AARP's Superstar 2015 Contest

Official Rules for AARP Superstar Contest

AARP’s Superstar 2015 Contest

OFFICIAL RULES. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY

NO PURCHASE OR PAYMENT NECESSARY. A PURCHASE WILL NOT INCREASE YOUR CHANCES OF WINNING. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED.

1. Contest/Voting Sweepstakes Period: AARP’s Superstar 2015 Contest (the "Contest") begins at 12:00 a.m. Eastern Time ("ET") on January 5, 2015 and ends at 11:59:59 p.m. Eastern Time ("ET") on May 15, 2015 (the "Contest Period") and consists of eight (8) periods as outlined in the chart below.

2.

Period Start Date End Date
Entry January 5, 2015 at 12:01 a.m. ET March 12, 2015 at 11:59:59 p.m. ET
Semi-Finalist Judging March 13, 2015 at 12:01 a.m. ET March 15, 2015 at 11:59:59 p.m. ET
Finalist Voting and Voting Sweepstakes March 16, 2015 at 12:01 a.m. ET April 3, 2015 at 11:59:59 p.m. ET
Finalist Judging April 4, 2015 at 12:01 a.m. ET April 6, 2015 at 11:59:59 p.m. ET
Finalist Notification and Verification April 6, 2015 at 12:01 a.m. ET April 6, 2015 at 11:59:59 p.m. ET
Live Performance Judging April 17, 2015 at approximately 7:00 p.m. ET at the Washington, DC venue of sponsor’s choice April 17, 2015 at approximately 10:00 p.m. ET at the Washington, DC venue of sponsor’s choice
Live Performance Voting May 15, 2015 at approximately 6:00 p.m. ET at the Miami Convention Center May 15, 2015 at approximately 8:00 p.m. ET at the Miami Convention Center
Grand Prize Judging May 15, 2015 at approximately 9:00 p.m. ET at the Miami Convention Center May 15, 2015 at approximately 10:00 p.m. ET at the Miami Convention Center

3. Sponsor: AARP, 601 E St. NW, Washington, DC 20049; Administrator: Votigo, Inc., 251 Lafayette Circle. Suite 330. Lafayette, CA 94549.

4. Eligibility: The Contest is open only to legal residents of the 50 United States and the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico, who are 50 years of age or older as of May 15, 2015. The Voting Sweepstakes is open only to legal residents of the 50 United States, Puerto Rico, the District of Columbia (excluding Florida), who are 45 years of age or older as of date of vote. Employees of Sponsor, Administrator, and any of their respective parent and affiliate companies as well as the immediate family (spouse, parents, siblings and children) and household members of each such employee are not eligible for the Contest or Voting Sweepstakes. VOID WHERE PROHIBITED BY LAW. The Contest is subject to all applicable federal, state, provincial, municipal, territorial and local laws.

5. How to Enter the Contest: During the Entry Period, you may enter the Contest at aarp.org/superstar2015 ("Site"). You must login with your AARP credentials. If you do not have an AARP account you can create one for free at https://login.aarp.org/online-community/register/index.action. After you login you submit an original video file created by you (the "Entry" or "Entry Materials" or "Video"), showing you singing (without music) any of the songs licensed by the Sponsor from The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers, a complete list of which is available at https://www.ascap.com/Home/ace-title-search/index.aspx, or BMI, a complete list of which is available at http://repertoire.bmi.com/startpage.asp ("Sponsor-licensed Songs"). The person uploading the Entry must be the creator of the Video and will be deemed the entrant (the "Entrant"). By entering, you understand and agree that your Entry in its entirety or any portion thereof may (in Sponsor's sole discretion) be posted on the Site or used in television and/or other Sponsor-selected media. Limit one Entry per person. . All Entries must be completed, submitted and received on the Site by 11:59 p.m. ET on March 12, 2015 to be eligible. Normal Internet access and usage charges imposed by Entrants' online service provider will apply.

