Music Nation, the artist development company, has announced the final line-up of its music industry judges as the first online multi-genre video music competition officially launches. Voting is now formally open and together with the public, these judges will choose finalists for the 15-week competition. Music Nation will award a global recording contract with Epic Records to a winner in each of three genres -- rock, pop and urban. Additionally, all three winners will be showcased on an episode of STRIPPED, Clear Channel Radio's exclusive in-studio performance series, giving unsigned acts the chance of a lifetime.
Bringing together a diverse group of both artists and music executives, Music Nation has lined up a team of industry powerhouses to help determine the competition winners. For the Urban genre, the judges are Nelly, three-time Grammy Award winner and one of the best selling rappers of all time with over 35 million records sold, and multi-platinum rapper and two-time Grammy nominee The Game. Rounding out the Urban judges is Mark Pitts, President of Urban Music at Jive Records, who over his career has managed such acts as Notorious B.I.G. and Nas, and is credited for helping to break such artists as Usher, Ciara, and Chris Brown. Serving as judges for the Rock genre are brothers Joel and Benji Madden from multi-platinum recording artists Good Charlotte and producer Howard Benson, who has worked with acts such as The All-American Rejects, Hoobastank, Papa Roach and My Chemical Romance, and is currently a 2007 Grammy-nominee for Producer Of The Year. In the Pop genre, the judges are Charlie Walk, President of Epic Records, home of platinum-selling acts such as Modest Mouse, Franz Ferdinand, and Incubus, and producer Jonathan "J.R." Rotem, who has worked with high profile artists such as Britney Spears, Jennifer Lopez, Destiny's Child, and Rihanna.