MTV TAPS COMEDIAN DONALD GLOVER AS FIRST-EVER HOST OF THE “mtvU WOODIE AWARDS” The 2011 Awards Air Live on MTV, MTV2 and mtvU from Austin, Texas on Wednesday, March 16th at Midnight (ET/PT)
MTV’s 24-hour college network, mtvU, today announced that Donald Glover will host the “2011 mtvU Woodie Awards” – the only night of music where college students honor their favorite emerging artists with a chunk of wood. As the show’s first-ever host, this triple-threat actor, writer and musician will uphold the “Woodies” college-party meets kick-ass concert atmosphere with his comedic edge, pop culture wit, and his love of indie music. The “2011 mtvU Woodie Awards” will air live on Wednesday night, March 16 at 12am (Live ET/ Tape delayed PT) on MTV, MTV2 and mtvU from Austin, Texas during the South by Southwest Music Festival. As previously announced, Wiz Khalifa, Sleigh Bells, Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All (OFWGKTA) and Two Door Cinema Club will perform LIVE at the Woodies. Matt & Kim, Lupe Fiasco, Dev, Chiddy Bang, Skylar Grey and MTV’s Liz Lee from “My Life as Liz” will present the Awards to the 2011 winners, and MNDR will keep the night going as the Woodies’ house DJ. Additional performers and presenters will be announced at a later date.
“I’m really excited to be hosting The Woodies, (insert joke about award sounding like a penis),” said Donald Glover.
Most recognized for his role as the jock “Troy” on NBC’s Community, Donald was hired as a staff writer on the hit-show 30 Rock while still a Resident Assistant at New York University. In addition to Community, Donald continues to tour and perform stand-up. His first Comedy Central Stand-Up Special aired in March, 2010 and in July of that year, Donald received the first-ever “Rising Comedy Star of the Year Award” at the 2010 Just For Laughs Comedy Festival in Montreal. Donald is also one of the founding members of the internet sketch comedy sensation, DERRICK Comedy, whose internet shorts have garnered over 80 million views online. Additionally, the group’s first feature film which Donald co-wrote, produced, scored and starred in, Mystery Team, was released in March 2010 and on DVD in May 2010. Donald also raps under the moniker “Childish Gambino” and has released several mixtapes including I Am Just A Rapper (in which he raps over indie rock samples from “Woodies” nominated artists like Vampire Weekend and Sleigh Bells) and I Am Just A Rapper 2, and in July 2010, Donald released his first full length album entitled Culdesac which features 16 tracks of original material that gained major critical acclaim. Donald also just released a new single Freaks and Geeks that is off his new EP out Tuesday, March 8th and is set to launch his I AM DONALD TOUR in mid- April, a unique hybrid between music and comedy. Check out www.iamdonald.com for more information and follow him on twitter @DonaldGlover
Artists including Matt & Kim, Two Door Cinema Club, Wavves, The Black Keys, Wiz Khalifa, Mumford & Sons, Vampire Weekend and more are currently vying for “2011 mtvU Woodie Awards.” Fans can vote for their favorite artists at Woodies.MTV.com now through March 1, 2011, except for the “Breaking Woodie” category which will continue during the live show on March 16. mtvU will collect “Breaking Woodie” votes in via Tweets and Facebook posts that include a combination of the nominee’s official “@” Twitter handle and the hashtag #Woodies. Artists will earn more votes as the “social voting” gets amplified via re-tweets, “likes” and comments.
As the only award show to honor and highlight the music and artists voted ‘best’ by the US college audience, the 7th annual show promises an unforgettable night of music and performances. College students established the “mtvU Woodie Awards” in 2004 and have since propelled numerous recognized acts to the next level of their careers – including surging record sales, headlining tours and mainstream notoriety. Examples include: Fall Out Boy (Streaming Woodie ’04), the Killers (Breaking Woodie ’04), Death Cab for Cutie (Best Video Woodie ’05), Plain White Ts (Breaking Woodie ’06), Gym Class Heroes (Woodie of the Year ’07), Paramore (Woodie of the Year ‘08) and Matt & Kim (Best Video Woodie ’09).
Jesse Ignjatovic/Den of Thieves is the Executive Producer for the “2011 mtvU Woodie Awards.” Garrett English and Amy Doyle are Executive Producers for MTV. Jen Jones is Producer. Joanna Bomberg and Gina Esposito are Executives in Charge of Music and Talent, MTV. Eric Conte is Executive Producer for mtvU.
Official sponsors of the “2011 mtvU Woodie Awards” include American Family Insurance, DORITOS®, Rhapsody®, Samsung Galaxy Tab™, Sun Drop and U.S. Army.
About mtvU:
Broadcast to more than 750 college campuses and via top cable distributors in 700 college communities nationwide, mtvU reaches nearly 9 million U.S. college students – making it the largest, most comprehensive television network just for college students. Twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, mtvU can be seen in the dining areas, fitness centers, student lounges and dorm rooms of campuses throughout the U.S., as well as on cable systems from Charter Communications, Verizon FiOS TV, Suddenlink Communications, AT&T u-Verse and nearly 70 others. mtvU is dedicated to every aspect of college life, reaching students everywhere they are: on-air, online and on the campus. mtvU programs music videos from emerging artists that can’t be seen anywhere else, news, student life features and initiatives that give college students the tools to advance positive social change. mtvU is always on campus, with hundreds of events per year, including exclusive concerts, giveaways, shooting mtvU series and more.
About Den of Thieves:
Founded in 2007 by Jesse Ignjatovic and Evan Prager, Den of Thieves has quickly emerged as a force for ambitious event shows and uniquely stylized reality television series. Using their extensive experience working with talent, Ignjatovic and Prager launched Den of Thieves as the TV arm of the Warner Music Group in 2007. After a successful three year partnership there, they branched out and are now fully independent. With an array of formats ranging from Comedy Central’s stand-up special Russell Brand in NYC to VH1’s The T.O.Show to the MTV Video Music Awards, Den of Thieves continues to create, develop and produce original television.