6. Entry Requirements: In order to be entered into the Contest, Entrants must comply with the registration instructions set forth at the Site when submitting their Entry. The Video must be in one of the following formats: AVI, MOV, WMV, MP4, MPEG, FLV, 3GP, and 3G2; must be under 100 MB, and must be no longer than 2 minutes total in length. The Entry may not contain obscene, lewd or inappropriate images or text, including without limitation nudity, acts of violence or acts that appear to cause harm or are illegal/dangerous, as determined in Sponsor's sole discretion. Only the Entrant may appear in the Entry.

Any Entry Material or portion thereof that is, in the Sponsor's sole discretion, obscene, profane, lewd, defamatory, or otherwise violates or infringes (or may infringe) any copyright (including music) or other proprietary right of any person, living or deceased, or entity (including but not limited to rights of privacy or publicity or portrayal in a false light), or is otherwise objectionable, will not be considered and may disqualify the Entrant. Entrants may not copy or otherwise plagiarize the Entry Material from any source. Sponsor has the sole discretion to determine whether a Video qualifies as an Entry.

By submitting an Entry, Entrant represent and warrant that Entrant’s Entry: (a) is wholly original; (b) does not incorporate or include anything that would require the consent of any third party who have not expressly authorized Entrant to display their image, likeness or voice in the Entry or otherwise use such image, likeness or voice in accordance with these Official Rules; and (c) does not violate any copyright, trademark, publicity right, privacy right, or any other right of any third party. Using one of the Sponsor-Licensed Songs constitutes permission.

By submitting an Entry, Entrant hereby grants the Sponsor, its affiliates, subsidiaries, assigns, licensees, designees and legal representatives the irrevocable, perpetual, worldwide digital and other right to use, reproduce, edit, market, store, distribute, have distributed, publicly and privately display, communicate, publicly and privately perform, transmit, have transmitted, create derivative works based upon, and promote the Entries or excerpts of Entries (as such may be edited and modified by the Sponsor in its sole discretion) for editorial, commercial, promotional and all other purposes (including posting on the Site, Sponsor-affiliated websites, television and/or other Sponsor-selected media). In addition, Entrant hereby assigns to the Sponsor all right, title, and interest that he/she may be deemed to have in any reproduction, product, or derivative work using or incorporating the Entry. Entrant further agrees to waive any moral rights in and to the Entry. Automated, script, macro or robotic Entries submitted by individuals or organizations will be disqualified. Submitted Entries (or portions thereof) may be posted on the Site after they have been screened. Any Entry deemed inappropriate or unsuitable or in bad taste in Sponsor’s sole discretion will be disqualified and may be removed from the Site at any time. Any Entry not in compliance with the above and which does not meet the requirements of these Official Rules and those of the Site will be disqualified. Videos must be in keeping with Sponsor's image and may not be offensive, as determined by Sponsor in its sole discretion. In such an event, the Video will not be posted online and will be disqualified from the Contest. All Entries submitted become the property of the Sponsor and will not be returned. No information regarding Entries or judging, other than as otherwise set forth in the Official Rules, will be disclosed.

7. Judging to Determine the Twelve (12) Semi-Finalists: The twelve (12) Semi-Finalists will be determined by a Sponsor-selected panel of judges ("Judges") based on the following criteria: Overall Performance (50%); Singing Ability (50%). All eligible Contest Entries will be judged from 12:01 a.m. ET on March 13, 2015 through 11:59 p.m. ET on March 15, 2015. In the event of a tie, tied Entries will be re-judged based on the same criteria listed above and a Finalist will be determined by Sponsor in its sole discretion. Entrants agree to the Official Rules and to the decisions of the Judges, which shall be final and binding in all respects.

