.com/vote or the@OfficialBBMAs Twitter account. The special editorial award will be given to an innovative artist who has accomplished an outstanding and rare achievement on the Billboard music charts over the past year.

For additional information on the "2015 Billboard Music Awards" visit us atwww.billboardmusicawards.com or the Billboard HUB at www.billboard.com/bbma. The "2015 Billboard Music Awards" is produced by dick clark productions. Allen Shapiro, Mike Mahan, Mark Bracco, Barry Adelman and Robert Deaton are Executive Producers.

For the latest BILLBOARD MUSIC AWARDS (BBMAs) news, exclusive content and more, be sure to follow the BBMAs on social and join the conversation by using the official hashtag for the show, #BBMAs.
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ABOUT BILLBOARD
Billboard is the world's most influential music brand, built on the most complete and well-respected database of charts across all music genres. The Billboard charts define success in music. From the iconic Billboard magazine to Billboard.com which is the ultimate consumer-facing destination for millions of passionate music fans, to the industry's most elite conference series and influencer events including the Power 100 and Women in Music, ­ the Billboard brand has unmatched authority among fans, artists and the industry alike.

ABOUT "2015 BILLBOARD MUSIC AWARDS"
The "2015 Billboard Music Awards" are set to return to ABC and will be broadcast live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Sunday, May 17 at 8:00pm ET/PT. The show will showcase this year's hottest and biggest music stars. BILLBOARD MUSIC AWARDS finalists are based on key fan interactions with music, including album and digital songs sales, radio airplay, streaming, touring and social interactions on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, Spotify and other popular online destinations for music. These measurements are tracked year-round by Billboard and its data partners, including Nielsen Music and Next Big Sound. The awards are based on the reporting period of March 10, 2014 through March 8, 2015. The "2015 Billboard Music Awards" is produced by dick clark productions. Allen Shapiro, Mike Mahan, Mark Bracco, Barry Adelman and Robert Deaton are Executive Producers.

ABOUT dick clark productions
dick clark productions (dcp) is the world's largest producer and proprietor of televised live event entertainment programming with the "Academy of Country Music Awards," "American Country Countdown Awards," "American Music Awards," "Billboard Music Awards," "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest," "Golden Globe Awards," "Hollywood Film Awards" and "The PEOPLE Magazine Awards." Weekly television programming includes "So You Think You Can Dance" from 19 Entertainment, a division of CORE Media Group, and dcp; "World's Funniest Fails" from Jukin Media and dcp; as well as "Boom!" (FOX) from Keshet DCP, the joint venture BETWEEN Keshet International (KI), the global distribution and production arm of Keshet Media Group, and DC Media, the parent company of dcp. dcp also owns one of the world's most unique and extensive entertainment archive libraries with more than 55 years of award-winning shows, historic programs, specials, performances and legendary programming. For additional information, visit www.dickclark.com.

ABOUT KIA MOTORS AMERICA
Kia Motors America (KMA) is the marketing and distribution arm of Kia Motors Corporation based in Seoul, South Korea, and in 2014 was the #1 ranked mainstream brand according to Strategic Vision's Total Quality Index. KMA proudly serves as the "Official Automotive Partner" of the NBA and LPGA and set an all-time annual sales record in 2014, surpassing the 500,000 unit mark for the third consecutive year. KMA offers a complete line of vehicles, including the rear-drive K900[i] flagship sedan, Cadenza premium sedan, Sorento CUV, Soul urban passenger vehicle, Soul Electric Vehicle[ii], Sportage compact CUV, Optima midsize sedan, Optima Hybrid, the Forte compact sedan, Forte5 and Forte Koup, Rio and Rio 5-door subcompacts and the Sedona midsize multi-purpose vehicle, through a network of more than 765 dealers across the United States. Kia's U.S. manufacturing plant in West Point, Georgia, builds the Optima* and Sorento* and is responsible for the creation of more than 14,000 plant and supplier jobs.

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