Fans Vote K-Pop Sensation 2NE1 MTV Iggy's Best New Band in the World

NEW YORK, Nov. 10, 2011 /PRNewswire/ -- MTV Iggy, a multi-platform music brand connecting America with global artists and pop culture phenomena, announced Korean pop sensation 2NE1 as The Best New Band in the World 2011 following a six-week fan-driven and social media-intensive search. 2NE1, alongside fellow Best New Band in the World finalists will take over New York's Times Square, to perform a scintillating live concert on December 12th at MTV's Times Square Studios and other venues. The multi-location concert will be streamed on mtviggy.com, on MTV's 44 1/2, a giant HD screen in Times Square and will be supported by various MTV properties.

As a result of a global fan voting process, 2NE1 came out on top after more than 4.25 million votes were cast from 169 countries. MTV Iggy made an initial selection of ten breakthrough acts from countries including the U.S.A., U.K., Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Malaysia, Pakistan and South Korea.  During the final weeks of the program, MTV Iggy announced the top five band finalists, which included La Vida Boheme, Atif Aslam, Skrillex and Yuna.

"We are delighted by the results of this program and the level of passion and engagement displayed by fans of music from around the world as well as the artists themselves. It's a sign of the times and clearly demonstrates that music is borderless and a great connective tissue between cultures," said Nusrat Durrani, Senior Vice President and General Manager of MTV World. "We're thrilled that MTV Iggy can offer a U.S. platform for artists like 2NE1, who are exploding globally. We're incredibly proud that MTV Iggy is a catalyst for a new music revolution and is opening the door to mainstream America for great new artists from around the world."

A key factor in the success of The Best New Band Program was the high-energy participation of self-named fan groups who championed their bands from far flung countries. Members of the Blackjacks, Aadeez, and La Resistance heavily leveraged Facebook and Twitter to create a drumbeat of support for their respective idols, 2NE1, Atif Aslam and La Vida Boheme until the closing hours of the program.

"MTV takes pride in creating passionate connections between artists and audiences," said Amy Doyle, EVP Music and Talent for MTV. "With The Best New Band Program we are providing our American audiences a chance to discover new music from around the world and creating cross-cultural connections. In doing this we also hope to enrich the pop music world."

While the U.S.A. generated the highest number of votes revealing a stateside appetite for new music genres, the program also received votes from a broad range of countries including the Philippines, Venezuela, Luxembourg, Togo, Romania and Vietnam.

To celebrate the program's success, MTV Iggy will put the power back in fans' hands with an open sweepstakes to attend the one-of-a-kind Times Square concert. The finalists' fan groups will be selected at random to see their idols at the groundbreaking event catering to thousands of people. An additional five lucky fans will be granted backstage passes at the performance to interact with their favorite stars. More details about the concert are available on Mtviggy.com.

ABOUT MTV WORLD

MTV World connects globally minded millennials with music and pop culture trends and creates original programming for targeted audiences across multi-platform brands.  The division includes MTV Iggy, featuring emerging music from around the world, MTV K, devoted to global K-Pop, and MTV Desi, focused on South Asian music and pop culture. It also creates innovative content and programs for advertising partners. MTV World is a unit of Viacom Inc. (NYSE: VIA.A, VIA.B).

SOURCE MTV World