8. How to Enter the Voting Sweepstakes ("Voting Sweepstakes") during the Finalist Voting Period: During the Finalist Voting Period, there will be a voting element for the Contest, which will comprise a portion of the eight (8) Finalists' determination. All Entries will be reviewed and approved for level of appropriateness and eligibility by Sponsor's agency. During the Finalist Voting Period, persons wishing to vote must login with their AARP credentials. If you do not have an AARP account you can create one for free at https://login.aarp.org/online-community/register/index.action. Once a vote has been submitted and received by Sponsor, the person submitting the vote will earn one Sweepstakes entry ("Sweepstakes entry"). There is a limit of one vote per Entry per person per day. All votes must be completed and submitted by 11:59 p.m. ET on April 3, 2015 to be included in the Finalist determination. The use of robotic or automatic devices for voting is prohibited and Sponsor reserves the right to nullify all such votes and to disqualify the responsible individual from voting. Votes cast from false, fictitious or duplicative registrations will also be disqualified. Use of voting software in Entrant's favor may disqualify Entrant.

9. Online Contest Voting Portion to Determine Eight (8) Finalists: During the Finalist Voting Period, online voting will be available to all members of the general public who meet the eligibility requirements, who will determine the eight (8) Finalists. All Entries proposed as Finalists will be reviewed for level of appropriateness and eligibility and, if any Entry is determined to be inappropriate or ineligible it will not be named a Finalist and the Entry with the next highest number of votes in the same category which is determined to be appropriate and eligible will be named a Finalist in its place. In addition to meeting the eligibility requirements, during the Finalist Voting Period persons wishing to vote must login with their AARP credentials. There is a limit of one vote per Entry per person per day. All votes must be completed, submitted and received by 11:59 p.m. ET on April 3, 2015 to be included in the Finalist determination. Please Note: Any attempt to use multiple/different e-mail addresses, identities, registrations and logins or any other methods to enter or vote more than the stated limit will void that voter’s votes and, if the voter is associated with an Entry, that Entry may be disqualified. Entries or votes generated by script, macro, bot, commercial Contest subscription, vote-swapping sites, voting software, entering service sites or any other automated means and Entries or votes by any means that subvert the Entry/Voting process or do not conform to the spirit of these Official Rules will void the Entry/votes and may disqualify the Entrant. Entrants are prohibited from soliciting votes, and voters are prohibited from soliciting votes on behalf of Entrants, by any fraudulent or inappropriate means, including, without limitation, offering prizes, payments or other inducements to members of the public (including, without limitation, offering to trade votes), as determined by Sponsor in its sole discretion, and all associated votes may be void and such Entrants disqualified.

10. Judging to Determine the Eight (8) Finalists: The eight (8) Finalists will be determined by a Sponsor-selected panel of judges ("Judges") based on the following criteria: Overall Performance (37%); Production Creativity (38%); and number of votes from the public as described in Rule #9 (25%). All eligible Contest Entries will be judged from 12:01 a.m. ET on April 4, 2015 through 11:59:59 p.m. ET on April 6, 2015. In the event of a tie, tied Entries will be re-judged based on the same criteria listed above and a Finalist will be determined by Sponsor in its sole discretion. Entrants agree to the Official Rules and to the decisions of the Judges, which shall be final and binding in all respects.

11. Live Performance Judging to Determine the Top Five (5) Finalists During the Live Performance Judging Period, the eight (8) Finalists will perform live in front of a Sponsor-selected panel of judges ("Judges") on April 17, 2015 at approximately 7:00 p.m. ET at a Washington, DC venue of the sponsor’s choice. The Top Five Finalists will be determined by the Judges based on the following criteria: Overall Performance (50%); Singing Ability (50%); In the event of a tie, tied Entries will be re-judged based on the same criteria listed above and a Finalist will be determined by Sponsor in its sole discretion. Entrants agree to the Official Rules and to the decisions of the Judges, which shall be final and binding in all respects.

12. Live Performance Voting to Determine the Top Two (2) Finalists During the Live Performance Voting Period, audience members at the AARP Superstar Concert on May 15, 2015 will be able to vote on the Top Five Finalists. The two (2) entrants with the most votes will move to the Grand Prize Judging Period.

