Big name performers (Selena Gomez and Emeli Sandé), an impressive slate of returning hits (15 of them) as well as a slew of exciting programming announcements (order for Scream pilot, a TV adaptation of the film franchise; three new reality series) highlighted the 2013 MTV Upfront event.

The event was hosted by MTV News’ Sway Calloway plus Nikki Glaser and Sara Schaefer of Nikki and Sara LIVE and included appearances from the stars of Catfish, Teen Wolf and more. For the official announcement around the Upfront, head here.

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The Cote D’Azur was laughing whole-HART-edly earlier this month as comedian, actor and producer Kevin Hart joined Viacom International Media Networks (VIMN) to kick off events at MIPTV 2013, the bi-annual international television market and creative forum.  Hart was excited to showcase BET’s brand new, faux reality show “Real Husbands of Hollywood” as it launched for international syndication.

Debra Lee, Chairman and CEO, BET Networks; Stephen Hill, President of Music Programming and Specials, BET Networks; Mike Armstrong, SVP and General Manager, BET International and Paramount Channel; and MIP veteran, Caroline Beaton, SVP of International Programme Sales, VIMN all joined Hart to celebrate the international syndication of the hit BET program. Hart was elated to see his show’s global appeal when he tweeted to his 7 million+ followers: “This is crazy, they got pictures of my show “Real Husbands of Hollywood” all over Cannes, France #MIPTVFestival #RHOH #international comedic rockstar”.

At a cocktail reception full of content buyers, Viacom representatives and international press, Caroline Beaton introduced Kevin Hart to speak and within seconds he had everyone roaring with laughter with his quick wit and outrageous one-liners. He was keen to stress that he’s not your typical LA celebrity and is very eager to chat with anyone — once they’ve cleared it with his assistant, of course! He spoke passionately about the unique strength of the show and the standout ratings it secured in the US (claiming confidently “the numbers don’t lie, people”). Kevin relinquished the mic and then met with and took photos with all the attendees.

Inspired by Viacom’s hottest new franchise and its unique take on the reality genre, Caroline Beaton participated in a panel session for MIP Formats, to discuss and explore “New Perspectives on Reality”.  Speaking alongside Felix Wessler, Business Development Manager at FilmPool / All3Media, the session, moderated by Ed Waller, Editor of international TV trade outlet, C21, explored the newest trends and examined how the genre is steadily evolving, providing a timely opportunity to showcase Viacom’s broader, unparalleled reality portfolio.

Addressing the impact of social media on today’s content landscape (spanning all genres, not just reality) Beaton identified that the new shows of today owe as much to the viewer’s themselves as they do to the programme-makers.   Social media is not only used to create a buzz around content and engage audiences; but it enables audiences to take charge, declare what they like and don’t like. For example, Real Husbands of Hollywood is a show borne from a two-minute sketch that debuted and created social buzz at the 2011 BET Awards. The tables have turned and as Caroline was quick to state, “To be successful, content creators must channel this new reality.”

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Viacom’s year-long commitment to giving back culminates each year in Viacommunity Day, the Company’s annual day of volunteer service, during which we put on our out-of-office autoreplies, make our way to a volunteer project of our choice, and roll up our sleeves to do something good.

All around the world this past Friday, droves of Viacom employees dispersed across hundreds of volunteer sites — another year of record numbers, as participation steadily grows.  This year, employees worked on everything from packing goody bags for Boston first responders, to rebuilding sites still devastated from Hurricane Sandy, and conducting mock interviews for the unemployed in need of such training.

Beyond making a difference through our collective efforts, the objective of the day is to inspire employees to get involved either with that organization or in community more generally, year-round. It also reaffirms the ongoing relationships we have with many of the participating organizations.

Flip through the slideshow above for some of the day’s highlights, #nofilter, then check out some of our favorite #VDAY2013 Instagrams, featured below.  Shout out to the employee with crazy good nail art skills!

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Workaholics‘ Anders Holm — only 10 years the senior of the graduating class — is returning to the University of Wisconsin-Madison to deliver the commencement address for his alma mater this May 17, 18 and 19. Fittingly, the show for which he writes and acts addresses and sheds a hilarious light on the post-college transition to adulthood (and is as relatable to the college set as it is outrageous).  Chosen by the senior class, the writer/actor should have some interesting/inspiring insights about his path from Madison to breakout success… and some very funny anecdotes, at the least. Looking forward to watching video of this speech next month!

On social media — where Holm is very active, both during and in between seasons of Workaholics — the sentiment is that UW Class of 2013 is “one lucky class.” The announcement sparked commencement speaker-envy among the students/grads who just missed him at UW, or who wish their school had such an awesome speaker.

As one 2011 UW alum put it most simply…

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Here in Nashville this month, CMT partnered with MTV and VH1 to host local artists and introduce the recently revamped Artist Platform. The event was held to raise awareness of the platform, and to provide information to artists about becoming involved and driving traffic to their artist page. Despite the dismal weather, the event was a success with over 200 Nashville artists in attendance.

