Forget the Grammys. The 2007 Woodie Awards are now up for grabs.
And you have the chance to hand them out.
MtvU, the 24-hour television channel available on more than 750 college and university campuses nationwide, is letting college students vote on their favorite artists, music videos and performances to determine the hottest acts on MTV.
Voting on the mtvu.com Web site started Sept. 19 and runs until Nov. 2. The Woodie winners will shine at the Roseland Ballroom in New York City on Nov. 8.
The fourth annual Woodie Awards will be broadcast on mtvU and mtvU.com a week later at 5 p.m. and again Nov. 18 at 9:30 p.m. Students will present, introduce and honor their picks on camera.
Since 2004, the mtvU Woodie Awards have been seen as a corporate TV-meets-independent college rock gig. Some view artists as sellouts once they enter the MTV arena, but admittedly it’s a great way to bust into the big music business.
When Death Cab for Cutie culled a Best Video Woodie nomination in 2005, the band bragged about it on their Web site. And at the time, they weren’t exactly considered a mainstream sort of group.
“MtvU’s Woodie Awards were created to appeal to the sensibilities – and sense of humor – of college-aged music listeners,” said Brian Orloff of Rolling Stone magazine. “And with a glut of traditional music awards, it’s hard not to love an award ceremony where winners are presented not with gold or bronze or some hefty trophy, but with wood.”
There are nine Woodies that bands and artists can receive:
Woodie of the Year for “the music you lived your life to this year”
Breaking Woodie for the top emerging artist
Left Field Woodie for the artist that can’t be categorized
Best Video Woodie for the absolute best video of the year
The Good Woodie in recognition of “music that makes a difference,” songs with social cause in mind that have effected the greatest change
The Alumni Woodie for the unforgettable bands
Best Performing Woodie for the band that delivers every time.
Viral Woodie to the artist that prevails at the end of four weeks of elimination; each week, five artists go head-to-head and the winner advances to the final round
Best Music On Campus Woodie, a new award this year, is for the college band, emcee or musician registered on mtvu.com that is most likely to breakthrough this year. Two of the finalists will be flown to New York to perform on the show
The Shins have garnered the most nominations for this year’s awards, including Woodie of the Year, the Alumni Woodie and the Viral Woodie. Modest Mouse, Gym Class Heroes, Lily Allen, Justice, Linkin Park and the Academy Is… are up for two awards each. Nearly 50 emerging and influential artists are nominated for the fourth annual mtvU Woodies.
For Woodie of the Year, the nominees are Amy Winehouse, Common, Gym Class Heroes, Lily Allen, and The Shins.
The Best Video Woodie can go to Justice’s “D.A.N.C.E.,” Motion City Soundtrack’s “Broken Heart,” RJD2’s “Work It Out,” Say Anything’s “Wow, I Can Get Sexual Too,” and TV On The Radio’s “Province.”
The Good Woodie nominees are Alicia Keys for “Keep a Child Alive,” Guster for “Reverb,” Linkin Park for “Music for Relief,” Red Jumpsuit Apparatus for their mental health awareness efforts, and Thom Yorke for “Friends of the Earth.”
Students voting on their favorite acts can also enter the mtvU “Vote Your Way to the Woodies” sweepstakes to win a trip for two to the Woodies. The grand prize winner gets round trip airfare to NYC and two tickets to attend the Woodies, two nights’ hotel board and a $100 gift card.
For more on the sweepstakes, Woodie-related programming, interviews with nominated artists and music videos from all of this year’s nominees, visit mtvU.com.
If you think you’re a No. 1 fan of your favorite band, you might as well vote and give the group something to sing about.