As one of the hosts on MTV Aliya-Jasmine Sovani has interviewed big-name celebrities like Kanye West, Brad Pitt, Dave Navarro, and Perry Ferrell. Now as the host of MTV NEWS, Aliya-Jasmine brings viewers the latest in-depth interviews with some of music's biggest names as well as emerging bands. She's also the host of the recently launched MTV2's MTV2 VIDEOS - a weekly rundown of big buzz music videos.

While music and television are clear passions for Aliya-Jasmine, if she wasn't working in the biz she would be involved in philanthropic initiatives abroad. She volunteers her time to teach English and social skills to Afghan children who have recently arrived in the country and hopes to one day meet more young women living in Afghanistan. "They've seen so much at such an early age - they're so complex and interesting." Recently, as a part of an initiative between MTV and Plan Canada, Aliya-Jasmine traveled to Sudan to look at the issue of young girls being forced into marriage. Her experience was documented and turned into a 30 -minute documentary GIRLS OF LATITUDE, which aired in Fall 2008.

Born and raised in Ottawa, ON, this unabashed hockey fan studied visual arts, a program that allowed her to study abroad in exciting and culturally-rich locales like New York, Los Angeles, and Italy. After graduating from high school, she received her Bachelor of Arts with a major in Broadcast Communications from the University of Ottawa.

Eager to dive into the world of television, Aliya-Jasmine moved to Toronto for an internship at Fashion Television and worked part-time as a cable-wrangler for Star! TV. Her hard work paid off and she soon became a field producer and host for BPM: TV and later a producer for MuchMusic's MuchOnDemand - where she had the opportunity to travel across Canada as the tour correspondent for MuchMusic's VJ Search. A philanthropist and feminist, Aliya-Jasmine wants viewers to know there's more than meets the eye. "I've fought for respect. It's been hard for me to get away from the "Playboy" stereotype. There have been times when I've been judged, and pressured to be "the smart girl" OR "the pretty girl". I'm here to kill the bullsh*t. I want every girl to know she has the ability to be both beautiful AND accomplished," she says.

Aliya-Jasmine's fashion style is a combination classy meets, of course, rock n' roll: stilettos, jeans and a tee paired with her favourite item her black biker jacket "studs and leather, baby!" When not cheering for the Ottawa Senators "I'm a huge Senators fan," this self described 'comic book freak' enjoys cartooning and painting.

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Johnny Hockin is a reporter for MTV News. As interactive coordinator for MTV Live, Johnny blogs about the latest and greatest in today's media scene.

Recently, Johnny traveled to Vancouver to visit the EA Sports offices. He met with some of the developers of the 2009 EA Sports games and got a good idea of what we can all expect in the coming year. Johnny attended Ryerson University in Toronto as a film student, which gave him a great starting point coming into the MTV scene. Johnny's passion for music extends far past his job. He is also interested in production and runs his own small record label called More Proof. The label has numerous bands to its name and has experienced a great deal of popularity in the Greater Toronto Area.

Originally from Halifax, Nova Scotia Johnny Hockin's previous television experience includes "watching lot of it," he jokes. His favourite movie is the classic Rear Window and his favourite book, another classic, is The Great Gatsby. He describes his fashion style as "classic fresh" and says his favourite item of clothing is his shoe collection.

When he's not busy on the set of MTV or doing his homework, Johnny enjoys writing, canoeing and making music. A sometimes DJ, Johnny wants viewers to know that he loves technology, films, television and music. He also thinks people would be surprised to know that he loves mainstream hip-hop and dance music.

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As a reporter on the new half-hour show MTV News, Sharlene Chiu brings viewers in-depth music interviews and unexplored culture and entertainment news featuring celebrities and emerging artists. A familiar face on the MTV airwaves, Sharlene was previously the news correspondent on MTV Live.

Prior to MTV News, Sharlene worked behind the scenes at MTV where she created and continues to produce a segment called On The Radar, which offers viewers the latest and most up-to-date information on breaking new artists.

Since joining MTV Live in 2006 Sharlene has conducted over 150 insightful interviews with a variety of artists to deliver relevant information to viewers. In 2007, she sat down with M.I.A. after the artist returned from completing humanitarian work in Liberia and Australia. This interview has run on multiple MTV networks including MTV Australia, Germany, UK, and Sweden. Most recently, Sharlene sat down with Coldplay to discuss their new musical direction and a surprising plagiarism claim by a band in Brooklyn. Sharlene has also covered the SXSW film and music festival for the past two years.

Born in Vancouver and raised in Scarborough, Ontario, Sharlene attended Ryerson University for radio and television arts where she DJ'd and produced a new music show on the campus radio station. A die-hard music junkie she started working in the industry at 17 doing various internships and freelance gigs in hopes of pursuing a career in music journalism.

Sharlene's passion, outside of television, lie in photography an area she hopes to pursue more in the future.

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