CARRIE UNDERWOOD, JUSTIN BIEBER, LMFAO AND THE WANTED TO PERFORM AT "2012 BILLBOARD MUSIC AWARDS"

Carrie Underwood, Justin Bieber, LMFAO and The Wanted have been announced as the first artists to perform at "The 2012 Billboard Music Awards," which airs live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on SUNDAY, MAY 20 (8:00-11:00 p.m., ET) on the ABC Television Network. Additional acts and presenters will be announced in the coming weeks.

With more than 14 million albums sold worldwide, 14 No. 1 singles (with six as co-writes), five Grammys and countless other accolades - all achieved with three albums in less than seven years - Carrie Underwood remains ever-passionate, fueled by a restless creative spirit, good-natured competitive streak and an abundance of God-given talent. Now Underwood unleashes her most ambitious project yet with "Blown Away," available May 1. Her 2005 debut, "Some Hearts," topped Billboard's Country Albums chart for 27 weeks, has sold over 7 million copies and was voted No. 1 Country Album of the Decade by Billboard. Her 2007 sophomore album, "Carnival Ride," and 2009's "Play On" each debuted at No. 1 on Billboard's Country and All-Genre Album Charts. Over the course of three albums, Underwood has saturated country radio with such hits as "Jesus, Take the Wheel," "Before He Cheats," "So Small," "Last Name," "Just a Dream," "Cowboy Casanova," "Temporary Home," "All-American Girl," "Undo It" and "Mama's Song."

Justin Bieber is a global phenomenon who has sold over 15 million albums worldwide to date and has amassed over 2.7 billion video views on YouTube, over 42 million Facebook fans and has more than 20 million Twitter followers. His new single, "Boyfriend," hit #1 on iTunes the second it was released and is the lead track from his upcoming album, "Believe," coming June 19th. "Believe" follows Bieber's #1 Christmas album, "Under the Mistletoe" (his third #1 album debut in just 18 months), "My World 2.0" (April, 2010) and "Never Say Never: The Remixes" (February, 2011). "Never Say Never: The Remixes" was the accompaniment to his concert documentary film, "Never Say Never," which went on to become the highest grossing concert film in U.S. history.

LMFAO's sophomore set, "Sorry for Party Rocking" (Party Rock/will.i.am/ Cherrytree/Interscope), was certified gold earlier this year and is quickly approaching platinum. The album has produced two #1 singles, "Party Rock Anthem" and "Sexy and I Know It." LMFAO's videos combined have seen over 950 million views on VEVO. "Party Rock Anthem" has surpassed 13.5 million units in total sales worldwide and was the #2 top selling song of 2011 on iTunes in the U.S. behind Adele's "Rolling in the Deep," and it was the #1 selling song on iTunes in the UK, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Denmark, Norway, Finland and Sweden. Their music has been licensed by movie and television shows, including 20th Century Fox's holiday hit, "Chipwrecked," Fox's TV hits "Glee" and "Touch," Universal Pictures' "American Reunion" and the top charting game "Just Dance 3." LMFAO has performed on numerous television shows, including "Dancing with the Stars," "So You Think You Can Dance," "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno," "Good Morning America," "The American Music Awards" and "Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin' Eve with Ryan Seacrest," and Redfoo and Sky Blu have shared the stage with Madonna at the Bridgestone Super Bowl Halftime Show. LMFAO will set out on a North American summer tour on May 22nd.

British Pop Vocal sensations "The Wanted" are taking the world by storm! Their lead single, "Glad You Came," just crossed 2 million mark in sales and hit #1 on Billboard's Mainstream Top 40 chart, becoming the first boy band to rule that chart with a debut single in almost 15 years! The guys are hot off performances on "American Idol," "The Voice," "The Tonight Show," "The Today Show" and "The View," and have just released their first U.S. self-titled EP.

Tickets prices begin at $57.75 for Upper Level, not including applicable service charges and taxes, are now on sale and available at all Las Vegas Ticketmaster locations (select Smith's Food and Drug Centers and Ritmo Latino). Ticket sales are limited to eight (8) per person. To charge by phone with a major credit card, call Ticketmaster at (800) 745-3000. Tickets also are available for purchase at www.mgmgrand.com or www.ticketmaster.com.

Finalists are based on key fan interactions with music, including album, single and digital sales, airplay, touring, streaming and social interactions on MySpace, Facebook and many of the other most popular online destinations for music. The awards will be based on the reporting period of February 28, 2011 through March 1, 2012.

"The 2012 Billboard Music Awards" is co-executive produced by Richard D. Beckman, CEO Prometheus Global Media and Don Mischer Productions. The special will be shot in high definition and broadcast in 720 Progressive (720P), ABC's selected HD format, with 5.1 channel surround sound.

Visit www.Billboard.com/BBMA for a complete list of finalists and to apply for media credentials. Music fans can also follow news about the show or related events on Twitter at www.twitter.com/Billboard or Facebook at www.facebook.com/billboard.

The MGM Grand Garden Arena is home to concerts, championship boxing and premier sporting and special events. The Arena offers comfortable seating for as many as 16,800 with excellent sightlines and state-of-the-art acoustics, lighting and sound. Prominent events to date have included world championship fights between Evander Holyfield and Mike Tyson as well as Oscar de la Hoya vs. Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao vs. Juan Manuel Marquez; and concerts by The Rolling Stones, Madonna, Elton John, Bruce Springsteen, Paul McCartney, Bette Midler, George Strait, Janet Jackson, Phil Collins, Billy Joel, U2, Lady Gaga, Sting, Coldplay, Alicia Keys, Jimmy Buffett and the Barbra Streisand Millennium Concert. The MGM Grand Garden Arena also is home to the annual Academy of Country Music Awards, annual Billboard Music Awards and the Frozen Fury NHL pre-season game which features the Los Angeles Kings vs. Colorado Avalanche. www.mgmgrand.com