Internet sensation Conor Maynard wins MTV Brand New for 2012

MTV UK + IRELAND ANNOUNCE CONOR MAYNARD AS WINNER OF MTV BRAND NEW: FOR 2012

Following a month of intense public voting and three high-profile exclusive showcases, MTV UK & Ireland today announce 19 year-old singing sensation, Conor Maynard as winner of MTV Brand New: For 2012.

Since voting opened on 9th January the MTV Brand New: For 2012 site has received well over 150,000 unique votes for the ten nominated artists. Conor Maynard won just under 50% of the total vote to take the ultimate crown, followed by King Charles in second place and then Lana Del ReyClement Marfo & the Frontline and Angel making up the top five. 

As MTV Brand New for 2012 winner, Maynard will receive ongoing priority endorsement throughout 2012, as well as editorial and promotional support across MTV’s network of UK channels and websites. 

A certified internet phenomenon, Brightonian Conor Maynard has scored over 50 million hits on YouTube and amassed 175,000 Facebook followers without even releasing a debut single. The hugely talented singer won over a legion of fans after posting homemade videos of himself singing well-known songs online. Since then his star has continued to rise exponentially; he recently signed to Parlophone Records and is set to release his debut single, ‘Can’t Say No’ on 30th April. 

Get a first glimpse of the single: www.mtv.co.uk/artists/conor-maynard 

"It’s such an amazing feeling winning MTV's Brand New 2012, I can't thank the fans and viewers enough for voting, and MTV for selecting me in the first place! Hope this is the first success of many to come!", said Conor. 

Matt Cook, Director of Talent and Music Programming, MTV UK & Ireland said “At only 19 years old, Conor not only demonstrates incredible talentbut given150K votes and the phenomenal recognition he has already garnered on-air and online, it’s clear that he really connects with MTV audiences.  Bringing great new music and exciting new artists to our audiences is at the heart of ‘Brand New’ and we look forward to supporting Conor alongside all our other Brand New finalists throughout 2012.” 

Back in November, MTV's talent, music programming and editorial staff shortlisted nine artists for the MTV Brand New for 2012 sound poll before launching a nationwide competition to unearth an unsigned act to fill the tenth and final shortlist spot. After a search of 2,500 unsigned artists and 15,000 public votes on the final shortlist, Norwich MC and producer Context was announced as the winner completing the ten nominated MTV Brand New for 2012 acts: 

ANGEL - http://www.officialangel.co.uk  /  www.mtv.co.uk/artists/angel

CHARLI XCX - http://charlixcxmusic.com  /  www.mtv.co.uk/artists/charli-xcx

CLEMENT MARFO AND THE FRONTLINE - http://www.clementmarfo.com  / www.mtv.co.uk/artists/clement-marfo-the-frontline

CONOR MAYNARD - http://www.conor-maynard.com  /  www.mtv.co.uk/artists/conor-maynard

CONTEXT - http://contextmc.co.uk  /  www.mtv.co.uk/artists/context

DELILAH - http://www.delilahofficial.co.uk  /  www.mtv.co.uk/artists/delilah

KING CHARLES - http://www.kingcharlesuk.com  /  www.mtv.co.uk/artists/king-charles

LANA DEL REY - http://lanadelrey.com  /  www.mtv.co.uk/artists/lana-del-rey

LIANNE LA HAVAS - http://www.liannelahavas.com  /  www.mtv.co.uk/artists/lianne-la-havas

MICHAEL KIWANUKA - http://michaelkiwanuka.com  /  www.mtv.co.uk/artists/michael-kiwanuka

Last week MTV Brand New for 2012 hosted two exclusive live shows at London’s KOKO. Highlights of the The Maccabees show will premiere on MTV Music on 4th February at 11.30pm, and MTV Rocks on 7th February at 9pm. Highlights from Emeli Sandé’s show on will premiere on MTV Music on 4th February at 11pm and MTV Hits on 18th February at 7pm.  Tracks from the other performers – Delilah, Charli XCX and Michael Kiwanuka – will be available on www.mtv.co.uk and on-air on MTV channels in early February.

Over the last 5 years MTV Brand New has identified international stars such as Lady GagaJustin Bieber & Ke$ha before their debut releases whilst also picking up top British music talent Tinie TempahAdeleFlorence + The MachineEllie GouldingJessie JFriendly FiresWhite LiesWretch 32 Labrinth at the very start of their recording careers. 

Conor Maynard: www.conor-maynard.com

Nineteen-year old, Brighton-born Conor Maynard is the real deal. Little more than a year ago he was uploading videos of himself to YouTube singing his favourite songs and getting positive comments from fans of the originals. Bitten by the bug he realised he could increase his views by covering current chart hits with his own, breathtaking vocals. Soon his covers were racking up plays in the millions - 'Only Girl In The World' (Rihanna) 8m views, 'Next To You' (Chris Brown) 8.2m views, 'Tonight' (Enrigue Iglesias) 4.9m, 'Price Tag' (Jessie J) 4.2m, 'Use Somebody' (Kings Of Leon) 2m - and the artists themselves started to take notice. 

With the likes of Chris Brown tweeting about him and Ne-Yo phoning his house and offering to produce him, it was inevitable that record companies would want his signature and in a whirlwind few weeks Parlophone struck a deal to bring Conor to the world stage.

Over the past few months Conor has been working with some of the most exciting songwriters and producers on his own material including Jermaine Dupri (Usher, Mariah Carey), Midi Mafia (50 Cent, Frank Ocean), Kevin Rudolf (Jay Sean, Lil' Wayne), Sandy Vee (Rhianna, Pitbull), Invisible Men (Jessie J, The Noisettes), Crada (Drake, Kid Kudi) and the legendary Dianne Warren. And during that time he's seen his online fanbase grow exponentially.

His Facebook fans are now at 177,000 while his YouTube channel is the 5th most subscribed music channel in the UK... all without releasing a single piece of music officially yet. And these fans who have discovered Conor for themselves without any media buzz are about to see their very own homegrown pop star spread his wings with the release of his debut single 'Can't Say No' on April 30th.

 

February 1, 2012 7:32am ET by Dawbell   Comments (0)

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