NEW YORK (MTV press release) - MTV:
Music Television today announced that mega-chart toppers Usher, Kanye West, and
Jessica Simpson will all perform at the "2004 MTV Video
Music Awards." Hoobastank, Yellowcard, & Jet will also team up for a super-sized rock performance. This is the first in a rapidly growing list of performers and celebrity guests to be announced for the star-studded event. Each is also nominated for a 2004 VMA.
For the first time in the show's 20-year history, the "2004 MTV Video Music Awards" will air live from Miami, FL on Sunday, August 29th at 8pm ET/PT.
"We've brought in the heavy hitters," said Van Toffler, President, MTV & MTV2. "These artists put on incredible live shows, which combined with the heat of Miami, some surprise collaborations, and a stage like no other seen on television will make for an unforgettable night."
The diverse line-up of performers appearing at this year's show has each achieved recognizable success among music fans and the MTV audience. Usher's fourth and most recent album CONFESSIONS debuted at No 1 on the Billboard 200 and Top R&B/Hip-Hop Album charts, setting an astonishing seven Soundscan sales records and selling 1.1 million albums the first week.
Usher has also had considerable success on MTV with his video "Burn," which is nominated for Best R&B Video, and his video "Yeah" featuring Lil' Jon and Ludacris which is nominated for four awards including nods for Video of the Year, Best Male Video, Best Dance Video and Best Choreography.
Kanye West has also achieved tremendous success on MTV with his video "All Falls Down" which is nominated for four moonmen this year including Breakthrough Video, Best New Artist In A Video, Best Hip Hop Video and Best Male Video. The single and video are off of Kanye's debut album College Drop Out which has received critical acclaim and earned Kanye new fans around the globe.
Bringing together a powerful contingent of rock from around the globe, Hoobastank, Yellowcard and Jet will perform a medley at this year's show. Hoobastank has achieved widespread success with their latest album The Reason. Their video for the title track has been nominated for Best Rock Video and Best Group Video at this year's show.
Yellowcard will be making their VMA debut at the 2004 show as performers as well as nominees for their video "Ocean Avenue" which is represented in the Best New Artists In A Video and the MTV2 Award categories.
Finally, representing the Australian garage band scene, Jet will also be making their VMA debut. Off the heels of their acclaimed debut album Get Born, Jet has discovered fans worldwide and is nominated for three moonmen for their video "Are You Going To Be My Girl" including Best Editing In A Video, Best New Artist In A Video, and Best Rock Video.
Jessica Simpson is currently on tour supporting her multi-platinum album, "In This Skin," which reached the No 2 spot on Billboard 200 selling over two million copies. Her huge hit single "With You" topped the charts at No 1 and is nominated for Best Female Video and Best Pop Video. Jessica, along with husband Nick Lachey, is currently starring in the popular MTV reality series, "Newlyweds: Nick and Jessica."
Additional performers and presenters will be announced shortly.
For complete information on these performers, along with all the 2004 MTV VMA news, nominees, information and more visit https://www.MTV.com.
Salli Frattini and Dave Sirulnick are the Executive Producers for the "2004 MTV Video Music Awards." Alex Coletti is Co-Executive Producer. Michael Dempsey is Producer and Summer Strauch is Co-Producer. Louis J. Horvitz is the Director.
The "2004 MTV Video Music Awards" will be available to a potential viewing audience of over 1 billion people via MTV's 42 channels reaching 407.5 million households around the world as well as through syndication, and its convergent and original online programming will reach the entire online nation, via MTV's 34 Web sites around the world.
The official sponsors of the "2004 MTV Video Music Awards" are Pepsi, Taco Bell, Pantene Pro-Voice, GM, Dodge, Revlon, Gap and HP.
MTV Networks owns and operates the cable television programming services MTV: Music Television, MTV2, mtvU, Nickelodeon/Nick at Nite, TV Land, VH1, CMT: Country Music Television, and Spike TV, as well as The Digital Suite from MTV Networks, a package of thirteen digital services, all of which are trademarks of MTV Networks. MTV Networks also operates and offers joint ventures, licensing agreements and syndication deals whereby its programming can be seen worldwide.
