T-Pain Discovers Manny X, Handpicks as Grand Prize Winner of Guitar Center Presents Your Next Record

WESTLAKE VILLAGE, Calif., June 20, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- After months of collaborating with Guitar Center on the music retailer's inspirational Your Next Record music discovery program, and after weeks of carefully sifting through hundreds of finalists, Grammy winning artist, writer, and producer, T-Pain has named Emmanuel Ruiz aka Manny X, from Providence, RI winner of the groundbreaking unsigned artist competition.

As the winner, Manny X will be awarded with not only a potentially career-making opportunity, but also a grand prize package valued at $27,000. The grand prize package includes all new gear by Guitar Center, Akai, iZotope, Shure and AVID and the unprecedented opportunity to fly to Los Angeles to work with T-Pain and record his debut EP. All songs on the EP will be produced by T-Pain and Young Fyre.

Your Next Record with T-Pain Grand Prize Package Includes:

• A 3-song EP produced by Young Fyre (produced several tracks on T-Pains "rEVOLVEr" album)
• T-Pain to produce and write on winner's single
• Complete Pro-tools HD Native recording studio from AVID
• AKAI MPC 5000 music production studio
• New gear and products from SHURE, iZotope and ROCKSTAR Energy Drink
• Worldwide music distribution through TuneCore

"I know how tough it can be for up and coming artists out there struggling to be discovered so I am all about finding that next, fresh, new, exciting sound which is what drew me to Manny X," said T-Pain. "I can't wait to get into the studio, lay down some tracks with him and get the EP out to the fans."

Listen to Manny X's winning track here: http://tpain.whooznxt.com/

Born in Ponce, Puerto Rico and raised in Providence, RI, Emmanuel Ruiz began performing at the tender age of six. It wasn't until his early teens that Emmanuel was wooed by the world of R&B, instantly marveled by the emotion and messages the songs portrayed. By 2008, he had taken the moniker Manny X, and began releasing a series of Albums, Mixtapes and EPs including 2009's "Planet X", 2011's "Before H.E.R." and most recently "Songs About H.E.R.".  His journey into song writing has not only earned him fans in the US and beyond, but it has also sharpened his abilities and fine tuned his sound, leaving Manny X with a smooth and soulful voice sure to leave a lasting impression in the hearts of R&B fans. For more info on Manny X please visit: www.Music.MannyXWorld.com

"Guitar Center Presents Your Next Record was created to give undiscovered musicians a platform to get their sound heard and their record made," said Dustin Hinz, Director of Music Marketing and Artist Relations for Guitar Center. "By partnering with an experienced, successful artist like T-Pain, Manny X will be able to take his career to the next level. That's what Guitar Center is all about – helping musicians achieve success."

The Road to Winning Guitar Center Presents Your Next Record with T-Pain
Unsigned artists had up to nine weeks to submit their original track via Guitar Center's Your Next Record website http://tpain.whooznxt.com/. Guitar Center commissioned leading online music company NXTM and utilized their Whooznxt social media ranking platform to host and judge the first round. Competing artists were ranked on how well they were able to connect with fans through social media. T-Pain and an expert panel of judges selected one winner to receive the grand prize from among the top 100 ranked entries.

About Guitar Center Presents Your Next Record with T-Pain
As this series' host of Guitar Center Presents Your Next Record, T-Pain joins the ranks of previous hosts including legendary artists Slash, Keith Urban, and most recently, Travis Barker. Internationally renowned drummer Travis Barker jumped into the fray on the most recent installment of Guitar Center's Your Next Record, choosing Connecticut based band Twin Berlin as the Grand Prize Winner. During the second session of the groundbreaking program singer-songwriter Brandon Green received a phone call from Keith Urban informing him that he had been hand selected as the winner. Green's single "Love Lovin' You" featuring Keith Urban was released early this year to a warm reception. Guitar Center's inaugural session featured legendary guitarist Slash. The winning band, State Line Empire, released their single "Drive Me" recorded with the iconic guitarist in March of 2011.

About T-Pain
T-Pain is a Grammy winning, platinum-selling artist, writer and producer who has produced and written a plethora of chart-topping and platinum-selling singles, garnered "Songwriter of the Year" and "Producer of the Year" honors at the BMI Urban Awards and earned a BET Award. T-Pain continues to expand his brand with fresh and exciting ideas like the innovative I Am T-Pain mobile app, which has since spawned the I Am T-Pain Mic and The T-Pain Effect. The T-Pain effect is exclusively produced by iZotope and available at Guitar Center stores nationwide. His recently released album, "rEVOLVEr," is available now on iTunes: http://bit.ly/sy9KXI

Guitar Center is dedicated to supporting the global music community and providing musicians with opportunities to get their music heard. Guitar Center's commitment to unsigned artists runs deep with a full calendar year of diverse programs aimed to enable musicians by providing the opportunity and exposure they need to be successful. No other retailer is developing platforms for their customer like Guitar Center. Guitar Center's musicianship programs include the award winning music television series Guitar Center Sessions, the weekly radio show Connections Made By Guitar Center, and the acclaimed podcast series At: Guitar Center with Nic Harcourt as well as various competition based programs such as Guitar Center Presents Your Next Record, Guitar Center Singer-Songwriter, Guitar Center Drum Off, Guitar Center On-Stage and Guitar Center's Battle of the Blues. More information on Guitar Center can be found by visiting the Company's Web site at www.guitarcenter.com.

About Guitar Center
Guitar Center is the world's largest retailer of guitars, amplifiers, drums, keyboards and pro-audio and recording equipment. Our retail store subsidiary presently operates 228 Guitar Center stores across the U.S. We are also the largest direct response retailer of musical instruments in the United States through our wholly owned subsidiary, Musician's Friend, Inc., and its catalog and Web site, www.musiciansfriend.com. In addition, our Music & Arts division operates more than 100 stores specializing in band instruments for sale and rental, serving teachers, band directors, college professors and students. More information on Guitar Center can be found by visiting the Company's Web site at www.guitarcenter.com.

SOURCE Guitar Center