This month Ernie Ball is sponsoring our Modern Rock Channel, which means one Grand Prize Winner will receive a year’s supply of Ernie Ball Strings and accessories! But we need your help to decide who that winner will be. If you think you’ve got an ear for the new era of of rock music and can determine who has the best modern rock song on OurStage, then put your judging powers to the test by clicking here.

Hey everyone, meet Jordan—also known as Munson The Destroyer—metal aficionado (as you may have guessed from the picture), and author of our long-running Metal Monday column here on Plugged In.

But don’t try to pigeonhole this music fan, friends. Jordan is happy to listen to anything new, from the softest adult contemporary to the darkest depths of black hell. He’d tell you the only pre-requisite is that it be “good.” Or at least “interesting.”

Jordan joined OurStage as an intern and has since held a plethora of posts at the company lo these many years, honing his skills and learning on the job, finally landing a crucial role with our Network Operations department. In this position, Jordan has his hands full as a QA specialist and a liaison and translator of sorts, directing traffic between the tech dudes, our users, and the Community team.

Talk music, stuff, and things with Jordan on Twitter @jordanmunson.

Last month Ernie Ball sponsored our Punk Channel, offering a year’s supply of strings and accessories to one Grand Prize Winner. You, the fans, judged to help us find the best punk song by an OurStage artist to take home this amazing prize. So without further adieu, it is our pleasure to congratulate the winning musician, Kingnaldo with his song “I’m Mad As Hell”.  Hailing from Dallas, Ga., this Puerto Rican solo artist has years of experience writing and performing within various genres including punk, metal, hard, and alternative rock. He recently recorded at Lavish Studios in Los Angeles, Calif. with producer/musician Doug Grean (Stone Temple Pilots, Velvet Revolver, Sheryl Crow). Now Kingnaldo can rock out harder than ever and not worry about breaking a string, because OurStage and Ernie Ball got him covered. Check out his winning song “I’m Mad As Hell” below.

Resident Canadians, this is your chance to judge the Intel® “Canada Superstars” Competition for a chance to win some awesome prizes! We have seven different channels that all need judging, but only you — the fans — can help us determine who the winners will be. If you do, you will be eligible for our sweepstakes in which one Grand Prize Winner will receive a Fender® Modern Player Telecaster Plus Guitar and a Fender® Mustang II 40 Watt Guitar Combo Amp — a retail value of $615.24. So what are you waiting for? Click here to select a channel and start judging now!

New music discovery is going big time. OurStage has announced a partnership with the hugely popular late-night show Jimmy Kimmel Live for a promotion designed to bring unprecedented national exposure to independent and undiscovered artists.

Starting September 2012, artists from around the U.S. will be able to compete on OurStage.com for an opportunity to be Jimmy Kimmel’s featured musical guest, performing on the same stage that has seen superstars like Adele, Kanye West, Gwen Stefani, Dave Matthews, and more.

The ongoing competition will empower fans on OurStage to help vault one new artist each month into this substantial spotlight.

This is what we call a game-changer, folks. From the small clubs to the national stage – the door will soon be open.

“Two heads are better than one” wouldn’t be such a well known cliche if it wasn’t a little bit true. Take urban duo Hancel y RiGo, for example. If the pair went solo as originally intended, then who knows where they would be today. Fortunately, their partnership lead to some great music. In fact, their song “Mi Corazon” was good enough to beat out the rest of the competition in the “Tr3s Latin Music Channel”, which means that the pair share the title of August’s El Headliner! For their efforts, Hancel y RiGo have been rewarded with some killer publicity: editorial coverage across MTV Tr3s on Top 20, Music My Güey, Blogamole, and Descubre y Download, reaching millions of new eyes and ears.

Congratulations again to Hancel y RiGo! Check out the winning track “Mi Corazon” below.

Can you navigate by the North Star, me hearties? Can you tell which way the currents will take you from just a gust of wind? Does the sight of the sea fill you with an inexplicable desire to yell “Yarr?” Well, you’re in luck, sailor, because OurStage and The Rock Boat have teamed up to give one OS artist the seafaring chance of a lifetime.

The Grand Prize winner of the “Rock Boat Lucky 13″ Competition will have the opportunity to rock the stage on the thirteenth outing of the Rock Boat cruise bound for Great Stirrup Cay, Bahamas in February 2013. The winner will play play two separate hour–long sets alongside Sister Hazel, NEEDTOBREATHE, Rusted Root, Roger Clyne and the Peacemakers, Will Hoge, Tony Lucca, fellow OurStage artists Bronze Radio Return, and many more. In addition to fully paid accommodations and meals, the Grand Prize will even include a travel stipend, just in case you want to knock back a cold one with a fellow lead guitarist after the show.

Enter the “Rock Boat Lucky 13″ Competition now, and you might just find yourself on the high seas come February. Now swab the deck, ye scallywag!

Our neighbors to the north are a pretty cheery bunch, eh? Everybody knows that the people of Canada are known for their warmth despite (or maybe because of) their cold surroundings. But Canadians are also a pretty creative bunch as well! We wanted to give some special attention to the musical and aesthetic works that have come out of the Great White North, so we teamed up with Intel to bring these artists the Intel® “Canada Superstars” Competition. But we can’t pick any competition winners without you, the fans, making your voice heard. And while discovering new talent and shedding light on the efforts of an underappreciated artist should be it’s own reward, we decided to sweeten the deal.

Fans have a chance to win a Fender® Modern Player Telecaster Plus, and a Fender® Mustang II 40 Watt Guitar Combo Amp to go along with, for judging in any of the seven competition channels in the Intel® “Canada Superstars” Competition! But you only have until September 30 to judge in the competition and get in the running to win the Grand Prize. So start judging already!

After weeks spent vying for the top of the charts, the best entries from the Intel® “Canada Superstars” Competition, as determined by our community of fans, have made it through to the semi-final round. Now, OurStage fans can listen and judge by September 14 to help choose the Top 20 songs in each channel. These songs will continue to the online finals round. Judging automatically enters fans to win a Fender® Modern Player Telecaster® Plus and a Fender® Mustang II 40 Watt Guitar Combo Amp. Don’t wait on this one, aspiring superstars. Your turn could be next.

Man your battle stations and arm yourselves well because it’s time for the Ernie Ball Modern Rock Competition! We want rock ‘n’ roll that takes listeners back to the future, so if your weapon of choice is somwhere between an axe and a laser pistol, then this is your chance to become ruler of the modern world. One Grand Prize Winner will receive a year’s supply of Ernie Ball strings and accessories, so leave the past behind and enter now for ultimate modern rock glory!