College Students Award Chunks of Wood to Wiz Khalifa, Kanye West, Matt & Kim, Two Door Cinema Club And Chiddy Bang at the '2011 mtvU Woodie Awards'

AUSTIN, Texas, March 17, 2011 /PRNewswire/ --  mtvU, MTV's 24-hour college network, tonight declared Wiz Khalifa, Kanye West, Matt & Kim, Two Door Cinema Club and Chiddy Bang winners of the "2011 mtvU Woodie Awards" – the only night honoring college students' favorite emerging artists and music.  Packed with fans paying homage to the music they live their lives to, the show aired live on MTV, MTV2 and mtvU from Austin, Texas during the South by Southwest Music Festival.  

The night kicked off with a bang as a garage door opened to reveal the Foo Fighters performing their newest single, "Rope."  Odd Future Wolf Gang Kill Them All (OFWGKTA) went wild with "Sandwitches," giving the crowd a crazy, explosive performance (complete with gnomes, a chicken and a goldfish mascot).  After getting rowdy, security carried members of the rap collective off the stage, wrapping the show.    

Meanwhile, the show's first-ever host, triple-threat actor, writer and musician Donald Glover upheld the "Woodies" college-party meets kick-ass concert atmosphere throughout the night, and even threw in some freestyle via his alter-ego Childish Gambino.  2011 "Woodie of the Year" winner Wiz Khalifa commanded the stage with "Roll Up" and "Black & Yellow" as the audience whipped black and yellow towels in the air.  

Before capturing the coveted "Breaking Woodie" award for best new artist, Two Door Cinema Club rocked the stage, infecting the crowd with their signature guitar riffs and inventive sound as they performed, "What You Know."  Exclusively sponsored by ck one, the Breaking Woodie was voted on for the first time online, via Twitter and on Facebook, with the band taking home the award over nominees Local Natives, Sleigh Bells, Dev and Wavves. During their first televised performance ever, Sleigh Bells brought a larger-than-life performance to Austin Music Hall, treating fans to exploding guitars and rapid fire beats met with the college marching band "Marching Storm" from Prairie View A&M for their performance of "Riot Rhythm."

In between acts, the drama remained high -- while introducing Kanye West as the "Left Field Woodie" award winner, Lil B's friend grabbed the microphone from Pete Wentz's hands, demanding that the up-and-coming artist was robbed.  Lil B stepped to the mic and took his chance to accept the award, professing his love for the true winner, Kanye, who was not in attendance.  

As official DJ of the Woodies, Skrillex kept the night going with beats throughout the night.  Additionally, an all-star cast of presenters took the stage to hand out this year's Woodie Awards, including Aziz Ansari, Matt & Kim, Lil B, Friendly Fires, Pete Wentz, Yelawolf, Skylar Grey, Zoe Kravitz, Eliza Doolittle, Dev, Chiddy Bang, Theophilus London and MTV's Liz Lee from "My Life as Liz."

For music fans disappointed that their favorite artists didn't win this year, mtvU is giving them a second chance with the first-ever mtvU "SHOULDA COULDA" Woodie Award sponsored by the Citi mtvU Card.  Beginning at midnight on March 16th through April 14th, students can head to mtvU.com to vote for the artist they believe deserves a second chance at Woodies honors. Whether rallying around Daft Punk or Lil' Wayne who were beat out by Muse for "Best Performing Woodie" in 2007 or taking a stand for Draft, MGMT and Silversun Pickups as payback for being robbed by Kings of Leon for "Woodie of the Year" in 2009, this new category was created in response to student outcry for a second chance.  The winner will be announced on April 18. 

Official sponsors of the "2011 mtvU Woodie Awards" include American Family Insurance, ck one, DORITOS®, Rhapsody®, Samsung Galaxy Tab™, Sun Drop and U.S. Army.

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.  

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.  For more information about mtvU, and a complete programming schedule, visit www.mtvU.com

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.

SOURCE MTV/mtvU