MTV launches new, fluid Grammys online: O Music Awards

After reviving several old brands recently — “Unplugged” returned last year, and “120 Minutes” is back as a monthly show (with a weekly online counterpart, “120 Seconds”) — MTV is launching a new show, the O Music Awards, showcasing online and digital music.

No, Chicago, O does not mean Oprah.

“We wanted the O to be open,” Shannon Connolly, MTV’s VP of digital music strategy, told the Sun-Times. “We can fill it in with things — ongoing, online, OMG, whatever it is. In the spirit of this being very beta, it’s open. We’ll see what it becomes.”

The O Music Awards indeed have a come-what-may attitude. The first O ceremony will take place April 28 at a to-be-determined location and streamed live online, but the next one won’t necessarily be in April 2012, it’ll be … whenever.

“Digital moves really quickly. This can’t be a traditional event,” Connolly said. “This will be something that lives 365 days a year. One, twice, maybe five times a year we’ll hit the pause button and have a spectacular party with performances.”

The O awards will hand out trophies — some before the ceremony, some during, some a few days later — in categories such as innovative music video, NSFW music video, best independent music blog, must-follow artist on Twitter, best music hashtag meme (go #awfulsupergroups!), favorite f— yeah Tumblr, animated gif, viral dance, best fan cover and many more.

That means these awards will not only go to artists — they’ll also go to everyday fans, bloggers, programmers, etc.

Categories are fan-voted, and voting begins today at omusicawards.com. Plus, if you don’t like the nominees, each award category allows you to submit your own nominee and then rally support using social networks.