LOS ANGELES, Feb. 13, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Nickelodeon fans have spoken! Voting for their favorites in television, sports, music and film, kids everywhere have made their voices heard as the network announces the nominees for Nickelodeon's 26th Annual Kids' Choice Awards, airing Saturday, March 23.  Vying for the sought-after blimp award are mega-stars Adele, Justin Bieber, Big Time Rush, Bon Jovi, Miranda Cosgrove, Johnny Depp, Robert Downey Jr., Selena Gomez, Anne Hathaway, Vanessa Hudgens, Victoria Justice, Jennifer Lawrence, Maroon 5, Bruno Mars, One Direction, Katy Perry, Michael Phelps, Julia Roberts, Chris Rock, Adam Sandler, Will Smith, Kristen Stewart, Ben Stiller, Taylor Swift, Tim Tebow, and Venus and Serena Williams.  Hollywood's biggest kid, Josh Duhamel, will be hosting the slime-fest, telecast live from USC's Galen Center from 8-9:30 p.m. (ET/PT).

(Photo:  http://photos.prnewswire.com/prnh/20130213/NY59428 )

Beginning Thursday, Feb. 14, kids will be able to cast their votes in 22 categories, including the newly introduced nominations for Favorite App and Favorite Villain, across all of Nickelodeon's digital outlets: Nick.com, all desktop and mobile devices, and Nickelodeon's Facebook page and Twitter feed. On Facebook, users will be able to vote from a tab on the page and the entire voting experience can be embedded directly into wall posts, and on Twitter users be able to vote using custom KCA hashtags.

It's a fight to the cinematic finish as Kids' Choice Awards former host and winner Will Smith, Johnny Depp¸ Zachary Gordon and newcomer Andrew Garfield nabbed nominations for Favorite Movie Actor: Smith for Men in Black 3, Depp for Dark Shadows, Gordon for Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days and Garfield for The Amazing Spider-Man.  Jennifer Lawrence, Kristen Stewart and Scarlett Johansson kicked butt with dual nominations for Favorite Movie Actress and Favorite Female Buttkicker, while The Avengers, The Amazing Spider-Man, The Hunger Games and Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days are all up for Favorite Movie.

In television, Miranda Cosgrove, Bridgit Mendler, Selena Gomez and Victoria Justice round out the Favorite TV Actress nominees, with iCarly, Good Luck Charlie, Wizards of Waverly Place and 2012 KCA winner Victorious also competing for Favorite TV Show. First time nominees Carlos Pena (Big Time Rush), Lucas Cruikshank (Marvin Marvin), Jake T. Austin (Wizards of Waverly Place) and Ross Lynch (Austin & Ally) were tapped for Favorite TV Actor.

Taylor Swift scored three nominations: one for Favorite Voice from an Animated Movie (The Lorax), Favorite Song ("We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together") and Favorite Female Singer.  Last year's Favorite Music Group Big Time Rush made the list again and are up against Maroon 5, Bon Jovi and One Direction whose single "What Makes You Beautiful" is also nominated for Favorite Song.

Presenting sponsors of Nickelodeon's 26th Annual Kids' Choice Awards are General Mills, Hasbro Twister Rave Games and Target.  Associate sponsors are Bounty™, McDonald's®, nabi, Wii U from Nintendo and Skechers.

The nominees for Nickelodeon's 26th Annual Kids' Choice Awards are:

TELEVISION:

Favorite TV Show

Good Luck Charlie
iCarly
Victorious
Wizards of Waverly Place

Favorite Reality Show

America's Got Talent
American Idol
The Voice
Wipeout

Favorite Cartoon

The Fairly OddParents
Phineas and Ferb
SpongeBob SquarePants
Tom and Jerry

Favorite TV Actor

Jake T. Austin (Wizards of Waverly Place)
Lucas Cruikshank (Marvin Marvin)
Ross Lynch (Austin & Ally)
Carlos Pena (Big Time Rush)

Favorite TV Actress

Miranda Cosgrove (iCarly)
Selena Gomez (Wizards of Waverly Place)
Victoria Justice (Victorious)
Bridgit Mendler (Good Luck Charlie)

FILM:

Favorite Movie

The Amazing Spider-Man
The Avengers
Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days
The Hunger Games

Favorite Movie Actor

Johnny Depp (Dark Shadows)
Andrew Garfield (The Amazing Spider-Man)
Zachary Gordon (Diary of a Wimpy Kid: Dog Days)
Will Smith (Men in Black 3)

Favorite Movie Actress

Vanessa Hudgens (Journey 2: The Mysterious Island)
Scarlett Johansson (The Avengers)
Jennifer Lawrence (The Hunger Games)
Kristen Stewart (The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2)

