MTV Lines Up Stars for Millennium Awards Show

Back - Index - Submissions - - What is RSS? Date: Nov 15, 2000 Source: Excite News/Reuters Submitted By: Newsdiva D Updated 6:58 AM ET November 15, 2000 By Paul Majendie STOCKHOLM (Reuters) - MTV boasts a line-up of international superstars for its millennium awards show on Thursday, hoping to attract a global audience of more than one billion. From Madonna to U2, from Ricky Martin to Robbie Williams, they are flying into the Swedish capital to perform at the 2000 MTV Europe Awards presented by the international cable network. Jennifer Lopez has picked the show for the worldwide premiere of her new single "Love Don't Cost a Thing." The Backstreet Boys, billed as the world's biggest group now that their record sales have topped 55 million, are to perform in Stockholm before launching a 100-hour tour of six continents to promote their latest album. U2's Bono has put his political ambitions on the backburner. The lead singer of the Irish supergroup has campaigned from the White House to the Vatican to have the rich nations of the world cancel Third World debts. Now he is back behind a pop microphone. Latin heartthrob Ricky Martin, one of 12 top international performers at Thursday night's show, is this year fronting an MTV AIDS awareness campaign to get the teenagers of the world to practice safe sex. ROBBIE WILLIAMS TO APPEAR DESPITE ILLNESS British pop icon Robbie Williams is to appear on the show despite suffering from severe gastroenteritis and exhaustion. He was struck down with gastric flu and had to curtail filming for a video shoot last week. A doctor advised the flamboyant singer to rest but a spokeswoman said he was eager to perform before a worldwide audience. "He is a strong lad and incredibly committed to his fans," a spokeswoman for Williams said in London. Williams leads the pop pack with five nominations at the awards ceremony, including best pop act and best song. Next in line is British house diva Sonique with four nominations. The awards are designed to honor the best singers on the European pop scene but American acts took most of the top spots in nine of the 12 main categories, including all the nominations for best rock, best hip-hop and best R&B. Among those boasting three nominations are Madonna, rock bands Bon Jovi and the Red Hot Chilli Peppers, rapper Eminem and teen sensation Britney Spears. The Spice Girls, Britain's most successful pop group since The Beatles, are performing in the show while the group's Melanie C hopes not to come away empty-handed as she has three nominations to mark her own solo career. The show is hosted by Haitian-born hip-hop artist Wyclef Jean of The Fugees. "The potential worldwide audience of the event will be in excess of one billion people," a spokesman for MTV said. The winners are picked by a "voting academy" of 800 people who are a mixture of key record executives in the music industry and MTV viewers from across the continent to give the awards a wide popular fan base. Comment on this item. Recent Comments Submitted by: Lemat Submitted by: Kevin Submitted by: William Submitted by: David Submitted by: Kevin Shen Submitted by: Kevin Comment on this item. Next Item: News From Teen Sceen Magazine Prev Item: Backstreet Boys Go Round the World in 100 Hours