EA Announces Burnout Bandslam Winners

April 25, 2007

EA Announces Burnout Bandslam Winners

Virgin Records Awards Recording Contracts as
Grand Prize to Hottest Bands

Electronic Arts Inc. today announced that the
search for the hottest new bands in the United States and Europe is complete!
Conducted in collaboration with MySpace, Virgin Records and Epiphone, EA’s 2nd
Burnout™ Bandslam received entries from over 5,000 bands in the United States
and over 2,100 from various countries across Europe.

Following a period of intense public ranking,
with around two and a half million MySpace users participating, and final
selection by an expert panel, the two grand prize winning bands have been
confirmed as “Never Heard Of It” (U.S.) and “Showing Off To Thieves” (UK,
Europe).

The winning bands will each receive a demo
recording deal in collaboration between Virgin Records and EA and a chance to
have their song included in a future Burnout videogame. One Runner-Up band from
the U.S. and one Runner-Up band from each of the participating countries across
Europe will each receive one Epiphone Les Paul Custom Guitar. The contest entry
song tracks from the Grand Prize winners and Runners-Up can be accessed via EA’s
Burnout Bandslam website or by visiting

http://www.myspace.com/burnoutbandslam
.

European Winner – Showing Off To Thieves
“Showing Off To Thieves” are exploding onto the UK scene with their debut
release ‘Everyone has their secrets’. They are driven by powerful vocals,
incisive lyrics and crushing rhythms. This is music that soundtracks our lives,
cinematic in scope and upheld with raw ambition. With melodies soaring between
epic highs and delicate lows, their distinctly British sound has achieved the
rare balance of intimacy and power.

http://www.myspace.com/showingofftothieves

U.S. Winner – Never Heard Of It (NHOI)
The buzz surrounding “Never Heard Of It” has been steadily growing throughout
the last few years and they are considered one of the hardest working
independent bands on tour. Starting in the summer of 2001, they have self-booked
and financed 11 U.S. tours and even expanded their schedule to Europe and Japan.
They toured non-stop, playing as many shows as possible, and because of their
hard work have been asked to play The Warped Tour two years in a row. This hard
driven band was determined to get their albums out to the public, so they
started their own label called Unmotivated Records, put out a full length CD and
got a nationwide distribution deal because of their extensive touring and
fantastic tracks.
http://www.myspace.com/NHOI

The full list of Runners-Up is:

  • UK- Inuendo
  • U.S. – The Sun Also Rises
  • Denmark- Zenith
  • Sweden- Anagoes
  • Norway- Jeroan Drive
  • Ireland- Boss Volenti
  • Germany- More Than Crossed
  • Spain- Avenue and Silhouettes
  • Russia – Apshell
  • Italy – Let Me In
  • France – Kiemsa
  • Holland – Note to Amy

The Burnout™ videogame series is developed by
EA’s Criterion Games Studio and is one of the most acclaimed racing videogame
franchises of all time. The next iteration of Burnout is currently in
development for the PLAYSTATION®3 computer entertainment system and Xbox 360™
video game and entertainment system.