THE KOOKS, OneRepublic, N*E*R*D AND ENRIQUE IGLESIAS TO PERFORM AT ISLE OF MTV MALTA

London, 16 May 2008: The Kooks, OneRepublic, N*E*R*D and Enrique Iglesias will headline the Isle of MTV music event in Malta on 25 June, MTV Networks International (MTVNI) announced today. The bands will play in the spectacular Il-Fosos Square in Floriana in front of 40,000 people.

“MTV is uniquely positioned to offer our audiences exclusive access to the world’s biggest and best new and established artists and we’re thrilled to be able to announce such a powerful line-up for what promises to be this summers must-see music event,” said Richard Godfrey, SVP, Content & Music, MTV Networks International. “For MTV, this is a great opportunity to work with a partner to produce and host the Isle of MTV summer music festival on an incredible island location, which is both exciting and accessible. It’s a great venue to offer our viewers some of the world’s biggest international artists.”

MTV music fans will also have the chance to win an exclusive VIP hospitality package for two. Lucky winners will be jetted out to the southern Mediterranean island, spend two nights at a luxury hotel, attend the Isle of MTV concert event, hang out backstage and meet one of the acts. MTV’s cameras will capture all the action from Isle of MTV, to be broadcast in an hour-long live special to air across MTV’s pan-European network in September. For details of the competition, log onto: .

“We’re looking forward to playing such an amazing venue, and at an event that has a history of producing great performances from top artists,” said OneRepublic frontman Ryan Tedder. Previous performers at the Isle of MTV main event include Snoop Dogg, The Chemical Brothers, Shaggy, Garbage, The Black Eyed Peas, Jazzy Jeff, Gorillaz and Morcheeba.

Dr Mario de Marco, the Maltese Parliamentary Secretary for Tourism, said that the Isle of MTV Malta event will round off the first-ever Malta Music Week, hosted by Malta in celebration of the Isle of MTV. The week, starting on 20 June, will feature local and foreign bands and DJs in a few of Malta’s and Gozo’s principle venues. “The Malta Music Week and the Isle of MTV Malta combined will make the Maltese Islands one of the most happening places in Europe this summer,” Dr. de Marco said.

The Kooks’ 2006 ‘Inside In/Inside Out’ was a huge hit, selling some 2 million copies worldwide, spawning massive singles ‘She Moves In Her Own Way,’ ‘You Don’t Love Me,’ ‘Sofa Song,’ ‘Eddie’s Gun,’ ‘Ooh La,’ and especially ‘Naïve’ – after which the album took on a whole new life of its own. The quartet quickly rang up sell-out shows not just in their home country of England but in America and globally, earning a support slot with The Rolling Stones along the way. The Kooks returned this year with a new single ‘Always Where I Need to Be,’ and their second album, ‘Konk,’ which was released in April to a host of top 10 album chart positions: UK #1, Ireland #2, Germany #6, Austria #6, Holland #7, Australia #8, Belgium #8, Switzerland #9 and great USA debut at #41.

OneRepublic’s album, ‘Dreaming Out Loud,’ was one of the most eagerly anticipated of 2007. Their first single, ‘Apologize,’ remixed by super-producer Timbaland, was a Top 5 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 in the US for ten consecutive weeks. The song has sold six million legal downloads globally and maintained its #1 position on the Top 40 chart for two months. It entered the history books by shattering the record for the most spins at radio in just one week with over 10,000. The band’s second single, ‘Stop and Stare,’ has also seen the top of the charts around the world. OneRepublic are currently preparing to launch their third single, ‘Say (All I need),’ which is already getting airplay.

N*E*R*D are releasing their third album, ‘Seeing Sounds,’ in June. The album is a blistering mash-up of booming hip-hop beats and roller-coastering rock riffs, rumbling rhythms and scintillating soul music. Whereas their first album, ‘In Search Of…,’ was an imaginative exploration of identities, and their second album, ‘Fly Or Die,’ sought out the range of genres and sounds that have influenced the group, ‘Seeing Sounds’ grinds everything together, evoking a sound that is untethered by preconceptions and convention. It is also an album that amplifies the style and attitudes that have made Pharrell Williams, Chad Hugo and Shae cultural icons.

Enrique Iglesias is making a welcome return to Isle of MTV Malta after rave reviews for his performance at last year’s event. The Madrid-born, Miami-raised singer has sold 40 million albums in little over a decade and is becoming one of the most successful artists in the history of popular music. The singer has spent the past three years crafting his latest album, entitled ‘Insomniac.’

“Isle of MTV Malta was a fabulous event last year and I’m looking forward to sharing my music with MTV’s viewers and with Malta,” Iglesias said.

Also performing is Lady GaGa. At just 22, Lady GaGa made a name for herself on New York’s Lower East Side club scene with the infectious dance-pop party song ‘Beautiful Dirty Rich,’ and wild, theatrical, and often tongue-in-cheek shock art performances. She wrote the lyrics and melodies on her current album, ‘The Fame,’ an infectious mix of two parts dance-pop, one part electro-pop, and one part rock.

Isle of MTV is one of the highlights of MTV’s European summer music scene – one of the coolest and most eclectic outdoor live music events. Past Isle of MTV main event locations have included Torre de Belém, Lisbon, Portugal (2002), Ile du Gaou, Six-Fours Les Plages, France (2003), Tossa De Mar, Costa Brava, Spain (2004), Piazza dell Unita’ d’Italia, Trieste, Italy (2005), Floriana, Malta (2007).

In March MTV Networks International announced a three-year deal with the Maltese Government to stage the hit event in Malta. Malta’s three islands are situated at the heart of the Mediterranean and offer an endless list of things to experience; from meandering in the many museums or the narrow winding streets of Mdina, the Three Cities or it’s capital city, Valletta; to swimming under the stars in the famous Blue Lagoon or diving the spectacular Blue Hole in Gozo; to partying all night in the many nightclubs or simply chilling out, soaking up the sun and watching the world go by.

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