Music Takes Center Stage at MTV Movie Awards
LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - There will be a new star at Sunday's MTV Movie Awards, and it's name is music.
Electronic dance music will take center stage at the show that organizers promise will feature more melodies than ever and spotlight how songs and film work together to enhance the movie going experience.
French DJ Martin Solveig, best known for his 2011 international dance hit "Hello," will spin mash-ups of music from movies throughout the show, including scores from "Jaws," "Star Wars" and "Pulp Fiction."
"I am both a movie freak and a guy who enjoys mixing music and image to give his videos a cinematographic feel," Solveig said in a statement. "It's only natural that I jumped at the chance of performing at the MTV Movie Awards."
Rockers The Black Keys are scheduled to perform, as are fun. and hip-hop singer Wiz Khalifa.
The MTV Movie Awards, which is among the cable TV channel's most-watched programs annually, get underway on Sunday, June 3, with British comedian Russell Brand as the host.
The program is known for showcasing Hollywood summer blockbusters and being irreverent and lighthearted with "honors" given in categories such as best on-screen dirtbag.
This year, fantasy "The Hunger Games" and comedy "Bridesmaids" will battle for the most awards as each landed eight nominations.
Joining those two films in the hunt for best movie are civil-rights drama "The Help," the final installment of the "Harry Potter" films, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2" and "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 1."
But more than ever, MTV promises to bring song to the forefront of its show with electronic dance music (EDM) being the main genre to benefit from the exposure.
"Music has always been core to the awards, but this year, we wanted to expand its presence to serve as the primary connector that drives the entire show. Having a house DJ ... will add an exciting new layer to the show and is a continuation of our full embrace of the EDM movement," Amy Doyle, head of music and talent strategy at MTV, said in a statement.
MTV follows in the footsteps of this year's Grammy Awards in February, which dedicated a section of the show to the electronic dance music phenomenon that has been dominating mainstream music in recent months.
In addition to Solveig, rockers The Black Keys will perform their hit single "Gold On The Ceiling" from their latest album "El Camino," while indie-pop band fun. and rapper Wiz Khalifa also will sing their latest hits.
