The Search Is On! MTV and MTV Tr3s Join Forces to Find the Next Menudo Beginning on March 31

Casting Calls For Teen Latin Sensation Scheduled In Los Angeles, Miami,

Dallas and New York

MTV Tr3s Follows The Casting Journey With 'Road to Menudo'

    NEW YORK, and SANTA MONICA, Calif., March 6 /PRNewswire/ -- The search
 to recreate Menudo, one of the biggest and most successful Latin pop
 singing groups, gets underway on March 31 in Los Angeles, followed by
 casting sessions in Dallas, Miami and New York through the end of April.
 MTV Tr3s will chronicle the entire journey of thousands from the first
 audition to the last, culminating with the selection of seven finalists in
 "Road to Menudo" which debuts on May 12. The road continues on MTV this
 fall when the band will dwindle down to the five final members of the new
 Menudo as the channel air the 10-episode reality series (title TBD.)
     Reveille is producing the MTV series in association with Road Games and
 Menudo Entertainment. Reveille, producer of the two-time Golden Globe
 winner and Latin crossover hit "Ugly Betty," is expert in developing
 programming with multilingual appeal. The company also produces the Emmy
 Award-winning "The Office," "Nashville Star" and "The Biggest Loser," to
 name just a few.
     Once selected, Menudo will be part of the Epic Records family. The
 partnership between Epic and Menudo kicks off with a first single in July
 and the group's "debut" album in December 2007.
     MTV Tr3s will document the nationwide search to find the talented and
 hungry young artists that will get their shot at making it big in the fast-
 paced world of the music industry. Four casting sessions will take place
 beginning in the Los Angeles community of Lynwood on March 31st at Plaza
 Mexico; in Miami on April 14th at Bayside Marketplace; in Dallas on April
 21st at the Valley View Mall; and in New York on April 28th at the Queens
 Center Mall in Queens. Celebrity judges along with renowned music manager,
 Johnny Wright will be on hand to audition teenage boys on their natural
 singing and dancing abilities, charisma and stage presence. The auditions
 are open to males who are at least 15 years old and appear to be less than
 19 years old. All contestants will be asked to sing a song, in English or
 Spanish, from a pre-selected song list available on mtvtr3s.com. A legal
 guardian who can sign a release must accompany contestants under 18.
 Complete eligibility requirements are available at mtvtr3s.com.
     "The Menudo series will introduce an entire new generation to a cross-
 cultural music phenomenon that once captured the hearts and minds of music
 fans all over the world," said Lois Curren, President, Entertainment and
 Programming, MTV. "The series is poised to deliver content that connects
 deeply with our audience by giving them unlimited access across all our
 screens, to the young and talented hopefuls aspiring to join Menudo and win
 their spot on the world stage."
     MTV Tr3s' "Road to Menudo" which begins on May 12, will include four
 half- hour shows that take viewers to all auditions and give them front-row
 access to all the anticipation and excitement. After the casting sessions,
 12 semi- finalists will be picked and each one will be featured in short
 form capsules that will introduce the potential band members to multiple
 MTV audiences across all MTV screens. MTV Tr3s will also air a 1-hour
 special in July, "Road to Menudo: The Finals," where the members of the new
 Menudo will be revealed.
     MTV Tr3s will also produce a four-part series, "Road to Menudo
 Presents: De La Calle to the Stage" that showcases musical success stories
 from the Menudo audition cities such as Miami's Gloria Estefan and PitBull
 and New York's Jennifer Lopez, Marc Anthony and Fat Joe.
     Online, mtvtr3s.com and myspace.com/mtvtr3s will feature "Road to
 Menudo" details including casting information, audition highlights and
 early audience favorites.
     MTV Tr3s Radio and VH1 Radio affiliates in the audition cities will
 feature on-air Menudo trivia contests for prizes, interviews with the
 judges and live remotes at auditions with contestant interviews.
     "MTV Tr3s has set out to create and define a new generation of Latino
 pop music and culture and what better expression of that than helping to
 discover the new Menudo, the biggest brand in Latin pop music over the last
 thirty years," said Lucia Ballas-Traynor, SVP and general manager of MTV
 Tr3s. "The new Menudo will be reflection of our audience in every way and
 we are going all out to ensure that every talented teenage boy across the
 country has a shot at stardom. It's another way MTV Tr3s is providing a
 voice to young Latinos."