The event allowed artists to receive instruction to claim or create their page on the Artist Platform, activate their CMT – Topspin account and add content to their page. The Artist Platform is a pivotal tool for rising talent, since it allows artists to expand their fan base, provides the potential to have their music featured in Viacom programming, and establishes an outlet to generate income from their music.

The event was hosted at Ruby, with catering provided by two of Nashville’s favorite food trucks. Smoke Et. Al offered southern flavor perfect for the Nashville event, and guests enjoyed sweets served at the “Cupcake Bus” by local family-owned business The Cupcake Collection.

CMT joined the Artist Platform, which originally derived from Music Strategy initiatives by MTV and VH1, earlier this year.

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From Will Ferrell accepting the Comedic Genius Award to Ted vs Channing Tatum for Best Shirtless Performance, Hollywood will be convening for a can’t-miss show this Sunday, April 14, at the MTV Movie Awards. With talent ranging from host Rebel Wilson to Brad Pitt (presenting movie of the year!), plus comedians like Seth Rogen and Melissa McCarthy, the awards show promises to be “epic.” Ahead of the show this weekend, MTV Movie Awards EP Jesse Ignjatovic walked us through some of its big moments, as well as the overall creative vision for this year’s show, which he describes as “big and blockbuster.”

Can you tell me a bit about your creative vision for the show?

JI: This year we moved the show up from the first week of June to first week of April to get ahead of summer movie season. The Movie Awards – unlike a lot of other awards show – is about what’s coming as much as it’s about the previous year. Getting ahead of films like Fast and Furious and Iron Man to get excited about what’s coming next influenced the creative.

We wanted to give the show a blockbuster feel. Everything you watch will be “epic” – everything is going to have scale. We’re building big excitement around every moment and every film.

Each show, you put together these very elaborate spectacle presentations (such as last year’s Prometheus or this year’s Star Trek Into Darkness scenic). Can you tell me a little about how that will play out this year?

JI: We create a visual moment tied to a moment from the film – we take a visual moment from the film to the turbine stage, a big open stage where we can create any sort of scenic. For the Star Trek presentation, the cast will come through the rubble. We partner with the movie studios in terms of accessing the visuals we want to use, but on our side we create the scenic. This year we’ll have Fast & Furious, Star Trek Into Darkness and an epic intro for Catching Fire.

How do you tailor the show to the host?

What’s great is that we went to Rebel [Wilson] early, at the end of last year – we had our approach in terms of creative for this year’s. We’re like minds and she really grabbed onto it and took into her amazing comedic direction. The second you tune in, you see how she’s made her mark. She’s taken it to another level, especially with a big opening number which is so exciting for us. But she really keeps her foot to the pedal throughout, with lots of great comedic moments. She’s the perfect heroine for the show.

What’s the difference in production for MTV’s Video Music Awards versus the Movie Awards?

One’s tied to music, and one’s tied to film, so you get a special opportunity to work closely with a lot of that movie talent. A lot our comedic moments or on-stage moments are tied to talent having ideas. It’s fun to conceptualize those ideas and what those can be.

For the VMAs, we have to think about how we are going to stage an amazing performance – we put on 8-10 big numbers. For this show, we have two musical performances and the opportunity to create big, watercooler moments on stage. It’s a different beast, similar though in terms of production value and thought.

As for the musical performances we’ll have: Macklemore & Ryan Lewis are a big energetic artist and their single is an anthem, so I think they fit perfectly into what we’re doing with the blockbuster theme. They also get the whole room involved. Macklemore has an energy that comes forward. We haven’t seen them in a big scale performance yet so we’re excited to do that.

And Selena Gomez was an obvious choice – tied to film, a huge artist, and also tied to Spring Breakers. We’ll have her performing her new single on the stage for the first time – and of course our audience loves her.

Increasingly, there’s a pressure to bring “funny” to the show – do you feel that pressure?

The Movie Awards have always had that irreverent comedic angle, so I think the pressure is the drive to live up to that and surpass it however possible. This year with the host we have in Rebel, I feel like it’s going to feel like those historic awards shows. Can we bring those moments so that people are talking about it throughout the show and afterward? I think we have the opportunity to have that kind of show.

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Lady Gaga’s Born Brave Bus is traveling nationwide to empower youth by connecting them with community and youth services, mentoring, volunteer opportunities and bullying and suicide prevention resources. The fully loaded, polychromatic bus recently drove through Gaga’s hometown of New York City – stopping in front of Viacom’s headquarters in Times Square giving fans a peek inside.

Cynthia Germanotta, Born This Way Foundation President and Lady Gaga’s mother, spoke to VH1 about the importance of this passion project and all the bus has to offer young people across the country. Covered in artwork created by fans, the bus provides youth with an interactive way to meet like-minded peers and access information.

“This is a wonderful, mobile youth experience where they can come to connect to their society,” Germanotta told VH1. “This side of the bus we have different kiosks where they can learn about the foundation, about our partners and the services that they offer and also we have an amazing map where they can learn about organizations in their communities.”