Favorite Animated Movie

Brave
Ice Age: Continental Drift
Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted
Wreck-It Ralph

Favorite Voice from an Animated Movie

Chris Rock (Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted)
Adam Sandler (Hotel Transylvania)
Ben Stiller (Madagascar 3: Europe's Most Wanted)
Taylor Swift (The Lorax)

Favorite Male Buttkicker

Robert Downey Jr. (The Avengers)
Andrew Garfield (The Amazing Spider-Man)
Chris Hemsworth (The Avengers)
Dwayne Johnson (Journey 2: The Mysterious Island)

Favorite Female Buttkicker

Anne Hathaway (The Dark Knight Rises)
Scarlett Johansson (The Avengers)
Jennifer Lawrence (The Hunger Games)
Kristen Stewart (Snow White and the Huntsman)

MUSIC:

Favorite Music Group

Big Time Rush
Bon Jovi
Maroon 5
One Direction

Favorite Male Singer

Justin Bieber
Bruno Mars
Blake Shelton
Usher

Favorite Female Singer

Adele
Katy Perry
P!nk
Taylor Swift

Favorite Song

"Call Me Maybe" (Carly Rae Jepsen)
"Gangnam Style" (PSY)
"We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together" (Taylor Swift)
"What Makes You Beautiful" (One Direction)

SPORTS:

Favorite Male Athlete

LeBron James
Michael Phelps
Tim Tebow
Shaun White

Favorite Female Athlete

Gabrielle Douglas
Danica Patrick
Serena Williams
Venus Williams

OTHER CATEGORIES:

Favorite Villain

Reed Alexander (iCarly)
Simon Cowell (The X Factor)
Tom Hiddleston (The Avengers)
Julia Roberts (Mirror Mirror)

Favorite Book

Diary of a Wimpy Kid series
Harry Potter series
The Hunger Games series
Magic Tree House series

Favorite Videogame

Just Dance 4
Mario Kart 7
Skylanders Giants
Wii Sports

Favorite App

Angry Birds
Fruit Ninja
Minecraft
Temple Run

Nickelodeon kicks off the 2013 Kids' Choice Awards digital experience on www.Nick.com/KCA13.  Fans are able to relive the slimiest moments from years past, play KCA-themed games, and receive updates on all things KCA.  Additionally, on the day of the show, March 23, viewers can visit the site to watch a live webcast of the Kids' Choice Orange Carpet pre-show, and stay logged on during the event to see all the backstage action.

The 2013 Nickelodeon's Kids' Choice Awards will be seen in more than 350 million households around the world and in more than 25 languages. Within hours of airing live in the United States and Canada, the show will roll out internationally, providing kids around the world the opportunity to tune into their local Nickelodeon channel to enjoy the show faster than ever. In many international markets, the 2013 KCAs will feature country-specific award categories and nominees, such as Favorite Asian Act and Favorite UK TV Show. Voting for the 2013 KCAs will span over six continents across 16 localized voting sites, giving kids practically everywhere the chance to decide who takes home a coveted blimp. Ratings for the 2012 KCAs were up double-digits YOY internationally, and the show was rated #1 in its timeslot among kids channels in key international markets, including the UK, Italy, Spain, Mexico, Singapore and more.

Nickelodeon's 26^th Annual Kids' Choice Awards is being produced by Nickelodeon Productions in association with Bob Bain Productions.  Bob Bain, Marjorie Cohn and Paula Kaplan are executive producers.  Media outlets can reference the most up-to-date information on Nickelodeon's 26^th Annual Kids' Choice Awards by logging onto www.NickKCApress.com.

Last year, Nickelodeon's 2012 Kids' Choice Awards, ranked as basic cable's top telecast for the week (March 26, 2012–April 1, 2012) with 6.2 million total viewers and was the number-one telecast for the week with kids and tweens across all TV. The celebrity-filled telecast scored the most votes in the show's history - a record 223 million (+11%, over last year) votes were cast across Nick.com, Nick's mobile site, a brand-new iPhone/iPad/iPod Touch apps, an iPad-optimized site, an application on Nick's Facebook page and via Twitter and custom hash tags.

Nickelodeon, now in its 33rd year, is the number-one entertainment brand for kids. It has built a diverse, global business by putting kids first in everything it does. The company includes television programming and production in the United States and around the world, plus consumer products, online, recreation, books, and feature films. Nickelodeon's U.S. television network is seen in almost 100 million households and has been the number-one-rated basic cable network for 18 consecutive years. For more information or artwork, visit www.nickpress.com. Nickelodeon and all related titles, characters and logos are trademarks of Viacom Inc. (NASDAQ: VIA, VIAB).

SOURCE Nickelodeon