13. Judging to Determine the Grand Prize Winner: During the Grand Prize Judging Period, the Top Two Finalists will perform live in front of the Judges. The Grand Prize Winner will be determined by Judges based on the following criteria: Overall Performance (50%); Singing Ability (50%). Both Top 2 Entries will be judged from approximately 6:00 p.m. ET on May 15, 2015. In the event of a tie, tied Entries will be re-judged based on the same criteria listed above and the winner will be determined by Sponsor in its sole discretion. Entrants agree to the Official Rules and to the decisions of the Judges, which shall be final and binding in all respects.

14. Voting Sweepstakes Random Drawing: One (1) Voting Sweepstakes winner will be selected from among all eligible Voting Sweepstakes entries received during the Finalist Voting and Voter Sweepstakes Period in a random drawing on or about May 20, 2015. Random drawing will be conducted by Sponsor whose decisions are final on all matters related to the random drawing. Odds of winning will be dependent upon the number of eligible Voting Sweepstakes entries during the Finalist Voting and Voter Sweepstakes Period.

15. Prizes Approximate Retail Values ("ARV"): Contest Grand Prize: One (1) Grand Prize winner will receive USD$5,000, awarded in the form of a check. ARV: USD$5,000. Top Five Finalist Prizes: Five (5) Top Five Finalist prize winners (all Top Five Finalists including Grand Prize Winner) and one guest of the winner’s choosing will receive a 3 day / 2 night trip to Miami, Florida. The trip includes round-trip air transportation from major airport nearest winner's residence to Miami, Florida, standard hotel accommodations for 2 nights and a $500 Visa gift card. ARV: USD$1,800. Top Eight Finalist Prizes: Eight (8) Finalist Prize winners will receive a three (3) day / two (2) night trip to Washington D.C. The trip includes round-trip air transportation from major airport nearest winner's residence to Washington D.C., standard hotel accommodations for two (2) nights and a $250 Visa gift card. ARV: USD$1,250. Voting Sweepstakes Prizes: One (1) Voting Sweepstakes winner will receive USD$5,000, awarded in the form of a check. ARV: USD$5,000. Tickets will not be refundable or redeemable for cash or credit at any time, nor will tickets be replaced if lost or stolen. Tickets may not be sold to a third party. Prizes or any of the above listed components may not be sold, traded, transferred, refunded, substituted, commissioned or redeemed for cash value. Top Eight and Top 5 Finalist Prize trips must be taken on dates specified by Sponsor or prize will be forfeited. Dates of departure and return are subject to change. The Top Eight and Top 5 Finalist Prize winner understands and agrees that Sponsor and/or prize provider have the right, at their sole discretion, to disqualify and remove the Top Eight and Top 5 Prize winner or his or her guest ("Guest") from any activity at any time without compensation if the Top Eight and Top 5 Prize winner's or his or her Guest's behavior at any point is uncooperative, disruptive, or may or does cause damage to person, property, or the reputation of Sponsor or prize provider or otherwise violates the policies of the Sponsor or prize providers, and in such a case, Top Eight and Top 5 Finalist Prize winner will still be solely responsible for all taxes and other expenses related to the prize. Actual value of Top Eight and Top 5 Finalist Prize will depend on point of departure, dates of travel and any airfare fluctuations and any difference in value will not be awarded. Airline carrier and agent to be selected by Sponsor at its sole discretion. Top 5 Finalist winner and Guest must travel together on the same itinerary, and air transportation and hotel accommodations must be taken by Top 5 Finalist Prize winner and Guest together. Once trip dates have been booked, no extension or substitution of trip dates is permitted, except at Sponsor's sole discretion. Once travel has been confirmed, any cancellation or change fees or restructuring of the trip are the sole responsibility of the Top Eight and Top 5 Finalist Prize winner. Guest must be of legal age of majority in his/her state of residence (and at least 18). Top Eight and Top 5 Finalist Prize winner and Guest are solely responsible for providing all necessary identification documents and will be responsible for obtaining all necessary travel documents (i.e., valid passport, etc.). Failure to provide such documents may result in trip cancellation upon airport check-in. Top Eight and Top 5 Prize winner and/or his/her Guest must have/present at least one major credit card in good standing in order to check into hotel. The Top Eight and Top 5 Finalist Prize trip restrictions/conditions stated herein are not all-inclusive and may be subject to additional restrictions/conditions, which may be stated in the Affidavit (described below) and/or Top Eight and Top 5 Finalist Prize winner's travel documents. Sponsor is not responsible for lost or stolen tickets/itinerary/identification, etc. Top Eight and Top 5 Finalist Prize winner is solely responsible for all federal, state and local taxes and any other costs, incidentals, and any other expenses associated with Top Eight and Top 5 Finalist Prize acceptance and use not specifically mentioned as being provided, including, but not limited to, unspecified ground transportation and/or luggage handling between Top Eight and Top 5 Finalist Prize winner's home and airport, and items not included as part of the winning Top Eight and Top 5 Finalist Prize package. The following are the sole responsibility of the Top Eight and Top 5 Finalist Prize winner and his/her Guest: transportation to/from home and airport, travel insurance; room service; laundry service; spa treatments; beverages, unspecified meals; local and long distance telephone calls; merchandise and souvenirs; incidental expenses; additional tips and gratuities; and all other costs and expenses not otherwise mentioned herein. All other expenses and incidentals not specifically mentioned as being included are excluded and are the Top Eight and Top 5 Finalist Prize winner's sole responsibility. Top Eight and Top 5 Finalist Prize is non-commissionable and no substitutions, transfers, or cash equivalents for the Top Eight and Top 5 Finalist Prize (or prize component) are permitted, except that Sponsor may substitute prize component of equal value for any reason. Prize is non-transferable and no substitution is permitted, except by Sponsor (as defined below) who reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to substitute the prize of equal or greater value, if prize becomes unavailable. PRIZE IS AWARDED "AS IS" AND WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED (INCLUDING, WITHOUT LIMITATION, ANY IMPLIED WARRANTY OF MERCHANTABILITY OR FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE).

