FINALISTS ANNOUNCED FOR "THE 2004 BILLBOARD MUSIC AWARDS"

WINNERS TO BE ANNOUNCED LIVE WEDNESDAY, DEC. 8 ON FOX Usher, Alicia Keys, Maroon 5, Outkast, and Kanye West Lead Finalists in Multiple Categories

THE 2004 BILLBOARD MUSIC AWARDS has announced finalists in categories scheduled to be honored this year live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas Wednesday, Dec. 8 (8:00-10:00 PM ET Live/PT Tape-Delayed) on FOX.

Hosted by Ryan Seacrest and featuring performances by Gwen Stefani, Usher, Nelly, and Green Day, the BILLBOARD MUSIC AWARDS recognizes the year's leading artists and songs as determined by actual performance on Billboard's weekly charts. The show celebrates the record-buying, Internet downloading and radio-listening public's favorite songs, albums and performers, creating a true souvenir of the year in music.

Based on sales data compiled by Nielsen SoundScan and radio information monitored by Nielsen Broadcast Data Systems, Billboard's music charts are the world's most authoritative. Winners are determined by the 2004 year-end charts, which reflect the weekly charts that Billboard published from December 2003 through November 2004.

Billboard Magazine's year-end issue, scheduled to hit newsstands Dec. 17, will announce additional award winners in all categories honored this year.

The finalists, by category, of THE 2004 BILLBOARD MUSIC AWARDS are as follows (artists are listed in alphabetical order):

Artist of the Year
Alicia Keys
Maroon 5
OutKast
Usher

Female Artist of the Year
Alicia Keys
Beyonc�
Britney Spears
Norah Jones

Male Artist of the Year
Toby Keith
Usher
Twista
Kanye West

Duo/Group Artist of the Year
Hoobastank
Linkin Park
Maroon 5
OutKast

Billboard 200 Album of the Year
Josh Groban, "Closer"
Alicia Keys, "The Diary of Alicia Keys"
OutKast, "Speakerboxxx/The Love Below"
Usher, "Confessions"

Hot 100 Artist of the Year
Alicia Keys
Maroon 5
OutKast
Usher

Hot 100 Songwriter of the Year
R. Kelly
Alicia Keys
Lil Jon
Kanye West

Hot 100 Single of the Year
Alicia Keys, "If I Ain't Got You"
Maroon 5, "This Love"
Usher, "Burn"
Usher featuring Lil Jon & Ludacris, "Yeah!"

Top Selling Single of the Year
Clay Aiken, "Solitaire/The Way"
Diana DeGarmo, "Dreams"
Eamon, "F**k It (I Don't Want You Back)"
Fantasia, "I Believe"

Female New Artist of the Year
Ciara
JoJo
Ashlee Simpson
Gretchen Wilson

Male New Artist of the Year
J-Kwon
Ruben Studdard
Kanye West
Mario Winans

R&B/Hip-Hop Album of the Year
Jay-Z, "The Black Album"
Alicia Keys, "The Diary of Alicia Keys"
Usher, "Confessions"
Kanye West, "The College Dropout"

R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Artist of the Year
Jay-Z
R. Kelly
Alicia Keys
Usher

R&B/Hip-Hop Artist of the Year
R. Kelly
Alicia Keys
Usher
Kanye West

R&B/Hip-Hop Single of the Year
Alicia Keys featuring Tony! Toni! Tone!, "Diary"
Alicia Keys, "If I Ain't Got You"
Usher, "Burn"
Usher featuring Lil Jon & Ludacris, "Yeah!"

Female R&B/Hip-Hop Artist of the Year
Beyonce
Ciara
Alicia Keys
Monica

New R&B/Hip-Hop Artist of the Year
G-Unit
Anthony Hamilton
Ruben Studdard
Kanye West

R&B/Hip-Hop Singles Artist of the Year
R. Kelly
Alicia Keys
Usher
Kanye West

Rap Artist of the Year
Jay-Z
Ludacris
Twista
Kanye West

Modern Rock Artist of the Year
Incubus
Jet
Linkin Park
Three Days Grace

Female Country Artist of the Year
Sara Evans
Martina McBride
Shania Twain
Gretchen Wilson

New Country Artist of the Year
Big & Rich
Josh Gracin
Josh Turner
Gretchen Wilson

Mainstream Top 40 Artist of the Year
Maroon 5
OutKast
Britney Spears
Usher

Mainstream Top 40 Single of the Year
Hoobastank, "The Reason"
JoJo, "Leave (Get Out)"
Maroon 5, "This Love"
Usher featuring Lil Jon & Ludacris, "Yeah!"

Digital Artist of the Year
Black Eyed Peas
Maroon 5
OutKast
Usher

Digital Track of the Year
Black Eyed Peas, "Let's Get It Started"
Hoobastank, "The Reason"
Maroon 5, "This Love"
OutKast, "Hey Ya!"

(Editor's Information: Below, please find artists who are finalists in multiple award categories.)

