KIDZ STAR USA REALITY WEB SERIES PREMIERES TODAY ON VEVO

NEW YORK, NY (January xx, 2013) – KIDZ BOP, the #1 music brand for kids ages 5-12 in the U.S., has partnered with RCA Records and Ben Silverman’s multimedia studio Electus (Fashion Star) to premiere the KIDZ Star USA Talent Search, today across VEVO, the world’s leading all premium music video and entertainment platform. KIDZ Star USA is America’s biggest national talent competition for kids 15 and under. The seven episode web series follows the musical journey of eight KIDZ Star finalists as they compete for an RCA Records recording contract. Two new episodes will premiere every Wednesday leading up to the grand finale event on January 30th where the new KIDZ Star winner will be announced. Multi-Platinum selling recording artist, Gavin DeGraw, mentors this year’s contestants. Nickelodeon star, Ashley Argota, hosts the series. Click here to watch the first and second episode on VEVO: KIDZ Star USA.

Nearly 50,000 kids from across the country entered the competition by uploading a :90 second performance video to KIDZBOP.com, the leading safe social network and video sharing site for kids and tweens. The KIDZ Star USA web series follows eight talented young performers— Ally Bross (14, Windermere, FL),  Jayna Brown (11, Laurel, MD), Rylie Brown (15, Lees Summit, MO), Kyle Lambdin (13, Leesburg, VA), Lelea Fonua (11, Phoenix, AZ), Dallas McFadden (15, Dallas, TX), Tina Siciliano (12, Lincroft, NJ), and Lauren Taveras (13, Burbank, CA)—on location in Hollywood as they face off in a series of musical challenges to win a RCA Records recording contract.

Last year’s grand prize winner, Kiana Brown, released her debut video “HEY CHICA” on RCA Records last summer.  The video debuted on VEVO and has generated over 600,000 views to date.  This past fall, Kiana released several cover videos for her fans totaling over 900,000 views. Her most recent cover video of One Direction’s “Live While We’re Young” has received over 390,000 since it was posted on 11/29. Kiana recently appeared in the 86th Annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade, performed at several festivals with the KIDZ BOP kids and is currently in the studio recording new music.

KIDZ Star USA Webisode Schedule

Episode 1 & 2 – January 9

Episode 3 & 4  – January 16

Episode 5 & 6 – January 23

Episode 7 – January 30

About KIDZ BOP LLC: KIDZ BOP is the #1 music brand for kids ages 5-12 in the U.S., featuring today’s most popular songs, sung by kids for kids. KIDZ BOP celebrates the authentic voice of kids across the entire brand—through music, videos, live appearances, licensed merchandise and its popular social networking and content sharing website, KIDZBOP.com. In 2011, the brand celebrated its 10th anniversary. KIDZ BOP CD titles have earned one Platinum® and nine Gold® certifications since their debut in 2001. KIDZ BOP’s last release, KIDZ BOP 22 debuted at #3 on the Billboard Top 200 chart where it spent 4 consecutive weeks. Check out KIDZ BOP’s new weekly radio show, KIDZ BOP Block Party!, a new two-hour weekly radio show on Kids Place Live, every Friday at 6PM EST.

About RCA Records: RCA Records is a Division of Sony Music Entertainment. RCA includes a diverse roster of internationally renowned artists representing all genres of music including Justin Timberlake, Alicia Keys, P!nk, Britney Spears, Foo Fighters, Christina Aguilera, Usher, Kings Of Leon, Chris Brown, Dave Matthews Band, Kelly Clarkson, Daughtry, T-Pain, Ke$ha, R. Kelly, Jamie Foxx, Jennifer Hudson, D’Angelo, Pitbull, Monica, Sarah McLachlan, Buddy Guy, Brandy, Three Days Grace, Dido, Romeo Santos, Tool, Fantasia, Kirk Franklin, Fred Hammond, and Whitney Houston, among others; critically acclaimed and chart topping artists including Ray LaMontagne, Anthony Hamilton, Marsha Ambrosius, Adam Lambert, Mike Posner, Gavin DeGraw, Hot Chelle Rae, Cage The Elephant, Miguel and Jordin Sparks; burgeoning artists A$AP Rocky, Sammy Adams, Walk The Moon, Dry The River, Elle Varner, Elle King, K. Flay, Jacob Latimore and many more.

About Electus: Electus is the first integrated multimedia entertainment studio to unite producers, creators, advertisers and distributors under one roof and produce all forms of content for distribution across a variety of platforms around the world. Headed by Ben Silverman in partnership with IAC [NASDAQ: IACI], the company connects advertisers, distributors and content creators early on in the development process, enabling marketers and advertisers to be a true partner in campaigns and content creation. Electus International, the global distribution arm or Electus, is responsible for all international sales and distribution for Electus’ programming and its studio partners as well as programs and formats from other well-known 3rd party providers.

About VEVO: VEVO is the world’s leading all-premium music video and entertainment platform. VEVO is available in the United States, Australia, Brazil, Canada, France, Ireland, Italy, New Zealand, Spain and United Kingdom through VEVO.com, the mobile web, Mobile and Tablet Apps (iPhone, iPad, Android, Windows Phone 7, BlackBerry Playbook), Connected Television (Xbox, Roku, Boxee) and user embeddable video players. In various territories, VEVO powers music videos on artist pages across Facebook, as well as syndicates to dozens of online sites, including AOL, BET, CBS Interactive Music Group (including Last.fm and MP3.com), Fuse.tv, Univision, Viacom Media Networks, Wenner Media and Yahoo! Music.  Additionally, through a special partnership with YouTube, VEVO is accessible in over 200 markets, expanding the platform’s reach around the globe.

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