16. General Rules: Potential Finalists will be notified initially by email and/or phone. If a Contest Finalist Prize winner is not reachable at the telephone number and/or e-mail address provided and a forwarding telephone number or e-mail address is not made available or if prize notification is returned as undeliverable, then the prize will be forfeited and an alternate Finalist may be determined in accordance with these Official Rules. Potential Finalists will then be required to print out, sign and return via mail/email an Affidavit of Eligibility), liability/publicity release (except where prohibited by law) and an assignment of rights within three (3) days of notification attempt or the prize will be forfeited and alternate Finalist may be determined in accordance with these Official Rules. Once a Finalist has returned the Affidavit of Eligibility and his/her eligibility has been confirmed, Sponsor reserves the right to perform a background check, phone interview, and/or social media review on him/her. Finalists agree to provide any verification or authorizations necessary in connection with background check. Sponsor will have the right, in its sole discretion, to disqualify any Finalist if the background check, phone interview, and/or social media review on such Finalist reveals conduct, information or history that, in Sponsor’s determination, may be harmful to Sponsor or Sponsor’s image or reputation or with which Sponsor does not wish to be associated. Return of any prize or prize notification as undeliverable may result in forfeiture of prize and disqualification and alternate determination/selection in accordance with these Official Rules. The Sponsor and its agencies are not responsible for lost, late, misdirected, corrupted or incomplete Entries of any kind including those resulting from technical, hardware, software or telephone malfunctions of any kind, unavailable network connections or e-mail, or failed, incorrect, incomplete, inaccurate, garbled or delayed electronic communications caused by the user or by any of the equipment or programming associated with or utilized in the Contest/voting/Voting Sweepstakes or by any human error which may occur in the processing of the Entries in the Contest. Proof of submission is not proof of receipt by Sponsor.  Sponsor and its agencies are not responsible or liable for damage to any computer system resulting from participation in, accessing or downloading information in connection with the Contest. The Sponsor reserves the right at its sole discretion to disqualify any individual that tampers or attempts to tamper with the Entry/Voting Sweepstakes/voting process or the operation of the Contest; violates the Official Rules; or acts in an unsportsmanlike or disruptive manner, or with intent to annoy, abuse, threaten or harass any other person. Any attempt by any person to deliberately undermine the legitimate operation of the Contest/Voting Sweepstakes may be a violation of criminal and civil law, and, should such an attempt be made, Sponsor reserves the right to seek damages from any such person to the fullest extent permitted by law. Sponsor's failure to enforce any term of these Official Rules shall not constitute a waiver of that provision. If, for any reason, the Contest (or online voting) is not capable of running as planned, including infection by computer virus, bugs, tampering, unauthorized intervention, fraud, technical failures, or any other causes beyond the control of the Sponsor which corrupt or affect the administration, security, fairness, integrity or proper conduct of the Contest, then the Sponsor reserves the right at its sole discretion to cancel the Contest and determine the Contest winners/Registration Prize winners from among all eligible Entries received prior to cancellation (and in the event the online voting is cancelled, Voting Sweepstakes Prizes will go un-awarded and Sponsor will judge all Entries based on the other judging criteria listed above in Rule #10).

