2014 Kia Soul Gets Unique Makeover for 2013 YouTube Music Awards

In a turn of events that's as unsurprising as it is appropriate, a custom 2014 Kia Soul has been created to help kickoff the first-ever YouTube Music Awards. It's a natural role for a vehicle that owes much of its initial success to YouTube, where its hamster-starring videos have been seen by millions of viewers. Of course, those numbers are actually small change for a site that gathers more than a billion unique visitors every month, but that's where Kia's exclusive partnership with the awards event comes into play.

The deal will put Kia right in the middle of a two-day, international celebration of today's hottest YouTube music stars, starting with a November 2 "pop-up" concert in New York City that will be presented by the 2014 Kia Soul. Featuring acts DJ Green Lantern and KRNFX, Mike Song and DJ Green Lantern, the event will be livestreamed on www.YouTube.com/kiasoul beginning at 7:00 p.m.

From that point on, Youtubers can expect many more hours of music from across the globe, as concerts will be streamed from locations like Seoul, Moscow, London and Brazil beginning at 5:00 a.m. (ET) on November 3. Among those scheduled to perform are Arcade Fire and Eminem, with all the action culminating in the awards ceremony itself, slated to start at 6:00 p.m. at www.YouTube.com/MusicAwards.com. And as an FYI, you also can visit that site right now to vote on the 2013 awards recipients in six different categories.

As for the 2014 Kia Soul YouTube edition, it sports a matte-white exterior with YouTube Red striping and graphics, along with a cabin that's been customized to support both high-def video recording anda premium video-viewing environment with 10 Apple iPad Minis and a Mac Mini on board.

The party line from Michael Sprague, executive vice president of Marketing & Communications, Kia Motors America: “As a Presenting Sponsor of the YouTube Music Awards, Kia has the opportunity to tap into the world’s largest online music destination and a new media property that aligns well with our brand’s youthful spirit as well as our marketing pillars of music, pop culture and connected life.”