Yahoo! is rolling out the purple carpet for its OMG! Awards and Philippines is the first country to host the worldwide launch.

Starmometer graced the Yahoo! OMG! Awards Pre-Event Bash which was held yesterday, June 16, at the Opus Restaurant inside Resorts World Manila in Pasay.

During the event, the premiere digital media company announced the launch of OMG! Awards – the first of its kind purple carpet event that will recognize the most-searched celebrities on its newest and leading entertainment property in the Philippines. The Awards combine Yahoo! Search and rich news content from Yahoo!’s celebrity and entertainment news site, OMG! to recognize the top trending web celebs, those who have propelled to stardom in cyberspace and used the power of the Internet to reach their fans.

Erwin Lemuel Oliva, Country Editor, Philippines, stated, “To determine the winners in each category, our editors will do a thorough trend analysis by assessing the percentage increase in the online searches to identify the most-searched Filipino celebrities. From this short-list, readers will be asked to vote for their favorite.” 

Present during the pre-event bash are MYX chart-topper Someday Dream, and rising acoustic artist Johnhoy Danao, who both performed 2 songs from their album; Hale’s Champ Lui-Pio, Lani Pillinger of Amazing Race Asia 4 and Brazilian-Japanese model and Kapuso star Fabio Ide.

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The awards ceremony, which will take place on June 21 at the Republiq bar in Resorts World, comprises 72 nominees in 18 categories; the winners of which will be selected through popular search queries and polling methods.

To be hosted by JM Rodriguez and Andi Manzano, Yahoo OMG! Awards will feature acts by top local performers including Someday Dream, Johnhoy Danao and Up Dharma Down, and appearances by popular Filipino celebrities. Noted fashion designers Joey Samson, Jun Escario and Kate Torralba will present a purple themed fashion show while “Cosplay Queen” Alodia Gosengfiao will live blog from the event scene. An after hour party will be hosted by DJ Chris Myk.

Here is the complete list of Yahoo! OMG! Categories and Nominees for 2011:

Hottest Actor:

Piolo Pascual
Diether Ocampo
Aljur Abrenica
Jericho Rosales

Hottest Actress:

Marian Rivera
Angel Locsin
Jennylyn Mercado
Anne Curtis

Funniest Comedian:

Vice Ganda
Vic Sotto
Vhong Navarro
Michael V

Funniest Comedienne:

Pokwang
Eugene Domingo
Ai Ai delas Alas
Tuesday Vargas

Breakthrough Artist – Male:

JM De Guzman
Enchong Dee
Derek Ramsay
Coco Martin

Breakthrough Artist – Female:

Solenn Heussaff
Cristine Reyes
Bela Padilla
Andi Eigenmann

Awesome Young Actor:

Sam Concepcion
Albie Casino
Enrique Gil
Robi Domingo

Awesome Young Actress:

Kathryn Bernardo
Julia Montes
Barbie Forteza
Bea Binene

Favorite TV Host – Male:

Willie Revillame
Luis Manzano
Vice Ganda
Vic Sotto
Mo Twister

Favorite TV Host – Female:

Alodia Gosiengfiao
Shalani Soledad
Pia Guanio
Toni Gonzaga

Amazing Newcomer – Male:

Mikael Daez
Alden Richards
Diego Loyzaga
Renz Fernandez

Amazing Newcomer – Female:

Louise delos Reyes
Ritz Azul
Coleen Garcia
Jasmine Curtis

Coolest Singer – Male:

Jovit Baldivino
Kean Cipriano
Christian Bautista
Rico Blanco

Coolest Singer – Female:

Regine Velasquez
Sarah Geronimo
Charice
Karylle

Coolest Band:

General Luna
Parokya ni Edgar
Callalily
Up Dharma Down

Designer of the Year:

Jun Escario
Rosanna Ocampo
Kate Torralba
Joey Samson
Rajo Laurel

To cast your vote, log on to: Yahoo! OMG! Awards