mtvU UNVEILS "2014 mtvU WOODIE AWARDS" NOMINEES: ARCADE FIRE LEADS WITH THREE NODS, WHILE PHARRELL, DISCLOSURE, JAY Z, IMAGINE DRAGONS AND CHANCE THE RAPPER RECEIVE MULTIPLE NOMS

Drake, Avicci, Childish Gambino, Lorde, Bastille, Beyoncé, Zedd, Bob Dylan, Kendrick Lamar, Iggy Azalea, Daft Punk and The 1975 Also Receive Nominations

"2014 mtvU Woodie Awards Special" to Air on MTV and mtvU on Sunday, March 16 at 8 p.m. ET/PT

New York, NY (February 12, 2014) - mtvU, MTV's 24-hour college network, today revealed the categories and nominees for the "2014 mtvU Woodie Awards," the 10th annual musical moment of truth that honors the music college students love. All nominees will vie for the chunks of wood at the SXSW Music Festival in Austin, Texas on Thursday, March 13 2014 with MTV and mtvU premiering the half-hour "2014 mtvU Woodie Awards Special" on Sunday, March 16 at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT, celebrating the winners and showcasing some of the best "2014 mtvU Woodie Awards" performances. Woodie Award voting opens today at Woodies.MTV.com and runs through March 6, 2014.

The Nominees

Among the honorees, Arcade Fire leads the pack with three nominations, receiving nods for "Best Video Woodie," "Performing Woodie" and "Did it My Way Woodie," a new category that praises pioneers who challenge tradition and unleash innovative ideas. In that category, Arcade Fire will compete with Beyoncé, Kanye West, Childish Gambino and Bob Dylan, all of whom found unique ways to share their music with fans over the past year.

Several noteworthy artists received multiple nominations, including Pharrell, Disclosure, Jay Z, Imagine Dragons and Chance the Rapper. Of that group, Imagine Dragons, Pharrell and Disclosure are going against Lorde, Drake and Zedd for the biggest award of the night, "Woodie of the Year," which honors the artist that completely owned the past 12 months.

Several notable artists from MTV's 2014 "Artists to Watch" group will vie for Woodies this year, including Bastille, Martin Garrix and Jhené Aiko, all of whom will go head-to-head with The 1975, Sam Smith and Mack Wilds for the "Breaking Woodie" award, honoring the best emerging artist.

The "Best Collaboration Woodie" category, presented by Reese's(R) Peanut Butter Cups, hails adventurous artists who broke genre barriers to blow us away with unexpected cross-genre collaborations. In that category, Daft Punk and Pharrell's "Get Lucky" will go against Avicii and Aloe Blacc for "Wake Me Up," A$AP Rocky and Skrillex with "Wild For the Night," Just Blaze and Baauer featuring Jay Z for "Higher," Kendrick Lamar and Imagine Dragons' "Radioactive (remix)" and James Blake and Chance The Rapper for "Life Round Here."

Chance the Rapper is also nominated in the "Best Video Woodie" category for "Everybody's Something," along with Disclosure's "Grab Her," Passion Pit's "Carried Away," "Bounce" by Iggy Azalea and Arcade Fire's "Afterlife." For Arcade Fire's third nomination, the band will battle Tyler the Creator, Ed Sheeran, The National, Jay Z and The XX for "Performing Woodie," which spotlights artists who reimagined their stages to create live experiences that resonated beyond venue walls.

Once again, mtvU is also honoring the pioneering college radio stations committed to bringing students the latest indie and emerging music, and today revealed the 10 finalists for the "College Radio Woodie." Lauded for championing artists before they achieve mainstream success, these student-run radio stations represent the new music vanguard. The colleges in the running this year include Ball State University, Boston University, East Stroudsburg University, Eastern Illinois University, Indiana University, Texas State University - San Marcos, University of California - Berkeley, University of Illinois - Champaign Urbana, University of South Carolina and William Paterson University.

The nominees for the "2014 mtvU Woodie Awards" are:

Woodie Of The Year (Artist of the Year)

· Imagine Dragons (KIDinaKORNER/Interscope Records)

· Lorde (Lava Records/Republic Records)

· Pharrell (Columbia Records)

· Drake (YMCMB/Republic Records)

· Zedd (Interscope Records)

· Disclosure (Cherrytree/Interscope Records)

Breaking Woodie (Best Emerging Artist)

· Bastille (Virgin/Capitol Records)

· Martin Garrix (Casablanca Records/Republic Records)

· The 1975 (Dirty Hit/Vagrant/Interscope Records)

· Jhené Aiko (Def Jam)

· Sam Smith (Capitol Music Group)

· Mack Wilds (RED Music)

Best Video Woodie (Best Video of the Year)

· Disclosure - "Grab Her" (Cherrytree/Interscope Records)

· Passion Pit - "Carried Away" (Columbia Records)

· Chance The Rapper - "Everybody's Something" (Independent)

· Iggy Azalea - "Bounce" (Island Records)

· Arcade Fire - "Afterlife" (Merge/Capitol Records)

Did It My Way Woodie (Biggest Pioneer/Innovator)

· Beyoncé (Parkwood Entertainment/Columbia Records) - released her new, self-titled album without any prior promotion.

