NEW YORK – Global pop music sensation Ke$ha, Grammy Award-winner hip hop artist Ludacris and Grammy Award-nominated hip hop artist B.o.B will help tip off the 2013 NBA All-Star Game when they perform during the Sprint NBA All-Star Pregame Concert on Sunday, Feb. 17. The Sprint Pregame Concert, which will be held at the NBA All-Star Jam Session Sprint Arena in Houston’s George R. Brown Convention Center, will lead up to TNT’s exclusive telecast of the 62^nd NBA All-Star Game at 8 p.m. ET.

Hip hop superstars, Ludacris and B.o.B will open the show with a live performance during NBA TV’s coverage of the Sprint Pregame Concert beginning at 6 p.m.ET, prior to TNT’s pregame coverage. Ke$ha will hit the stage to perform during the live telecast on TNT starting at 7 p.m. ET.

The Sprint NBA All-Star Pregame Concert will cap off a week of Sprint All-Star activities in Houston. Saturday, Feb 9, the NBA All-Star E-Recycling Day presented by Sprint was held at Discovery Green. The Sprint NBA All-Star Celebrity Game then will air live on ESPN from the Sprint Arena at NBA All-Star Jam Session on Friday, Feb. 15 at 7 p.m. ET. The game will feature celebrities from film, TV and music, as well as NBA legends and WNBA players.

Sprint is also an associate partner of NBA All-Star Jam Session and the presenting partner of NBA All-Star Balloting, which determines the starters for the NBA All-Star Game.

About the Artists

 Ke$ha (RCA Records) – Global superstar Ke$ha has taken the world by storm since the release of her debut album Animal in 2010. That year she was declared Billboard’s Hot 100 Artist and her smash debut single “TiK ToK” was named Billboard’s #1 Hot 100 Song, was the most played song of that year, and was the biggest-selling digital track in the world. Her debut album Animal has sold over 2.5 million units worldwide and Ke$ha has had 7 consecutive Top 10 hits including four #1 singles in “TiK ToK”, “Your Love Is My Drug,” “We R Who We R” and the latest, “Die Young.” Ke$ha recently released the track “C’Mon,” the second single from her critically acclaimed second album, Warrior. Ke$ha has toured the world, playing over 200 live shows in support of Animal and its companion album Cannibal. She took home the MTV EMA for Best New Act in November 2010 and was nominated for 2 American Music Awards, 3 MTV VMA Awards and 6 Billboard Awards. She has performed on dozens of television programs all over the world including MTV Europe Music Awards, Much Music Awards (Canada), Echo Awards (Germany), X Factor (Australia), American Music Awards, Billboard Awards, American Idol, Saturday Night Live and The Today Show Summer Concert Series. She has over 22 million Facebook likes, over 3 million Twitter followers and over 330 million views on VEVO. She has sold over 27 million combined tracks and ringtones in the U.S alone and over 34.5 million worldwide to date. Ke$ha is an international powerhouse, Animal has been certified Gold, Platinum or multi-Platinum in 15 markets (including Platinum in the United States) and was the biggest selling debut album from an international female in 2010 in the UK. In November 2012 Ke$ha released her first book through Touchstone Publishing. The full-color photo journal/scrapbook entitled My Crazy Beautiful Life, sheds light on Ke$ha’s hectic, non-stop life on tour and provides an exclusive look into the creative process of her latest album, Warrior. Also in late 2012 Ke$ha announced Kesha Rose by Charles Albert^®, a new jewelry line that reflects the singer’s distinctive personality throughout the collection. Ke$ha was also recently named the first global ambassador for Humane Society International.

Ludacris (DTP Records/Island Def Jam) – Ludacris is a Grammy Award-winning hip-hop artist, entrepreneur and actor. Along with his manager, Chaka Zulu, Ludacris is the co-founder of Disturbing tha Peace, an imprint distributed by Def Jam Recordings. Ludacris has won a Screen Actors Guild, Critic’s Choice, MTV, and three Grammy awards during his career. Ludacris was one of the first and most influential Dirty South artists to achieve mainstream success. After a brief stint as a disc jockey, he released his debut album Back for the First Time in 2000, which contained the singles “Southern Hospitality” and “What’s Your Fantasy.” In 2001, he released Word of Mouf, followed by Chicken-n-Beer in 2003. He took a more serious approach with his next three albums, The Red Light District (2004), Release Therapy (2006), and Theater of the Mind (2008). His latest record, Battle of the Sexes, was released in 2010. Ludacris plans to release his fifth album, Ludaversal later this year.

B.o.B (Rebel Rock/Grand Hustle/Atlantic Records) – Atlanta-native, B.o.B has become a fixture in the music scene thanks to the success of “STRANGE CLOUDS,” which is the follow-up to his critically-acclaimed, RIAA-certified Gold debut album, B.o.B PRESENTS: THE ADVENTURES OF BOBBY RAY, which earned an outstanding five Grammy nominations including “Best Rap Album.” “STRANGE CLOUDS” features the platinum-certified singles “Strange Clouds (feat. Lil Wayne)” and “So Good,” as well as the gold-certified, “Both of Us,” which features vocals from Taylor Swift. Other collaborations on “STRANGE CLOUDS,” include the likes of T.I., Nicki Minaj, Ryan Tedder, Chris Brown, Trey Songz, with production from heavy-hitters Dr. Luke, Salaam Remi, Ryan Tedder and even B.o.B himself. “STRANGE CLOUDS” has earned B.o.B high praise from critics ranging from Rolling Stone, who said that “…his strength is being inquisitive, like detailing his wealth, then asking if it matters,” while Entertainment Weekly acknowledged that B.o.B “…knows how to hang in nearly every sonic situation, and master it – just like a real rock star.” For more information on B.o.B, please visit www.bobatl.com, www.twitter.com/bobatl,www.facebook.com/bobatl.

About Sprint Nextel
Sprint Nextel offers a comprehensive range of wireless and wireline communications services bringing the freedom of mobility to consumers, businesses and government users. Sprint Nextel served more than 55 million customers at the end of 2012 and is widely recognized for developing, engineering and deploying innovative technologies, including the first wireless 4G service from a national carrier in the United States; offering industry-leading mobile data services, leading prepaid brands including Virgin Mobile USA, Boost Mobile, and Assurance Wireless; instant national and international push-to-talk capabilities; and a global Tier 1 Internet backbone. The American Customer Satisfaction Index rated Sprint No. 1 among all national carriers in customer satisfaction and most improved, across all 47 industries, during the last four years. Newsweek ranked Sprint No. 3 in both its 2011 and 2012 Green Rankings, listing it as one of the nation’s greenest companies, the highest of any telecommunications company. You can learn more and visit Sprint at www.sprint.com or www.facebook.com/sprint and www.twitter.com/sprint.

About NBA All-Star 2013
NBA All-Star 2013 in Houston will bring together some of the most talented and passionate players in the league’s history for a global celebration of the game. The 62^nd NBA All-Star Game, which will take place on Sunday, Feb. 17 at Toyota Center, will reach fans in 215 countries and territories in 47 languages. TNT will televise the All-Star Game for an 11^th consecutive year, marking Turner Sports’ 29^th year of All-Star coverage. State Farm All-Star Saturday Night will feature Sears Shooting Stars, Taco Bell Skills Challenge, Foot Locker Three-Point Contest, and Sprite Slam Dunk. Other events at NBA All-Star 2013 will include the BBVA Rising Stars Challenge, NBA Development League All-Star Game, Sprint NBA All-Star Celebrity Game, and NBA All-Star Jam Session. Houston also hosted NBA All-Star in 2006 and 1989.