Controversial performers to headline Youth Inaugural Ball

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Under applause by the audience, the picture of the new US President Barack Obama is projected onto a screen while Kanye West and Estelle leave the stage at the MTV Europe Music Awards.

Say what you will about the headliners for the Youth Inaugural Ball, but one thing is certain: they aren't afraid to speak their minds.

Obama's Presidential Inaugural Committee announced the top acts of the Youth Inaugural Ball to be aired on MTV this Tuesday evening at 10:00pm (ET).

Global ball

Kanye West, Kid Rock, and Fall Out Boy are the headliners of the event which will be broadcast on MTV's global network reaching 162 countries.

"This year, millions of young people got involved and worked to bring change to this country," said PIC Executive Director Emmett S. Beliveau. "We wanted to make sure this Inauguration recognized the important role young Americans are playing in making our nation stronger, and we're thrilled that MTV's coverage will allow viewers across the country and around the world to come together as part of the inaugural celebration."

Outspoken

Both Kanye West and Kid Rock have been outspoken about politics in the past. But in different ways.

Kanye West, the ten-time Grammy winning award winner, made big news back in September, 2005 when appearing at a benefit concert for victims of Hurricane Katrina which was nationally broadcast on NBC.

West deviated from the prepared script announcing, "George Bush doesn't care about black people."

Big fan

Obama is a fan of West's music, however announcing during the campaign that his iPod contains some of the singer's work.

He has also spoken to West in the past and last year announced if elected he planned on reaching out to hip-hop performers to positively influence youth.

"I've met with Kanye," he told Black Entertainment Television. "I think the potential for them to deliver a message of extraordinary power that gets people thinking (is massive)."

"The thing about hip-hop today is it's smart, it's insightful, and the way that they can communicate a complex message in a very short space is remarkable," Obama said. "I understand people want to be rooted in the community, they want to be down, but what I always say is that hip-hop is not just a mirror of what is. It should also be a reflection of what can be."

Mouth shut

Kid Rock, on the other hand, announced during the 2008 presidential campaign that entertainers should shy away from voicing opinions on politics.

"I truly believe that people like myself, who are in a position of entertainers in the limelight, should keep their mouth shut on politics," he told Country Music Television. "Because at the end of the day, I'm good at writing songs and singing. What I'm not educated in is the field of political science. And so for me to be sharing my views and influencing people of who I think they should be voting for...I think would be very irresponsible on my part."

Kid and Oprah

Perhaps he can use the occasion to mend fences with Oprah Winfrey. The singer took a swipe at her during the interview.

"As soon as Oprah Winfrey pops up and goes 'Ha-la-la-la-la,' I'm like, 'I love Barack Obama. I hate Oprah Winfrey.'" He adds, "I don't hate her. I just don't believe in her, so I don't want any part of any of that. I think celebrities hurt politicians.""

Fall Out Boy

As for the members of Fall Out Boy, they're long time fans of the president-elect. After Obama's convention speech in Denver last August, Fall Out Boy guitarist Joe Trohman said he "got chills" while listening to it.

"There's the chills you get from hearing an incredible melody in a song, from seeing the best movie you've ever seen in your life, but this was something different," Trohman told MTV news. "I don't want to this to sound like a joke, but Obama has coin face. His face will look amazing on a silver dollar. And I want to be spending that silver dollar."

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