     Additional summertime Menudo programming on MTV Tr3s will include a
 half- hour special on the history of Menudo; "Fans of Menudo," a trivia
 game between parents and teens; "History of Boy Bands," a 30-minute look at
 the biggest and most successful boy bands of all time (Menudo, NKOB, BSB,
 NSYNC, Barrio Boys, Proyecto Uno, etc); and "Life after the Band," a half
 hour show featuring videos from the solo careers of boy band members (Ricky
 Martin, Robby Rosa, Justin Timberlake, Robbie Williams, Ashley Parker
 Angel.)
     The MTV series will follow the new Menudo's rise to super pop stardom
 and feature the band recording their first album together, learning about
 the music industry and interacting with legendary icons who will offer
 personal and professional advice along the way. As fans see the band
 struggle to become a cohesive unit, the guys will have to learn how to
 overcome their differences, challenges and rigorous work schedules during
 this crucial time in their career.
     The original Menudo, which took the US and Latin America by storm
 during its run in the late 70s and 80s, recorded 35 albums and sold more
 than 40 million records and set concert attendance records worldwide and
 produced superstars Ricky Martin and Robby Rosa. The new Menudo will record
 a contemporary hip urban/Latin rhythmic sound and will be managed by Menudo
 Entertainment and legendary manager Johnny Wright who has worked with
 *NSYNC, Backstreet Boys and Justin Timberlake as a solo artist.
     Rod Aissa is executive in charge of production for MTV. Lily Neumeyer
 is executive in charge of production for MTV Tr3s.
     MTV Networks, a unit of Viacom ( VIA, VIA.B), is one of the
 world's leading creators of programming and content across all media
 platforms. MTV Networks, with more than 120 channels worldwide, owns and
 operates the following television programming services - MTV: MUSIC
 TELEVISION, MTV2, VH1, mtvU, NICKELODEON, NICK at NITE, COMEDY CENTRAL, TV
 LAND, SPIKE TV, CMT, NOGGIN, VH1 CLASSIC, LOGO, MTVN INTERNATIONAL and THE
 DIGITAL SUITE FROM MTV NETWORKS, a package of 13 digital services, all of
 these networks trademarks of MTV Networks. MTV Networks connects with its
 audiences through its robust consumer products businesses and its more than
 95 interactive properties worldwide, including online, broadband, wireless
 and interactive television services and also has licensing agreements,
 joint ventures, and syndication deals whereby all of its programming
 services can be seen worldwide.
     MTV Tr3s is the most-widely distributed TV network dedicated to
 superserving today's bicultural Latino youth. MTV Tr3s' programming is
 rooted in the fusion of American and Latino music, cultures, lifestyles and
 languages. Music programming is at the core of MTV Tr3s and the channel
 features hitmakers, emerging artists and new sounds that resonate with
 young U.S. Latinos. In addition to music programming, MTV Tr3s programming
 slate also features lifestyle series, news, documentaries and other
 long-form programs that celebrate US Latino hybrid identity and culture.
     Reveille is a leading independent production and distribution company
 focused on exploiting worldwide intellectual property rights through
 scripted and alternative television formats. Launched in 2002 by Ben
 Silverman, the company produces innovative entertainment programming across
 all television genres such as the Emmy Award-winning "The Office" (NBC),
 which has also received two Television Critics Association Awards and a
 Screen Actors Guild Award; "Ugly Betty" (ABC), winner of two Golden Globe
 Awards and a Screen Actors Guild Award; "The Biggest Loser" (NBC);
 "Identity" (NBC); "House of Boateng" (Sundance Channel); "30 Days" (FX);
 "Blow Out" (Bravo); "Bound For Glory" (ESPN); "Nashville Star" (USA); "Date
 My Mom" (MTV); and "The Restaurant" (NBC). Reveille is also the world
 leader in creating integrated marketing opportunities for leading
 advertisers while developing alternative financing paradigms. In addition,
 Reveille's growing library of programming is distributed to more than 150
 countries worldwide through Reveille International. The company also
 creates, acquires and develops a broad slate of diverse films through its
 feature film division, Reveille Motion Pictures. Reveille maintains offices
 in Los Angeles and New York.
     Epic, a division of Sony BMG Entertainment, is a trailblazing
 multi-media entertainment company and the creative habitat of some of
 today's most vital and diverse musical artists such as Shakira, Jennifer
 Lopez, The Fray, Natasha Bedingfield, Matisyahu, Fiona Apple, Incubus and
 Los Lonely Boys to name a few.
 
 

SOURCE MTV