USHER (13 categories*)
Artist of the Year
Male Artist of the Year
R&B/Hip-Hop Artist of the Year
R&B/Hip-Hop Single of the Year, "Yeah!" (featuring Lil Jon & Ludacris)
R&B/Hip-Hop Single of the Year, "Burn"
R&B/Hip-Hop Singles Artist of the Year
Hot 100 Artist of the Year
Hot 100 Single of the Year, "Yeah" (featuring Lil Jon & Ludacris)
Hot 100 Single of the Year, "Burn"
Mainstream Top 40 Artist of the Year
Mainstream Top 40 Single of the Year, "Yeah" (featuring Lil Jon & Ludacris)
Billboard 200 Album of the Year, "Confessions"
R&B/Hip-Hop Album of the Year, "Confessions"
R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Artist of the Year
Digital Artist of the Year
*Usher has two singles for award contention in the R&B/Hip-Hop Single of the Year category. He also has two singles for award contention in the Hot 100 Single of the Year category.

ALICIA KEYS (12 categories*)
Artist of the Year
Hot 100 Artist of the Year
R&B/Hip-Hop Artist of the Year
Female Artist of the Year
Female R&B/Hip-Hop Artist of the Year
R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Artist of the Year
R&B/Hip-Hop Singles Artist of the Year
R&B/Hip-Hop Single of the Year, "Diary" (featuring Tony! Toni! Tone!)
R&B/Hip-Hop Single of the Year, "If I Ain't Got You"
Hot 100 Songwriter of the Year
Hot 100 Single of the Year, "If I Ain't Got You"
Billboard 200 Album of the Year, "The Diary of Alicia Keys"
R&B/Hip-Hop Album of the Year, "The Diary of Alicia Keys"
* Alicia Keys has two singles for award contention in the R&B/Hip-Hop Single of the Year category.

KANYE WEST (8 categories)
Male Artist of the Year
Hot 100 Songwriter of the Year
R&B/Hip-Hop Artist of the Year
R&B/Hip-Hop Singles Artist of the Year
Male New Artist of the Year
New R&B/Hip-Hop Artist of the Year
R&B/Hip-Hop Album of the Year, "The College Dropout"
Rap Artist of the Year

MAROON 5 (8 categories)
Artist of the Year
Duo/Group Artist of the Year
Hot 100 Artist of the Year
Hot 100 Single of the Year, "This Love"
Digital Artist of the Year
Digital Track of the Year, "This Love"
Mainstream Top 40 Artist of the Year
Mainstream Top 40 Single of the Year, "This Love"

OUTKAST (7 categories)
Artist of the Year
Duo/Group Artist of the Year
Hot 100 Artist of the Year
Billboard 200 Album of the Year, "Speakerboxxx/The Love Below"
Mainstream Top 40 Artist of the Year
Digital Artist of the Year
Digital Track of the Year, "Hey Ya!"

R. KELLY (4 categories)
R&B/Hip-Hop Artist of the Year
R&B/Hip-Hop Singles Artist of the Year
R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Artist of the Year
Hot 100 Songwriter of the Year

GRETCHEN WILSON (3 categories)
Female Country Artist of the Year
Female New Artist of the Year
New Country Artist of the Year

HOOBASTANK (3 categories)
Duo/Group Artist of the Year
Digital Track of the Year, "The Reason"
Mainstream Top 40 Single of the Year, "The Reason"

JAY-Z (3 categories)
Rap Artist of the Year
R&B/Hip-Hop Album of the Year, "The Black Album"
R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Artist of the Year

BEYONCE (2 categories)
Female Artist of the Year
Female R&B/Hip-Hop Artist of the Year

BLACK EYED PEAS (2 categories)
Digital Artist of the Year
Digital Track of the Year, "Let's Get It Started"

BRITNEY SPEARS (2 categories)
Female Artist of the Year
Mainstream Top 40 Artist of the Year

CIARA (2 categories)
Female R&B/Hip-Hop Artist of the Year
New Female Artist of the Year

JOJO (2 categories)
New Female Artist of the Year
Mainstream Top 40 Single of the Year, "Leave (Get Out)"

LINKIN PARK (2 categories)
Duo/Group Artist of the Year
Modern Rock Artist of the Year

RUBEN STUDDARD (2 categories)
New Male Artist of the Year
New R&B/Hip-Hop Artist of the Year

Now in its 110th year, Billboard is the world's premier music industry publication and a diverse digital, events and brand-licensing platform. Billboard publishes the most trusted charts and offers unrivaled reporting about the latest music, video and digital entertainment issues and trends. Billboard is the flagship property for the Billboard Information Group, which also consists of Billboard.biz, Billboard.com, Billboard Chart Alert, Billboard Information Network (BIN), Billboard Directories, Billboard Licensing & Events and Billboard Radio Monitor. The Group is a unit of VNU Business Media, a worldwide media company that provides specialized publications, electronically delivered data, expositions and marketing services and is owned by VNU Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Netherlands-based VNU, an international publishing and information company.

MGM Grand, "The City of Entertainment" in Las Vegas, features 5,034 guest rooms and suites, a state-of-the-art gaming complex, world-class entertainment venues, signature restaurants owned by celebrity chefs and the $100-million Conference Center for meetings/conventions all centrally located on the Las Vegas Strip. For room availability and information about the MGM Grand, call (800) 929-1111 or (702) 891-7777 or log onto www.mgmgrand.com.

Bob Bain returns for his ninth year as executive producer of the BILLBOARD MUSIC AWARDS. Greg Sills will serve as supervising producer. Paul Flattery and Michael Levitt are producers. Bruce Gowers is the show's director and Wylleen May is the executive in charge of production.