Teaming will offer fans unique music experiences nationwide
GRAMMY.com
(For a complete list of 51st GRAMMY Awards winners, please click here.)
The Recording Academy and T-Mobile USA Inc. today announced a new partnership to launch an extensive, multifaceted marketing program in 2009 with T-Mobile and the T-Mobile Sidekick. Building on the success of last year's program, the partnership offers T-Mobile Sidekick customers and music fans the opportunity to be a part of a series of remarkable music experiences throughout the year.
To kick off the partnership, T-Mobile launched a national consumer promotion called T-Mobile Sidekick Takes You To The GRAMMY Awards Sweepstakes, which offers Sidekick customers a chance to win a prize package that is a music lover's dream: a grand prize trip to Los Angeles to attend the 51st Annual GRAMMY Awards on Feb. 8 including two tickets to the official GRAMMY Celebration after-party and a T-Mobile Sidekick device. Five grand prize winners and their guests have been selected at random from entries received electronically and by mail: Ella Valdez of Seattle; Jason Abrahams of Decatur, Ga.; Vanessa Alex of Long Beach, Calif.; Daniel Colon of Bronx, N.Y.; and Meaghan Leigh Morin of Cumberland, R.I.
T-Mobile also will help sponsor the annual Pre-GRAMMY Gala on Feb. 7 presented by Sony Music Worldwide Chief Creative Officer and three-time GRAMMY winner Clive Davis and The Recording Academy. A Davis tradition for 30 years, the star-studded celebration will be attended by artists and VIPs in the music and entertainment industry and will take place at the Beverly Hilton Hotel in Beverly Hills, Calif. In honor of the celebration, T-Mobile will offer one lucky winner the chance to be the official T-Mobile Sidekick reporter with an entertainment news show at the exclusive red-carpet event, and interview and mingle with the music industry's elite. Auditions for the Sidekick reporter took place Jan. 31 at participating T-Mobile retail stores in Los Angeles.
"We're thrilled to bring our Sidekick customers another year of unique, exclusive programming in partnership with The Recording Academy," said Mike Belcher, vice president of branded communications and experience marketing, T-Mobile USA. "Starting with events at the GRAMMYs, the expanded partnership will create special music experiences throughout the year to show appreciation to our loyal Sidekick customers who have always been at the forefront of the entertainment scene."
"We are delighted that T-Mobile is once again partnering with us," said Evan Greene, Chief Marketing Officer of The Recording Academy. "With our partnership, we will be able to create a wide range of unique events and experiences that will engage fans and celebrate excellence in music."
T-Mobile and The Recording Academy also will bring back the exclusive concert series launched in 2008, the GRAMMY Celebration Concert Tour presented by T-Mobile Sidekick. The tour consists of exclusive concerts featuring a lineup of GRAMMY-nominated and GRAMMY-winning artists from all genres of music. Details on the confirmed artists and concert dates will be announced at a later date, along with information on obtaining tickets and participating T-Mobile retail locations.
The 51st GRAMMY Awards will broadcast live on Feb. 8 from Staples Center in Los Angeles in high-definition TV and 5.1 Surround Sound on the CBS Television Network from 8–11:30 p.m. (ET/PT). The show also will be supported on radio via Westwood One worldwide, and covered online at GRAMMY.com and CBS.com, on Twitter at "theGRAMMYs," on Facebook at "The Recording Academy," on YouTube at "51stGRAMMYs," and on Last.fm at "the51stgrammys." The GRAMMY Pre-Telecast will be streamed live on GRAMMY.com on Feb. 8 at 4 p.m. ET/1 p.m. PT.
