Music Renaissance Man will.i.am Announces First Annual Data Awards in Los Angeles

A Special Awards Ceremony That Will Recognize the Contributions of DJs and the Dance Community during Grammy Week

LOS
ANGELES, Dec. 1 /PRNewswire/ — Music industry pioneer will.i.am
announced today that the First Annual Data Awards will be held on
January 30, 2010 at the Regal Cinemas in Los Angeles during Grammy
Awards week. Exclusively partnering with lifestyle networking site
Dipdive.com and BlackBerry®, the awards show will recognize the growth
and importance of the DJ and dance community and its contributions to
the music industry. The press conference, held at the iconic Grammy
Museum, released additional details on the awards including categories
and members of the academy of judges.

“The
Data Awards are recognizing some of the world’s dopest dance djs and
producers,” said will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas. “As a musically
driven society, this night will honor some of the most talented and
respected artists during one of the most important weeks in our
industry.”

The Data Awards categories will include:

BEST DANCE DJ/PRODUCER SOLO
BEST DANCE DJ/PRODUCER GROUP
BEST REMIX
BEST ORIGINAL TRACK

Winners of the aforementioned categories will receive a custom gold BlackBerry® Bold(TM) 9700 smartphone.

In
addition to The Data Awards, will.i.am also announced this afternoon
that he will support a number of additional projects during music’s
biggest week. As a follow up to last year’s successful “Worlds on Fire” artist exhibition, this year will.i.am, Dipdive, BlackBerry and the Grammy Foundation will collaborate to present “Who Killed the Music?,”
an art collection featuring customized, limited edition white
BlackBerry Bold smartphones that will help kick-off Grammy Week at The
Target Terrace on January 24-31. The collection also inspired an
upcoming documentary under the same title. The gallery will host 15
pieces from the hottest contemporary surrealist artists, and a portion
of all work sold will benefit the Grammy Foundation. Additional details
on opening night and the exhibit will be available in the coming weeks.

For more information on The Data Awards and Dipdive.com please visit: www.Dipdive.com

For more information on the press conference including images, please contact Enjoli Duval at BNC.

About will.i.am:

will.i.am
is best known to many as the front man and producer of the
multi-platinum award-winning group The Black Eyed Peas. He has
established himself as one of the top music producers in the industry,
collaborating on tracks with U2, John Legend, and Justin Timberlake
among others. Building on his success, will ventured into acting taking
on the role of John Wraith in X-MEN ORIGINS: WOLVERINE and lending his
voice to MADAGASCAR 2: ESCAPE TO AFRICA. In the past year he has also
extended his prowess into the arts, deejaying, technology, education,
and politics. His social networking site, Dipdive, continues to give
will.i.am a platform to build upon all of his upcoming initiatives and
partnerships.

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BNC