A choice lineup for Teen Choice Awards
Producer Bob Bain characterizes Monday night's telecast of the Teen Choice Awards using four words: "Miley Cyrus" and "Jonas Brothers". "If we cannot ring the bell with the teenage audience with Miley Cyrus and the Jonas Brothers, I'm going to stop producing these shows," said Bain.
Monday night's show was taped Sunday in Los Angeles with Cyrus as host and performances by Mariah Carey, surprise guests and more. "Why Mariah Carey? Probably be cause she's one of the biggest stars in the recent history of the music business," Bain said.
"Also, the stars from virtually every hot teenage show are going to be with us: 'Gossip Girl', 'The Secret Life of the American Teenager', 'The Hills', 'One Tree Hill'. This is the best-booked show in teenage television," he added.
The broadcast, which gets underway at 8 p.m., comes after a load of attention to Cyrus involving back-to-back outdoor performances in New York City, talk about her future roles and gossip about alleged squabbles with other teen stars.
Bain is happy with that sort of buzz, because so much of it also mentions the Teen Choice Awards. "It's helping us hugely," he said, "because we have a huge Internet presence this year." Last year saw 7.5 million votes cast - and this year, more than 31 million. Even though there was a change in how often fans could vote, Bain believes the increased action can only help the telecast.
In addition, the Jonas Brothers have had an online tie-in to the Teen Choice Awards, and Cyrus has been involved in a dance-off that will culminate on the show. "The key is to create an event that requires that in order for them to complete the arc, they have to watch the show," Bain said. "For instance, the dance battle, to find out who ultimately wins, you have to watch the show," he said. "We try to create a payoff mechanism."
The Internet plays a role there, too. Late last week, the chatter was that Will Smith would join Cyrus in her dance package. "There's been some Internet buzz about a lot of people," Bain said. "All I can suggest is that the celebrity community is very receptive. We like to call it one-time television." (New York Daily News)
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