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Saturday 12 Sep 2009

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Four YouTube legends, one mind-blowing challenge as Chartjackers comes to BBC Switch

BBC Switch has commissioned Hat Trick Productions to follow four bloggers who are massive on the web – Johnny, Jimmy, Charlie and Alex – and have been given just 10 weeks to crowd-source a number one single for BBC Children in Need.

Our Chartjackers have no money, no music industry experience, and are not allowed to write, record or perform the single themselves: every aspect – from title to lyrics, from musicians to producers – must be blagged from the BBC Switch audience and the wider internet community.

BBC Switch will follow the journey of our Chartjackers on Twitter, in weekly exclusive video blogs and five-minute pop-doc episodes broadcast on BBC Two.

A 30-minute documentary chronicling the whole dizzying journey from nothing to number one will be broadcast after the live period. This exciting new cross-platform event goes live on Saturday 12 September 2009 and all profits made from the single will be donated to Children in Need to help disadvantaged children and young people in the UK

Online, Johnny, Jimmy, Charlie and Alex have more than 200,000 subscribers between them. Their videos, rarely filmed outside of their respective bedrooms, frequently rack up hundreds of thousands of views. But outside of the online community, our lads are total novices and music industry virgins. They do not have any funds to draw on to pay for their vision, and must sell tens of thousands of singles to achieve their dream of a number one single. Can they do it? Tune in to BBC Switch to find out...

Geoffrey Goodwin, Head of BBC Switch, says: "Chartjackers is a very exciting addition to Switch's great new season of multi-platform content airing on BBC Two. This line-up, which includes new dramas The Cut and Off The Hook and digital drama thriller The Well, offers our teen audience exactly what they want – great programmes and fresh new interactive content."

Jonathan Davenport, Head of Digital at Hat Trick Productions, adds: "Chartjackers is a guerilla, inside-out take on the talent show format exemplified by The X Factor which pits four YouTube vloggers against the music industry as they try to bag a crowd-sourced number one single for Children in Need.

"At heart, this is about four likeable lads attempting to achieve the extraordinary through the power of the internet. The BBC Switch audience will not only find their journey exhilarating, they may be inspired to help make the song and its chart placement a reality whilst helping to raise funds for a great cause like Children in Need."

Chartjackers is a Hat Trick production for BBC Switch. The executive producer for Hat Trick is Jonathan Davenport.

It is produced by Adam King and commissioned by Head of BBC Switch, Geoffrey Goodwin and Jo Twist, BBC Multi-platform Commissioner for Entertainment and Switch.

Notes to Editors


BBC Children in Need

The BBC Children in Need Appeal is a charity registered in England and Wales (802052) and Scotland (SC039557) whose aim is to make a positive change to the lives of disadvantaged children and young people across the UK.

Every year, thanks to public donations and the amazing efforts of fundraisers, schools, businesses and corporate partners, BBC Children in Need is able to make a difference to thousands of young lives.

The next BBC Children in Need Appeal will take place on 20 November 2009.

For more information please visit bbc.co.uk/pudsey.

AN

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