BY GEOFF WEISS
MTV is teaming up with popular lip-syncing app Musical.ly as it seeks to revive My Super Sweet 16, a cult-classic series that originally debuted in 2005 and chronicled the lavish birthday parties of American teens.
As part of the partnership, Musical.ly users (who are known as “musers”) can apply to be featured on the show by submitting a video today using the hashtag #MySuperSweetAudition and describing what their forthcoming birthday parties will entail. Producers will then select applicants to move on to the next round. This marks the first time that MTV has used an app to cast one of its series, according to the company.
The casting call represents the latest initiative in a deepening relationship between Musical.ly and MTV: The two companies are also slated to partner on a premium content project launching next quarter. And previously, MTV hosted a Verizon-sponsored “Song Of The Summer” contest on Musical.ly during the MTV Video Music Awards, where Musical.ly creators voted on 10 nominated songs by creating lip-synching clips. MTV is the first publisher on Musical.ly to surpass 1 million followers.
“MTV’s Musical.ly initiatives for the past year have helped build one of the most successful direct fan engagement programs on the platform,” said MTV President Chris McCarthy. “The casting for My Super Sweet 16 is just the beginning of engaging the muser audience more deeply into current and future MTV programming.”
“At Musical.ly, we want to empower our community to help shape the next generation of entertainers,” said Alex Hofmann, president of Musical.ly, North America. “This partnership with MTV allows our community to become co-creators and active participants in the development of a show.”
