The 8th annual StarShine Music Awards (SMAs) nominees has branched out this year to include more rock-based artists like multi-platinum selling acts 30 Seconds To Mars and Goo Goo Dolls, who go head to head for many awards like Album of the Year and Artist of the Year. Also up for the big honors are tween favorite Justin Bieber and party monster Lady Gaga. Bieber grabs the most nominations with 9, setting a new record for most nominations in a year.
What’s surprising is the Backstreet Boys being acknowledged for 7 categories with their latest, slightly under the radar release, This Is Us. “We choose nominees based on their presence on www.starshinemag.com,” explains founding editor, Sandy Lo. “The Backstreet Boys were at the foundation of StarShine when we began in 2001. It’s great to see now that we have popular, fresh acts like Gaga and Bieber that we still have readers that want BSB and Aaron Carter. We’re lucky to have such loyal readers, and these artists are even luckier to have such loyal fans who want to still see them in our magazine.”
Speaking of Aaron Carter, the now 22-year-old’s recent interview with StarShine, which received the most hits on the site this summer nabbed him 2 nominations for his recent efforts with two new songs available for purchase.
Breakout bands like Semi Precious Weapons and Neon Trees don’t go unnoticed with quite a few nominations split between them. Both bands appeared in StarShine earlier this year leading up to their recent radio and touring success. Other nominees include Landon Pigg, British sensation JLS, YouTube star Alexandra Amor and new Jive Recording artist, Matisse.
Voting will take place beginning November 15th at 12am (12am EST) on www.starshinemag.com, now located as a division of the all new www.sandy-lo.com . Polls will remain open until December 12th (11:59pm EST). Instructions to vote will be posted on the homepage. Winners will be announced in late December.
For a complete list of nominees, see below.
Visit StarShine Magazine: www.StarShineMag.com
For more information on StarShine and the SMAs: sandy@starshinemag.com
2010 STARSHINE MUSIC AWARD NOMINEES
BEST DANCE SONG
Aaron Carter feat. Flo Rida – “Dance With Me”
Alexandra Amor – “Superstar”
Backstreet Boys – “Straight Through My Heart”
Justin Bieber – “Baby”
Lady Gaga – “Bad Romance”
BEST BALLAD
Colbie Caillat – “I Never Told You”
Jeff Timmons – “Always Ends The Same”
Justin Bieber – “U Smile”
Landon Pigg – “Falling In Love At A Coffee Shop”
Tortured – “Haley’s Letter”
BEST ROCK SONG
30 Seconds To Mars – “Kings and Queens”
Goo Goo Dolls – “Home”
Neon Trees – “Animal”
Semi Precious Weapons – “Semi Precious Weapons”
Tortured – “Haley’s Letter”
BEST POP SONG
Alexandra Amor – “Superstar”
Backstreet Boys – “Bigger”
JLS – “Everybody In Love”
Justin Bieber – “Baby”
Lady Gaga feat. Beyonce – “Telephone”
FAVORITE BAND/GROUP
30 Seconds To Mars
Backstreet Boys
Goo Goo Dolls
LMFAO
Semi Precious Weapons
FAVORITE FEMALE ARTIST
Colbie Caillat
Erin McCarley
Lady Gaga
Mandi Leigh
Matisse
FAVORITE MALE ARTIST
Aaron Carter
Jeff Timmons
Justin Bieber
Landon Pigg
Tyler Hilton
BEST LIVE SHOW
30 Seconds To Mars
Backstreet Boys
Justin Bieber
Lady Gaga
Semi Precious Weapons
BEST NEW ARTIST
Ashlyne Huff
JLS
Justin Bieber
Neon Trees
Semi Precious Weapons
BREAKING ARTIST
Alex Roots
Alexandra Amor
Harlem Witness
Matisse
Push Play
BREAKOUT ALBUM
Jeff Timmons – Jeff Timmons (Free Album)
JLS – JLS
Mandi Leigh – BLVD.
Neon Trees – Habits
Semi Precious Weapons – You Love You
SONG OF THE YEAR
30 Seconds To Mars – “Kings and Queens”
Backstreet Boys – “Straight Through My Heart”
Goo Goo Dolls – “Home”
Justin Bieber – “Baby”
Lady Gaga – “Bad Romance”
ALBUM OF THE YEAR
30 Seconds To Mars – This Is War
Backstreet Boys – This Is Us
Goo Goo Dolls – Something For The Rest Of Us
Justin Bieber – My World 2.0
Lady Gaga – The Fame Monster
ARTIST OF THE YEAR
30 Seconds To Mars
Backstreet Boys
Goo Goo Dolls
Justin Bieber
Lady Gaga
My amazing friend, Shawn “Harlem Witness” DeBerry is releasing his first mixtape Failure Is Not An Option on June 10th! I’m incredibly proud of him and amazed by his growing talent. Failure Is Not An Option features 8 tracks, each with cleverly perfected lyrics that will have anyone bopping their head. Starting off the mixtape is “I Profess”, which sets the tone for the other songs. I instantly couldn’t wait to listen to the rest of the album upon hearing that first song. Another standout track is “Dedication”, which is about a young girl who gets pregnant and rises above the hard times due to her unwavering faith in God. “Witness” is another favorite because it really tells the world who Harlem Witness is and where he comes from. For the official track listing, see below. You can download the first 2 singles for free: “Witness” and “Walk With Me” here: http://harlemwitness.bandcamp.com/
It’s been a very long time since I blogged, huh? Well, part of that reason is my head is a scramble of book releases, interviews, work, internships, friends/family and sleep deprivation! LOL! I may be turning into Haley Foster (from 
Anyway, I’m on Madison Avenue today. Anna Sundstrand and her mom went back to Sweden for the holidays and offered up their apartment to me for the week. Of course any opportunity to get off Staten Island is taken for me! I would love to live in Manhattan one day…
