MTV Networks Australia today announced UK rap icon, Dizzee Rascal as the latest performer set to blow the roof off at the MTV Australia Awards 2008. In what will be a whirlwind 48 hours for the rapper, Dizzee will touch down in Australia after being the star performer on the MTV NZ Mile High Gig. Rockin’ the skies at 37,000 feet, the gig of a lifetime will leave Auckland for Sydney on Friday April 25 and will see Dizzee perform alongside New Zealand’s hottest performer, Scribe. The award show’s list of celebrity presenters will now also include fellow, New Zealand Mile High Gig performer Scribe, UK songstress Leona Lewis, Brian McFadden and MTV’s very own ex-VJ and Getaway host, Jason Dundas. The MTV Australia Awards 2008 will broadcast on MTV Saturday April 26 from 7:30pm with an encore screening on FOX8 Sunday April 27 from 6pm and Saturday May 3 from 7:30pm.

MTV Networks Australia Executive Producer Ean Thorley said: “Our star studded line-up of guests, performers and presenters is hotting up by the minute, with a list that already includes Wyclef Jean, 50 Cent, Juliette Lewis, Eve, The Vines, Lyndsey Rodrigues, Kisschasy and The Potbelleez. Our latest additions to the crew: Dizzee Rascal, Leona Lewis, Brian Mc Fadden, Scribe and Jason Dundas will ensure this show has the (star) power to keep the city charged all night.”

After winning a Sidewinder Award for 'Best Newcomer MC' in 2002, Dizzee Rascal’s debut album, Boy in Da Corner was released to critical acclaim in August 2003, in that same year he had the honour of being the first rapper to ever be awarded the Mercury Prize. In 2004, Dizzee won The NME award for Innovation and his second album, ‘Showtime’, proved to the industry that he was there to stay. Upon its release in 2007 his third album, Maths + English earned him another Mercury Prize nomination, with the album’s success continuing to grow around the world. Dizzee will take to the stage at the MTV Australia Awards 2008 with the style and finesse of one of the industry’s greats.

UK singing sensation Leona Lewis and Brian McFadden will join Dizzee in flying the UK flag for the awards show. Since winning the UK’s 3rd series of The X-Factor, Lewis’s career has gone from strength to strength. Her debut single, “Bleeding Love”, was the biggest selling single of 2007 in the United Kingdom and since its release here in Australia, it has remained in the top 10 for a staggering 15 weeks. It may be an easy prediction; but Leona Lewis is sure to have more than a few fans screaming for her as she walks this year’s red carpet.

Some may know him as a former member of the UK boy-band Westlife, others as Delta Goodrem’s hubby-to-be, but Brain McFadden has worked tirelessly to release his second solo album ‘Set In Stone’. The first single off the album ‘Like Only a Woman Can’ has received an amazing response from fans and critics since its Australian release in March.

Jason Dundas’s days on MTV saw him snort wasabi, snowboard naked and co-host the red carpet at MTV Australia’s first ever awards show. Since leaving the channel in 2007 for the hugely envied post as Getaway’s resident daredevil, Dundas has travelled the globe, visited the places we only dream of and landed himself the tile of Cleo Magazines Bachelor Of The Year. MTV welcomes its former VJ back with open arms – even if it is only for one night!