NEW YORK, NY. (Top40 Charts/ mtvU) - The national college audience has spoken, via the nearly 4.6 million votes cast for the 2007 "mtvU Woodie Awards," and all are advised to take note: Boys Like Girls, Say Anything,
The Academy Is ... and Duke University's
Stella by Starlight are Woodies winners to keep an eye on. Thousands of college students packed New York's legendary Roseland Ballroom last night for the fourth annual "mtvU Woodies" - the only awards honoring the music voted best by the college audience - as students gathered to recognize the artists they lived their lives to this year, and those poised to blow up next year. The full show will premiere simultaneously on mtvU and mtvU.com November 15th at 8pm ET, with the half-hour special "Best of the 2007 mtvU Woodie Awards" set to follow on MTV November 17th at 10pm ET/PT and MTV2 November 18th at 12:30am ET.
Other top artists picking up wooden statues at the 2007 "mtvU Woodies" included Gym Class Heroes, Spoon, Madvillain, Guster and Muse. The night brought together an all-star combination of up-and-coming and influential artists, with Annie Lennox, Q-Tip, surprise guests Fall Out Boy, Peter and Bjorn, Talib Kweli, Tom Delonge and Dave Kennedy of Angels & Airwaves, RJD2, Red Jumpsuit Apparatus, EL-P and many more on hand for the festivities. However, as always, college students were the stars of the show, joining in performances and even winning an "mtvU Woodie" for the first time.
This year mtvU debuted the "Best Music on Campus Woodie," to recognize the top unsigned college act in the country with the same award that's helped launch the careers of marquee acts like the Killers, Fall Out Boy and Plain White Ts. Propelled by unbelievable national support, Stella by Starlight (bestmusiconcampus.com/band/default.aspx?bandID=1147), of Duke University, beat out more than 1,700 college bands and musicians to win the award, a $5,000 cash prize and priceless industry exposure.
Above all else, the "mtvU Woodies" aim to give college students an unforgettable night of great live music, and that was the case again this year. Lupe Fiasco kicked things off, joined on stage by surprise guest Patrick Stump of Fall Out Boy, who lent his vocals to a high energy rendition of Lupe's hot new single "Superstar." Canadian indie rock set Tokyo Police Club was next to hit the stage, helping whip the college crowd into a frenzy with "Nature of the Experiment" and "Cheer it On," followed later by experimental hip hop outfit Spank Rock (with Santogold) and mind-bending performances of "Loose" and "Rick Rubin." Not long after winning their first ever "mtvU Woodie," fan favorites The Academy Is ... delivered amazing performances of "We've Got A Big Mess On Our Hands" and "Everything We Had," backed on the latter song by a 12 piece string section comprised of college students from The Julliard School of Music. Critical darlings Rilo Kiley brought the night home with "Money Maker" and "Breakin' Up," from their recently released Under The Blacklight. Select performances and stand out moments from the night will be unveiled on MTV, MTV.com throughout the coming week, building to the show's mtvU on-air and online premiere November 15th at 8pm ET.
Winners of the "2007 mtvU Woodie Awards" are:
Woodie of the Year - (Artist of the Year)
For the artists who made the biggest splash on mtvU and the college music scene this past year.
Winner: Gym Class Heroes (Atlantic Records/Fueled by Ramen)
The Breaking Woodie - (Best Emerging Artist)
This category is fast establishing a reputation for accurately picking the stars of tomorrow. Following in the footsteps of past winners the Killers (04) and Plain White Ts (06), this year's coveted "Breaking Woodie" goes to...
Winner: Boys Like Girls (Columbia Records)
Left Field Woodie - (Most Original Artist)
They're genre-busters. They resist classification. They came out of left field, and we're still not sure what section of the record store to find them in.
Winner: Madvillain (Stones Throw Records)
Best Video Woodie - (Best Video of the Year)
The music video that is so incredible, we'd watch it even without the music.
Winner: Say Anything, "Wow, I Can Get Sexual Too" (J Records)
The Good Woodie - (Greatest Social Impact)
The award for the artists whose commitment to a social cause has effected the greatest change this year.
Winners: Guster - "greened" more than 600 concerts in the last three years (Warner Bros. Records)
Performing Woodie - (Best Tour)
For those artists who take to the road and never let up, always giving that memorable live performance.
Winner: Muse (Warner Bros. Records)
Alumni Woodie - (a.k.a. The You're Still OK in our Book Award)
For the artists who've graduated into the wide world of mega-stardom, but who haven't forgotten where they came from. And we're proud to say, "We knew them when ... "
Winner: Spoon (Merge Records)
Viral Woodie - (Most Downloaded, Streamed, Blogged, etc.)
A category for those acts that crashed servers and blew up the World Wide Interwebs all year long.
Winner: The Academy Is ... (Atlantic Records/Fueled by Ramen)
The Best Music on Campus Woodie - (the most votes, streams and buzz on mtvU's BestMusiconCampus.com)
The most promising unsigned college band in America, hand picked by the national college audience.
Winner: Stella by Starlight, Duke University
The "mtvU Woodie Awards" originate from the indie tradition of giving a wooden record to those artists who generate a passionate response to their music. Each year the awards honor the acts who most captivate the college audience and are entirely decided by student voting on mtvU.com. More than 4.6 million votes were cast this year - up more than 40% from the 3.2 million cast last year. Nearly fifty emerging and influential artists were nominated for the 2007 "mtvU Woodies."
Ross Martin and Eric Conte are Executive Producers for the 2007 "mtvU Woodie Awards." Tracy Hellerud of Hellavision is the Producer. Liz Patrick is the Director. Gina Esposito is the Director of Music and Talent. Joe Buoye is the Director of Operations.
The fourth annual "mtvU Woodie Awards" are sponsored by Citi, Ford College Student Purchase Program, Garnier Fructis, Sony Playstation, T-Mobile, Windows Live Messenger and American Airlines, the official airline of the 2007 mtvU Woodies.
