Bow Wow's Everybody's Most 'Wanted'!

Hip-Hop Heartthrob's Latest Album RETURNS To The Top 10!

Bow Wow Conquers Nation's Airwaves with Two Smash Singles 'Let Me Hold You' (Featuring Omarion) & 'Like You' (Featuring Ciara)

PRNewswire
NEW YORK
08/19/2005

The multi-platinum hip-hop heartthrob Bow Wow is living up to his status as a bona fide superstar as his sizzling new album, Wanted (available as a traditional CD or as a DualDisc) returns to the Top 10 on the Billboard 200 bestselling albums chart while his latest pair of singles, "Let Me Hold You" (featuring Omarion), and "Like You" (featuring Ciara), continue to light up the nation's airwaves reaching tens of millions of listeners coast-to-coast. Both Bow Wow's current singles are riding high on the nation's Hot 100 with "Let Me Hold You" holding steady at #4 and "Like You" bulleting its way up to #12.

Though only 18, Bow Wow's already a veteran rapper with a string of multi-platinum successes behind him. Wanted, his eagerly-awaited fourth album, debuted at #3 on the Billboard 200 best-selling albums chart and has already sold more than 328,000 copies. With sales of more than 50,000 copies this week alone, Wanted has returned to the Top 10 and is the nation's #2 Rap Album and #3 R&B Album. Bow Wow's latest has generated two smash singles to-date: "Let Me Hold You" (featuring Omarion) and "Like You" (featuring Ciara).

Produced by superstar hit maker Jermaine Dupri, "Let Me Hold You," a collaboration with fellow hip-hop heartthrob Omarion, has been the #1 record on the Urban Mainstream Monitor and the #1 record on the Top 40 Rhythm chart for the past four weeks.

The artist's new single, "Like You" (featuring Ciara), also produced by hit maker Jermaine Dupri, is extending the building buzz on Bow Wow as the Heart Throb Tour continues to sell out venues across the country (full itinerary following).

Bow Wow's provocative video for "Like You" has been the #1 downloaded clip on Launch.com and is AOL's #1 video worldwide, with more than 1.4 million plays to-date.

Bow Wow's singles are Sony BMG's two top-selling ringtones this week: #1: "Let Me Hold You" (more than 700,000 sold) and #2: "Like You" (more than 200,000 sold).

A recent New York in-store appearance celebrating the release of Wanted was the scene of pure pandemonium with thousands of delirious and frenzied fans lining up for hours for their chance to meet Bow Wow in person. New York's Mayor Michael Bloomberg was reportedly "met with a mob of screaming teenage girls on his way to work...." (New York Daily News (Wednesday, July 13, 2005).

The fan-driven hysteria at the Bow Wow in-store provided a fitting prelude to the hip-hop icon's SRO "Scream Tour IV Presents: The Heart Throb Tour," which opened in Trenton, New Jersey on July 20.

For the Scream Tour IV, Bow Wow has joined forces with fellow superstar Omarion for a series of historic North American concerts. Other acts on the Scream Tour IV include Bobby Valentino, Pretty Ricky, Marques Houston, and B5.

2005 is shaping up to be a very big year for Bow Wow. In addition to the release of his new album and the Scream IV tour, Bow Wow will light up the big screen this fall with a starring role in the feature film, "Roll Bounce," a teenage skater-dramedy set in the late 1970s. A Fox Searchlight release, "Roll Bounce" is slated to open nationwide on September 23, 2005.

Bow Wow first burst on the scene back in 2000 -- under the wing of super producer Jermaine Dupri -- with his debut album, Beware of Dog, which went on to sell more than three million copies while solidifying his status as an authentic hip-hop heartthrob.

Bow Wow took his brand of rap to the next level with 2001's Doggy Bag, hitting the road in support of his multi-platinum sophomore CD with the sold-out "Scream Tour II," wowing fans all over the country with hits like "Take Ya Home" and "Thank You."

Bow Wow's undeniable star power led to starring roles in the box office triumph "Like Mike" (one of the 50 Top-Grossing films of 2002) and the subsequent hits "All About The Benjamins" (2002) and "Johnson Family Vacation" (2004).

With his third album, 2003's Unleashed, Bow Wow became more directly involved with writing and producing his music, creating a collection directly from the heart, conveying a more personal overview of life from Bow Wow's perspective.

He is the youngest musician to open the Grammy Awards, is the first "kid" to be included in Vanity Fair's prestigious annual music issue (October 2001), and entered the "The Guinness Book of World Records" as the youngest solo rapper to hit #1 on the U.S. charts.

Having recently turned 18, with several hit singles, platinum-plus albums, sold-out tours, starring roles in hit films, and a place in "The Guinness Book of World Records" already on his resume, Bow Wow continues to prove that he's the 100% real deal with the indisputable goods: a bona fide teen superstar blessed with burgeoning talent, tenacity, and a deep connection to his audience.

  Bow Wow's Scream IV: Heart Throb Tour

   07/20/05  Trenton, NJ       Sovereign Bank Arena
   07/21/05  Bridgeport, CT    Arena at Harbor Yard
   07/23/05  Hampton, VA       Hampton Coliseum, Arena
   07/24/05  Baltimore, MD     1st Mariner Arena
   07/27/05  Cleveland, OH     CSU Arena
   07/28/05  Columbus, OH      Value City Arena
   07/29/05  Detroit, MI       Cobo Arena
   07/30/05  Champaign, IL     University Of Illinois Assembly Hall, Arena
   07/31/05  St. Louis, MO     Savvis Center
   08/04/05  Los Angeles, CA   Gibson Amphitheatre
   08/06/05  Oakland, CA       Oakland-Alameda Co. Coliseum
   08/08/05  Denver, CO        Coors Amphitheatre
   08/10/05  Kansas City, MO   American Royal Center/ Kemper Arena
   08/12/05  Houston, TX       Toyota Center
   08/13/05  New Orleans, LA   New Orleans Cultural Center, Hall
   08/14/05  Dallas, TX        Nokia Arena
   08/17/05  Greenville, SC    Bi-Lo Center
   08/18/05  Nashville, TN     Gaylord Arena
   08/19/05  Birmingham, AL    BJCC Arena
   08/20/05  Memphis, TN       FedEx Arena
   08/21/05  Atlanta, GA       Philips Arena
   08/24/05  New York, NY      Madison Square Garden
   08/25/05  Philadelphia, PA  Wachovia Center
   08/26/05  Washington, DC    MCI Center
   08/27/05  Greensboro, NC    Greensboro Coliseum Complex, Special Events
                               Center
   09/01/05  Jacksonville, FL  Memorial Coliseum
   09/02/05  Tampa, FL         St Pete Times - Forum
   09/04/05  Miami, FL         Miami Arena

SOURCE: Sony Urban Music/Columbia Records

CONTACT: Edwin Banacia, Sony Urban Music, New York, +1-212-833-5072,
Edwin.Banacia@sonybmg.com; or Patti Webster, W&W Public Relations Inc.,
+1-732-469-5955, patti@w-wpr.com, both for Bow Wow

Web site: http://www.bowwowwanted.com/
http://www.columbiarecords.com/
http://www.screamtour.com/
http://www.launch.com/