17. Dispute Resolution: Except where prohibited, by participating each Entrant/Sweepstakes entrant (and parent/legal guardian if a minor) agrees that: All issues and questions concerning the construction, validity, interpretation, and enforceability of these Official Rules, or the rights and obligations of participant(s) and Sponsor and its agents shall be governed by and construed exclusively in accordance with the laws of the State of Michigan without giving effect to any principles of conflicts of law of any jurisdiction.

18. Release: By entering the Contest, each Entrant represents and warrants that: (i) all rights to the Entry belong to and are original to him/her, or he/she has written consent to use, and the Entry does not and shall not infringe on any copyright, trademark, privacy, publicity, or any other third party right nor violate any applicable law or regulation, (ii) he/she has the right to grant any and all necessary rights and licenses provided herein, including without limitation, all necessary copyright and other related rights to the Entry, free and clear of all claims and encumbrances without violating the rights of any person or entity, including any right to privacy or publicity, (iii) he/she hereby holds the Sponsor and the Released Parties defined below harmless from and against any third party claim arising from use of the Entry and waives any right to inspect or approve uses of the Entry or to be compensated for any such uses. Participating in the Contest/Voting Sweepstakes constitutes permission to the Sponsor and its agencies to use Entrants’, biographical information, pictures/portraits, likenesses and/or voices and Entry for purposes of advertising and trade without further compensation, unless prohibited by law. By participating in the Contest/Voting Sweepstakes, each Entrant/Sweepstakes entrant (and parent/legal guardian if a minor) agrees that Sponsor, its parent, subsidiaries, affiliated companies, agents, retailers, advertising and promotion agencies, and all of their respective shareholders, officers, directors, employees and assigns, members, representatives and agents (collectively the "Released Parties"), will have no liability whatsoever for, and will be held harmless by entrant for any liability for any bodily injury, loss or damages of any kind to persons, including death, and property, due in whole or in part, directly or indirectly, from Entry creation (if applicable), the acceptance, possession, use or misuse of any prize, if applicable or participation in the Contest/Voting Sweepstakes or participation in any contest or related activity. Each Entrant (and parent/legal guardian if a minor) hereby represents and warrants that he/she has read these Official Rules and is fully familiar with its contents.

19. Data Protection/Privacy Policy: Information collected by Sponsor in connection with this Contest may be used by Sponsor and shared with third parties involved in administration of the Contest in accordance with the online Privacy Policy posted on http://www.aarp.org/about-aarp/info-05-2010/privacypolicy.html and applicable data protection laws. The Entrant agrees to the collection, processing and storage of his/her personal data by Sponsor in the United States for purposes of the Contest.

20. Winners List: For the names of the winners, available no later than May 25, 2015 email mediapromotions@aarp.org.

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