Gorillaz live at Habbo Hotel
- The world famous cartoon band will host virtual live sessions with teen fans around the world
Helsinki, Finland, August 17, 2005 - HABBO HOTEL, one of the worlds largest and hottest on-line destinations for teenagers, will host a special VIP visit in August and September 2005. The two-dimensional super group Gorillaz will visit Habbo Hotels in 12 countries between August 22 and September 2. Gorillaz fans around the world will get an exclusive opportunity to meet their favorite band in an exciting live session or in an exclusive private interview.
Habbo Hotel is a virtual meeting place for teenagers and young adults. The attraction of Habbo Hotel is based on an active community and the opportunity for self-expression and creativity. Teens join by creating a fully customized online character persona called a Habbo. From there, users explore the vast hotel where they can hang around and make friends with other Habbos, play a wide range of games, party and dance, create and decorate their own room, meet their real life favorite celebrities - the interactivity and options are virtually limitless. Habbo Hotel is operating at the moment in 16 countries and more than 4 million unique visitors check in to the hotel each month. Habbo Hotel is owned and operated by Sulake, an interactive entertainment company.
The world's most successful virtual band, Gorillaz are the perfect candidates for visiting the virtual Habbo Hotel "in person". The band is invited to Sulake's office to host the sessions, which will last for an hour per each country. The band members are given computers from which they log into Habbo Hotel and the specific theatre where the visit is organized. The room is cleared by the moderators every 10 minutes, so that as many Habbos as possible can meet the band and ask questions. After this massive live event, a private interview with a limited amount of lucky fans will take place in specially furnished guest rooms, decorated in the honor of Gorillaz.
"In Habbo Hotel Gorillaz can meet their fans in an intimate and exciting environment. The Hotel also gives Gorillaz a unique opportunity to be themselves," the band explains. "We feel that Habbo Hotel is a cool hang-out-place for teenagers and we're hoping to answer as many questions as possible."
Gorillaz is an animated hip-pop collective, comprised of 2D (vocals, keyboards), Murdoc Niccals (bass), Noodle (guitars) and Russel Hobbs (drums, percussion). The bands eponymous debut album, released in 2001, sold more than 6 million records worldwide and spawned the infectious singles Clint Eastwood and Tomorrow Comes Today. The highly-anticipated follow-up Demon Days was released earlier this summer and has produced the instant smash hit Feel Good Inc. Gorillaz' virtual band persona and mesmerizing, cutting-edge music videos have helped further its appeal and placed the group and its members at the forefront of current pop culture icons. Second single DARE will be released in late August. More information about the band can be found at www.gorillaz.com
For more information about Habbo Hotel and the Gorillaz visit, please contact: Sulake Corporation, Juhani Lassila, Communication Manager, tel. +358 40 541 2365, juhani.lassila@sulake.com.