NEW YORK (AOL/ Universal/ www.umusic.com) - On the evening before the simultaneous release of two hotly anticipated albums, Sweat & Suit, multi-platinum rapper
Nelly will perform a live and intimate concert as part of AOL Music's popular Broadband Rocks Live concert series. The concert will be broadcast live exclusively to AOL for Broadband members at AOL Keyword: Broadband Rocks on Monday,
September 13 at 9:00pm ET from New York City's famed Webster Hall.
"AOL has always been the first one there for me when I want to introduce fans to my new music. Their support has been phenomenal and more than one of my hit songs have made their debut on AOL," said Nelly. "Imagine what will happen when fans on AOL join me live from millions of homes around the country the night before I release two new albums. I'm looking forward to giving everybody on AOL a little taste of what they can expect on Sweat & Suit."
The full video from Nelly's Broadband Rocks Live concert will be available on demand immediately following the live broadcast for 30 days for AOL for Broadband members, who can also listen to the show in its entirety on commercial-free, CD-quality Radio@AOL for Broadband. AOL's dial-up members and fans on the web can listen to the complete concert on Radio@AOL and Radio@Netscape, respectively. Select portions of Nelly's performance will also be available to AOL members who access the show through the AOL.COM service.
"Our relationship with Nelly began during the summer of 2002 when AOL First Listen debuted 'Hot In Herre' and fans responded with nearly one million plays in just 24 hours," said Evan Harrison, Vice President and General Manager of AOL Music. "This appetite for new material from Nelly hasn't let up and we are thrilled to continue to answer the call with an original AOL Broadband Rocks Live concert. We expect a tremendous reaction from our AOL for Broadband members."
Nelly's exclusive performance for AOL Music is part of a series of enormously popular Broadband Rocks Live concerts, including Josh Groban, Avril Lavigne and Usher. Each concert was played over one million times on demand the following week while individual performances from Avril Lavigne and Usher's shows still consistently appear on AOL Music's weekly Top 11 video charts months after the original event, often outpacing the traditional videos for the songs. Previous AOL original Broadband Rocks concerts have featured diverse artists such as Foo Fighters, Hilary Duff, Alicia Keys and more.
As part of this special Broadband Rocks live concert, fans are encouraged to donate to Keep a Child Alive (https://www.keepachildalive.org/), an organization dedicated to providing life saving ARV medicine to children and families with AIDS in Africa. Nelly will also be featured in a public service announcement for the cause. In addition, AOL Music will help promote 4Sho4Kids, (https://www.4sho4kids.org), an organization dedicated to improving the quality of life for children born with developmental disabilities with emphasis on Down syndrome and children born addicted to drugs.
AOL will also make tickets for the event available through giveaways on select radio stations in New York City and several Infinity Broadcasting radio stations around the country. Fans can also get tickets at select New York retail outlets, street teams and from Nelly's official fan club.
The first of the revered St. Lunatics to hit the big time, Nelly is the acclaimed St. Louis rapper with a universal appeal, taking as much from the heartland as he does the urban landscape. With a string of summer hits, including "Country Grammar (Hot...)," "Ride Wit Me," "Hot in Herre," "Shake Ya Tailfeather" and "Flap Your Wing," he has sold in excess of 20 million albums worldwide. Now, riding high on two current smash hit singles, "My Place" and "Flap Your Wings," Nelly is the first rapper ever to release two albums simultaneously. Sweat & Suit will be released on September 14 on Universal Records.
AOL Music is a leading online destination for music, reaching over 20 million music fans a month through a rich array of programming, products and services that make it easy to discover, experience, listen to and buy music online. (1) AOL Music's offerings, which include AOL for Broadband original features such as Broadband Rocks, are available through the AOL Music Channel, the AOL Radio@ Network and AOL's family of Web brands including Netscape, CompuServe, AIM, ICQ, Winamp and SHOUTcast.
(1) comScore Media Metrix, July 2004
