Water cooler buzz was deafening in 2006 and here’s why:

o Everyone was either having a baby or acting like one.
o MySpace & YouTube guys became instant billionaires.
o America’s new favorite “it� couple -- Matt & Lance.
o Paris & Nicole made-up.
o Flavor Flav “clocks� his competition.
o Mel Gibson gets drunk and his “Truthiness� comes out in A Million Little Pieces.
o Mark Foley turns over a new page.

For the fifth time, VH1 will honor winners in categories that captured the year in music, news, politics, arts and gossip with “VH1 Big In ‘06 Awards.� Hosted by actor and comedian D.L. Hughley, the annual year-end celebration will premiere on Sunday, December 3 at 8PM. Performers, presenters and special guests will be announced as they are confirmed.

VH1 is again letting America choose who this year’s winners will be. Viewers can vote for each category online at http://big.vh1.com beginning October 25 at 4PM ET through December 1 as well as determine the “write-in� nominees for the “Big Reality Star� of 2006, which is sponsored by Burger King. Viewers will also be able to cast their vote using their mobile phones by texting keyword “BIG� to the number 22422. Voters will receive the first category ballot and can opt to receive a new ballot each day until all categories are voted on. The “VH1 Big in ‘06� mobile voting is sponsored by Alltel.

Warner Bros. Pictures, L’Oréal Paris®, Burger King®, Alltel Wireless, and Cotton Inc., are the sponsors of “VH1 Big in ’06 Awards.�

This year’s categories/nominees include:

BIG ENTERTAINER

The celebrity that entertained us more than anyone else in the last 365 days

o Johnny Depp
o Steve Carell
o Jessica Simpson
o Dane Cook
o YouTube

BIG TV STAR

The actor or personality that defined television in ’06

o Kiefer Sutherland
o Patrick Dempsey
o Ellen DeGeneres
o Jon Stewart

BIG MUSIC ARTIST

The musician that made the biggest noise in ’06

o Shakira
o Pussycat Dolls
o The Red Hot Chili Peppers
o Justin Timberlake

Big in ’06 – Page 3

BIG DOWNLOAD

The artist that had the most talked about download of the year

o London Bridge (Fergie)
o White & Nerdy (Weird Al Yankovic)
o Here It Goes Again (OK Go)
o What’s A Date (Lonely Girl Fifteen)
o Jump In My Car (David Hasselhoff)

BIG MAMA

The celebrity mother whose maternal instincts rose above the rest

o Brooke Shields
o Katie Holmes
o Britney Spears
o Madonna

BIG BREAKTHROUGH

The entertainer that really made a name for themselves in ’06

o Sascha Baron Cohen
o Stephen Colbert
o Jaime Pressley
o The Cast of High School Musical

BIG COMEBACK

That person or group of people that roared back into the pop culture consciousness in ‘06

o New Orleans Saints
o Howie Mandel
o David Hasselhoff
o Al Gore
o Rosie O’Donnell

BIG “IT� GIRL

That fresh young face that was simply unavoidable this year

o Vanessa Mannillo
o America Ferrara
o Katherine McPhee
o Katherine Heigl

BIG OUTLAW

Love ‘em or shun ‘em, the celebrity that was the biggest law breaker this year

o Dick Cheney
o Mel Gibson
o Willie Nelson
o Paris Hilton

Big in ’06 – Page 4

BIG POWER COUPLE

The celebrity couple whose clout trumped all the rest in ‘06

o Beyonce & Jay-Z
o Britney Spears & Kevin Federline
o Matthew McConaughey & Lance Armstrong
o Brad Pitt & Angelina Jolie

BIG SHOCKER

The moment or event that we didn’t see coming in the past twelve months

o Bill Clinton loses his cool
o John Mark Carr confesses
o Mark Foley gets caught
o North Korea tests a nuke

BIG REALITY STAR

o WRITE IN CATEGORY