Verizon Wireless Brings Fans New Collaboration From Rock Icon Chris Cornell And Timbaland Exclusively For Blackberry Storm Smartphone Users

BASKING RIDGE, NJ, and CHICAGO, IL — Verizon Wireless today announced rock icon Chris Cornell and super producer Timbaland will collaborate on the next song in its exclusive series of songs available first to BlackBerry® Storm™ smartphone customers. The song, "Stop Me," will debut during an invitation-only event tomorrow night in Chicago with a performance by Cornell, former frontman for Soundgarden and Audioslave, and will be available for download by BlackBerry Storm smartphone users later that evening.

Cornell, whose solo album "Scream" was released earlier this week, will join Verizon Wireless' Mobile Producer in Residence, Timbaland, on the Verizon Mobile Recording Studio Bus before the event to debut "Stop Me." Cornell and Timbaland's "Stop Me" is the third song from Timbaland's exclusive Storm program and follows remixes of Rihanna's "Rehab" and the Jonas Brothers' "Tonight." Songs from the program are available for a limited time for free to Verizon Wireless customers using BlackBerry Storm smartphones from Research In Motion (RIM). To download the songs, customers simply visit www.VerizonTimbalandStorm.com using their BlackBerry Storm smartphones, enter their phone numbers, and then follow the directions to access the tracks. All of the collaborations will be available to all V CAST Music customers later this spring.

"The BlackBerry Storm smartphone has amazing multimedia features, and it's been great to work with artists such as Timbaland and Chris Cornell to show off the power of music on the device," said Ed Ruth, director of digital music at Verizon. "We're excited BlackBerry Storm smartphone users get to have the first listen to this exclusive music, and know this song and all the others sound great to them."

"It's cool to be a part of the Verizon program because it can offer genuinely innovative ways of getting new music out to fans," said Chris Cornell.

"'Stop Me' is the third exclusive song I've created just for Verizon's BlackBerry Storm customers," said Timbaland. "It made perfect sense to debut it the same week that 'Scream' was released since I produced that album as well."

Verizon Wireless has been working with Timbaland, together with other top artists, to bring new songs to BlackBerry Storm smartphone customers in connection with several special events over the past few months. Customers with BlackBerry Storm smartphones are the first to get the new tracks, which feature different artists and genres, and appeal to music lovers of all ages. For more information, visit www.VerizonTimbalandStorm.com.  

Chris Cornell has been astonishing fans with his songwriting and vocal talent for nearly two decades. As the architect of grunge and the lead singer of Soundgarden, he brought the Seattle sound to the masses with songs such as "Black Hole Sun," "Rusty Cage" and "Outshined" from the classic albums "Badmotorfinger" and "Superunknown." Later, Cornell joined with former members of Rage Against the Machine to form Audioslave, whose albums include "Audioslave," "Out of Exile" and "Revelations." In recent years, Cornell has also established himself as a solo artist, with critically acclaimed albums including "Euphoria Morning" and "Carry On." Cornell is the first American male solo artist to ever be commissioned to do the Bond theme in 2006 with the song "You Know My Name" from "Casino Royale." An artist who thrives on contradictions, Cornell is once again moving into fresh territory by collaborating with Timbaland on "Scream."

Available exclusively in the United States from Verizon Wireless, the BlackBerry Storm smartphone is the world's first smartphone with a "clickable" touch screen and features powerful communications capabilities, plus advanced multimedia features, including support for V CAST Music with Rhapsody.

For more information on mobile music from Verizon Wireless, visit a Verizon Wireless Communications Store, call 1-800-2 JOIN IN or visit www.verizonwireless.com/music. For more information on the BlackBerry Storm smartphone, visit www.verizonwireless.com/storm.  

About Verizon Wireless
Verizon Wireless operates the nation's most reliable and largest wireless voice and data network, serving more than 80 million customers. Headquartered in Basking Ridge, N.J., with more than 85,000 employees nationwide, Verizon Wireless is a joint venture of Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ) and Vodafone (NYSE and LSE: VOD). For more information, visit www.verizonwireless.com. To preview and request broadcast-quality video footage and high-resolution stills of Verizon Wireless operations, log on to the Verizon Wireless Multimedia Library at www.verizonwireless.com/multimedia.  

The BlackBerry and RIM families of related marks, images and symbols are the exclusive properties and trademarks of Research In Motion Limited.

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