August 10, 2009 - MTV, Music powerhouse Sean “Diddy” Combs and Emmy Award-winning producer Mark Burnett team up to search for the next big name in music with “P. Diddy’s StarMaker.” The new ten-episode one-hour series will bring together the most respected names in music and feature industry power players hand-selected by Diddy to teach, test, coach, and ultimately create the world’s next global music superstar. Pete Wentz, Lady Gaga, Nicole Scherzinger and Kelly Rowland will make special appearances throughout the series to help Diddy and his team of experts judge the talent. Hosted by Kimberly Caldwell, the series will kick-off with a special 90-minute premiere on August 16, from 10:00PM-11:30 PM directly following MTV’s hit “America’s Best Dance Crew.”

Each week, contestants will showcase their talents to some of the top names in the music industry as they vie for the ultimate prize: an exclusive recording contract from Bad Boy Records and a career launch supervised by Diddy. From performing in front of an audience each week to handling photo shoots and paparazzi, Diddy will push these contestants with a variety of challenging tasks.

Diddy’s hand selected team of industry experts includes:

RODNEY “DARKCHILD” JERKINS— A prodigy who cracked the top of the charts as a teenager with Brandy and Monica's instant classic the “Boy Is Mine,” Rodney Jerkins has been one of music's most successful producers for over 10 years. The resume for this Grammy-award winning songwriter includes superstars like Michael Jackson, Beyoncé, Janet Jackson, Pussycat Dolls, Destiny's Child, Mary J. Blige and Britney Spears. He is an inspirational speaker, the CFO of the first online music virtual world MusicMogul.com, and the CEO his own label, Darkchild Records, LLC.

TAMARA CONNIFF—Tamara Conniff served as the music editor for The Hollywood Reporter for five years before making her name as the youngest and first female editor-in-chief at Billboard Magazine. Tamara recently served as President of Music Services for Front Line Management where she worked with music icons like Guns N’ Roses, The Eagles and Christina Aguilera.

LAURIE ANN GIBSON—“Making the Band’s” favorite choreographer is back. After training with the world famous Alvin Ailey School of Dance, Gibson has choreographed megastars like the Jonas Brothers, Mary J. Blige, Alicia Keys and Diddy. Whether she’s bringing the “boom kack” or warning artists about the “gotcha gotcha,” Laurie Ann gives guidance like no else in the business.

KIMBERLY CALDWELL— Singer, actress and television personality Kimberly Caldwell has worked as an entertainment correspondent and host for the TV Guide Network. Kimberly first hit the limelight as an artist on another popular reality competition show, which gives her the ability to develop an intimate and empathetic relationship with the aspiring “StarMaker” contestants.

JOHNNY WRIGHT—Johnny Wright is a legendary star maker who has managed some of the most successful acts of all time including Janet Jackson, New Kids on the Block, Backstreet Boys, *NSYNC, Britney Spears, Justin Timberlake and the Jonas Brothers. No stranger to reality television, Johnny Wright has mentored artists on “Making the Band” and “Making Menudo.”

Emmy nominated executive producer for “Raisin in the Sun,” Sean "Diddy" Combs is the ultimate American entertainer and entrepreneur, while wearing many different hats as record producer, CEO, clothing designer, actor, rapper and much, much more. He’s made hit records, huge business deals, designer clothing and founded the chart-topping artists Danity Kane and Day26. “StarMaker” will join an already impressive roster of television shows that Sean "Diddy" Combs has executive produced including the hit MTV series “Making The Band,” (http://makingtheband.mtv.com) “Making His Band” “Run’s House” (http://runshousemtv.com) and the most recent VH1 show that he created “I Want to Work For Diddy" (http://iwanttoworkfordiddy.vh1.com).