Virgin Records' Gorillaz Are Winners in 48th Annual Grammy Awards

NEW YORK, NY (Virgin Records) - The artists of Virgin Records were winners in the 48th Grammy Awards, announced in yesterday night's Los Angeles ceremonies. "All of us at Virgin are proud to be partners with our artists in making musical history. They are true creative visionaries, moving music into the future," said Virgin Records Chairman Jason Flom.

The innovative virtual band Gorillaz opened the Grammy telecast with a crowd-rousing performance of "Feel Good Inc.," along with pioneering hip-hop iconoclasts De La Soul. They won the Grammy as Best Pop Collaboration With Vocals. Gorillaz' album "Demon Days," nearing 2 million in sales, continues to fly high in the Top 50 of Billboard's national album chart in its tenth month of release, underscoring an enduring fascination with the unique multi-media concept of the group's creators, Damon Albarn and Jamie Hewlett.

The career-redefining collaboration of Virgin Urban Music President Jermaine Dupri and Virgin/So So Def artist Johnta Austin with Mariah Carey resulted in a Grammy win in the Best R&B Song category, for the 14-week Billboard Hot 100 and R&B/Hip-Hop Number One ballad "We Belong Together." Additionally, "The Emancipation of Mimi" was named Best Contemporary R&B album, and Carey won the Grammy for Best Female R&B Vocal Performance for "We Belong Together." Dupri co-wrote and produced with Carey each of the four hit singles from the album. He and Austin co-wrote six tracks on "Mimi," the best-selling album of 2005.

Under Dupri's leadership, the Virgin Records Urban Music department has made a major chart surge in recent months, with such artists as Dem Franchize Boyz, Bubba Sparxxx, and Purple Ribbon All-Stars, as noted on the front page of the New York Times Arts section this week. Dupri is currently in the studio supervising the completion of superstar Janet Jackson's upcoming Virgin album. Dupri commented, "The success of Virgin Urban really comes from our love of R&B and hip-hop music." He added, "Johnta and I feel honored and grateful for this recognition from the professionals of the music industry. But I must say that the greatest blessing has been to work with Mariah for so many years, and to know that she continues to touch the hearts of her fans with the songs we wrote together."