· Kanye West (Def Jam Recordings) - created an interactive music video experience for "Yeezus."

· Arcade Fire (Merge/Capitol Records) - creatively utilized social media, street art and pop-up performances to launch the "Reflektor" album.

· Childish Gambino (Glassnote Records) - hosted impromptu album listening sessions in public parks for "Because the Internet"

· Bob Dylan (Columbia Records) - created a 16 channel interactive music video for "Like A Rolling Stone"

Performing Woodie (Reimagined Live Performance)

· Tyler the Creator (Odd Future/Columbia Records)

· Ed Sheeran (Atlantic Records)

· Jay Z (Roc Nation)

· Arcade Fire (Merge/Capitol Records)

· The National (4AD)

· The XX (Young Turks/XL Recordings)

Best Collaboration Woodie (Presented by Reese's(R) Peanut Butter Cups)

· A$AP Rocky and Skrillex - "Wild For the Night" (Polo Grounds Music/RCA Records)

· Avicii and Aloe Blacc - "Wake Me Up" (PRMD/Island Records)

· Just Blaze and Baauer featuring Jay Z - "Higher" (Priority Recrods)

· Kendrick Lamar and Imagine Dragons - "Radioactive (remix)" (KIDinaKORNER/Interscope)

· Daft Punk and Pharrell - "Get Lucky" (Columbia Records)

· James Blake and Chance The Rapper - "Life Round Here" (Republic Records)

College Radio Woodie (Best College Radio Station)

· Ball State University (WCRD)

· Boston University (WTBU)

· East Stroudsburg University (WESS)

· Eastern Illinois University (WEIU)

· Indiana University (WIUX)

· Texas State University - San Marcos (KTSW)

· University of California - Berkeley (KALX)

· University of Illinois - Champaign Urbana (WPGU)

· University of South Carolina (WUSC)

· William Paterson University (WPSC)

The Woodies Festival and Awards Show

To harness the power of live music, MTV and mtvU will kick off the "2014 mtvU Woodie Awards" with a host of performances by up-and-coming artists during the open-air "mtvU Woodie Awards Festival," with doors opening at 3:00 p.m. CT on Thursday, March 13, 2014 at Red River and 1st Street in downtown Austin. Open to all SXSW badge holders and music fans over the age of 18, the performances will lead up to the "2014 mtvU Woodie Awards," which will take-over the Festival beginning at 8:00 p.m. CT. Entrance into the "2014 mtvU Woodie Awards" and Festival is free, with an online RSVP available at a later date.

The 10th annual "mtvU Woodie Awards" promises to be an unforgettable night of music and performances. The show was established in 2004 and has since propelled numerous recognized acts to the next level of their careers - including surging record sales, headlining tours and mainstream acclaim. Examples include: The Killers (Breaking Woodie '04), N.E.R.D. (Left Field Woodie '04), Death Cab for Cutie (Best Video Woodie '05), Fall Out Boy (Road Woodie '05), 30 Seconds to Mars (Best Video Woodie - Live Action '06) Muse (Performing Woodie '07), Lupe Fiasco (performed at Woodies '07), Vampire Weekend (performed at '08 Woodies), Kings of Leon (Woodie of the Year '09), Jack White (performed at '09 Woodies with the Dead Weather), Rick Ross (performed at '09 Woodies), Matt & Kim (Best Video Woodie '09), Wiz Khalifa (Woodie of the Year '11), Odd Future (performed at '11 Woodies), Sleigh Bells (performed at '11 Woodies) MGK (Breaking Woodie '12), Mac Miller (Woodie of Year and Performing Woodie '12), Zedd (performed at '13 Woodies) and Macklemore and Ryan Lewis (Branching Out Woodie '13).

Eric Conte, Amy Doyle, Gina Esposito and Ryan Kroft are the Executive Producers of the "2014 mtvU Woodie Awards." Joe Buoye is the Executive in Charge of Production.

About mtvU

Broadcast to nearly 750 college campuses as well as via top cable distributors in 700 college communities nationwide, mtvU reaches more than 8 million U.S. college students - making it the largest, most comprehensive television network just for college students. Twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, mtvU can be seen in the dining areas, fitness centers, student lounges and dorm rooms of campuses throughout the U.S., as well as on cable systems from Charter Communications, Verizon FiOS TV, Suddenlink Communications, AT&T u-Verse and nearly 70 others. mtvU is dedicated to every aspect of college life, reaching students everywhere they are: on-air, online and on the campus. mtvU airs music videos from emerging artists that can't be seen anywhere else, news, student life features and initiatives that give college students the tools to advance positive social change. mtvU is always on campus, with hundreds of events per year, including exclusive concerts, giveaways, shooting mtvU series and more. For more information about mtvU, and a complete programming schedule, visit www.mtvU.com.