Viacom is a proud partner of the Born This Way Foundation and a supporter of the Born Brave Bus’ March tour which stopped in Chicago, Philadelphia, Washington, D.C and New York City.  At Viacom, we continue to leverage our programming and platforms to work to advance the mission of the Born This Way Foundation. Our Viacom family wishes Lady Gaga a healthy, full recovery from hip surgery – her commitment to build a ‘kinder, braver world’ inspires people across the country to be courageous and accept their individuality. 

“Although my daughter is recovering and not able to complete the tour, it is important to her that the Born Brave Bus lives on,” said Cynthia Germanotta. “The bus has already impacted thousands of young people and, with the support of our partner organizations, this incredible resource will continue to help guide the large youth populations of Philadelphia, Washington, DC, New York and Chicago towards local support in their communities.”

For those who couldn’t board the bus last month, check it out online: http://bornthiswayfoundation.org/bus/virtual .

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Foshee, currently pursuing a master’s degree in sociology, shared how she was able to turn frustration into motivation. After years of feeling like she knew as much about sports as any guy, but lacking the confidence to speak up about it, she created the website womencantalksports.com.

“Women have to prove their authenticity as a fan more so than men do, but I don’t believe you have to master a sport to enjoy it,” Foshee said.

Foshee designed the website to give women the opportunity to discuss and learn about sports in a comfortable environment, leading them to feel more secure in their knowledge.

The importance of self-confidence was a common thread for the panelists. As one of very few women in her field, Cintado has to constantly be on top of her game.

“I have to be smarter and brighter and work harder than anyone else, but I don’t resent it,” Cintado said.  “People sense that confidence and respect it.”

Determination also plays a key role on the professional path. Said Butler, “[When trying to start Gigi’s Cupcakes] I went to four banks, and all of them laughed in my face. But I’m very dedicated and determined, and when I want to do something, I do it.”

White, an editor in the male-dominated alternative newspaper industry, added “You have to be unique and you have to be persistent. I constantly prove to everyone I deserve to be here.”

All of the panelists agreed that changes still need to be made in the work environment so that being a woman isn’t viewed as a disadvantage or impediment to success. As Cintado pointed out, “The reality is, there are still fewer women in management roles and in government than men, but women are loyal and committed, and we make great workers.”

Cotter envisions a more equitable future. “I would love to see a day when it’s not a conversation of if you’re a male or you’re a female in the workplace; everyone is just a worker.”

Whether it be Butler and Cotter witnessing people try their products for the first time, Foshee seeing a light bulb go off for a girlfriend while they watch a football game, White’s stories resonating with readers, or Cintado achieving balance between a demanding career and active family, all of the women on the panel agreed that personal fulfillment walks hand-in-hand with professional success.

“Raising strong women and being a good mother– that’s the most important job I have,” said Cintado. “Do the best you can every day and you’ll have no regrets.”

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The Woodies are more than just a college awards show, with this year’s show spurring sales, social and chart spikes for several of the performers, hosts and winners. This week, the Huffington Post’s article “More Than Just an Award: What the 2013 mtvU Woodie Awards Did for Artists” took a look at the facts and figures and heralded the awards show for spotlighting new emerging artists:

“Perhaps most notably, though, it’s the newness of it all that make the college award’s show a success: the Woodie Awards spotlight up-and-coming performers, meaning it’s more likely that those watching won’t be as familiar with the artists and/or songs featured throughout the night. Nothing buzzes the World Wide Web quite like something they haven’t heard before.”

The piece ends pointing out how these sales, social and chart jumps are a substantial perk to being part of the show:

“So congrats, 2013 Woodies, on sending home this year’s hosts, performers, and winners with a little something extra: career milestones. They’re sure to be appreciated long after the hunks of wood are forgotten.”

Here are the numbers from this year’s show:

• Machine Gun Kelly aka MGK, who co-hosted this year’s Woodies and won the “Woodie of the Year,” experienced a 25 percent increase in digital albums sales along with a social media impact that included a massive increase of over 70 percent in Facebook likes and a respectable 12 percent increase in Twitter followers post-show.
• Tegan and Sara also co-hosted and performed that evening, and they too fared well in many of those arenas. Their time on screen resulted in some increased album sales but an enormous 163 percent jump in the number of people downloading their single “Closer.” When it comes to Facebook and Twitter, the duo ended up with more than 790,000 new likes and 760,000 followers, respectively.
• As for non-hosts at this year’s Woodies, performers Zedd and twenty one pilots both got in on the action, with the former’s single “Clarity” jumping more than 70 spots on the Billboard Digital Songs Chart and the latter’s sales of their single “Holding on to You” rising 33 percent.

Head here for Huff Post’s full story.

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See above — MTV has paved the road to the 2013 Video Music Awards! The 30th iteration of the VMAs will take the marquee awards show from Los Angeles to Brooklyn, N.Y., airing LIVE at Barclays Center in Brooklyn on August 25.

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