First Lady Michelle Obama to Appear at Kids’ Choice Awards

MEDIA RELEASE
29 March 2012

First Lady Michelle Obama to Appear at
Nickelodeon’s 25th Annual Kids’ Choice Awards in Los Angeles to Present Taylor Swift with the Big Help Award

Grammy® Award-Winning Swift to be Honoured for Her Work with Tornado and Flood Survivors
2012 Kids’ Choice Awards - Los Angeles, Saturday, March 31

TELECAST FAST-TRACKED IN NEW ZEALAND, SUNDAY APRIL 1 AT 6.30PM

LOS ANGELES, CA/AUCKLAND – March 28/29, 2012– First Lady Michelle Obama will make her first-ever appearance at the US Nickelodeon Kids’ Choice Awards to present Grammy Award-winning singer/songwriter Taylor Swift with this year’s The Big Help Award in recognition of her extensive philanthropic endeavors, including her work with tornado and flood survivors in the United States. This year’s Kids’ Choice Awards, to be hosted by Will Smith from USC’s Galen Center in Los Angeles, will be fast-tracked for telecast to New Zealand audiences on Sunday April 1 at 6.30pm, only on Nickelodeon. The Big Help Award recognises individuals who take actions to better the world and whose significant impact on their community has inspired kids to do the same.

“Taylor’s dedication to helping others has encouraged her fan base to do the same, and this is the very core of what The Big Help is, inspiring others through action,” said Marva Smalls, Executive Vice President, Public Affairs and Chief of Staff, Nickelodeon Group. “We are honoured that First Lady Michelle Obama, a past recipient of The Big Help Award, will be presenting this formidable and inspiring artist with this much deserved honour.”

First Lady Michelle Obama received The Big Help Award at the 2010 Kids’ Choice Awards in recognition of her leadership in championing healthier lifestyles for kids through her Let’s Move! campaign in the US.

Mrs. Obama is set to appear in a special episode of Nickelodeon’s hit series iCarly in support of her Joining Forces initiative to support US military families. The special episode, iMeet the First Lady will air in New Zealand on Friday May 11 at 5.30pm on Nickelodeon.

Among her many charitable works, Taylor Swift is dedicated to raising funds and awareness to benefit those affected by natural disasters. Most recently, Swift took the unprecedented step of opening the last dress rehearsal of her Speak Now Tour to fans as a fundraiser for victims of the deadly tornadoes that tore through the Southeastern region of the U.S. The event raised more than $750,000, with 100% of ticket sales going directly to help tornado victims via the “Speak Now … Help Now” Fund established through the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee.

Swift’s ongoing charitable work includes partnerships with Make-A-Wish Foundation, St. Jude Medical Center, Habitat for Humanity, TJ Martell Foundation, The Red Cross and its international and regional affiliates, The Salvation Army, Nick's Kids and the Victory Junction Gang Camp, as well as libraries, schools and educational initiatives around the country.

Nickelodeon’s The Big Help is a pro-social initiative that empowers kids to take positive actions on issues that are important to them. The goal of the campaign is to launch a kid-led movement, focusing on key issues like health and wellness, education, community service, and the environment. This is the fourth consecutive year The Big Help Award has been awarded to a celebrity who embodies the spirit of the Nickelodeon Big Help initiative.

Previous winners include last year’s recipient Justin Timberlake; this year’s presenter of the award, First Lady Michelle Obama in 2010; and Leonardo DiCaprio in 2009.
No stranger to Nickelodeon’s Kids’ Choice Awards, Swift has been nominated 4 times and is the recipient of two blimp awards, for Favorite Female Singer (2010) and Favorite Song, “You Belong with Me” (2010). Swift also appeared in the 2011 HALO Awards as one of the celebrities paired with an extraordinary teen who shared his passion for community service and giving back.

A six-time Grammy award winner, Swift was also named Billboard’s 2011 Woman of the Year, and is the reigning American Music Awards Artist of the Year, as well as both the Country Music Association and the Academy of Country Music’s Entertainer of the Year Her Speak Now album has sold more than 5 million copies worldwide and she is Billboard’s current Top 200 Albums Artist (all genres).With the release of her (now 5x-Platinum) Speak Now album in 2010, Taylor sold more albums that year than any other artist in any genre of music. She made history on the Billboard Hot 100, charting a record-breaking 11 songs from one album in a single week.

Fans can still vote for their favourite stars on 2012kca.com and via a Facebook application that lives on the Nickelodeon Facebook page. Also, this year kids not only pick the winners, but they get to help host Will Smith pull off the greatest slime event in KCA history. Through a brand-new iPad, iPhone and iPod app, and the KCA website, kids need to find slime hidden throughout the photo galleries, news, and videos. If kids collect enough slime, Will Smith will pull off the biggest slime event ever in this year’s show. Aided by weekly missions, kids will have the chance to earn digital rewards and move up the slime operative ranks.
Voting is still open online at 2012kca.com -- so kids, make your voices heard!
Nickelodeon’s 25thAnnual Kids’ Choice Awards is being produced by Nickelodeon Productions in association with Bob Bain Productions. Bob Bain, Marjorie Cohn and Paula Kaplan are Executive Producers.
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About Nickelodeon Networks: Now in its 32nd year globally and 16th year in Australia, Nickelodeon is the number one entertainment brand for kids and the company has built a diverse, global business by putting kids first in everything it does. Nickelodeon Australia has been named Channel of The Year twice by the ASTRA Awards and won numerous other awards for local productions and digital applications. Nickelodeon and Nick Jr. channels air 24 hours a day, seven days a week and are seen in over 2.3 million households via AUSTAR, FOXTEL, and OPTUS. The company portfolio extends across television, online, mobile, theme parks, consumer products and music. www.nickelodeon.com.au

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