We’re here with Mike Burg, the Executive Producer of the Teen Choice Awards; the man who started it all! We were lucky enough to get his exclusive insight to the awards ceremony, his life, and more. Check it out:

TeenVoice: How did Teen Choice start initially?

Mike Burg (MB): Teen Choice started 11 years ago, where my partner (Bob Bain) and I saw the need for insistent teen programming on television. It was during the rise of Britney Spears, and Christina Aguilera, and N’Sync, and the Backstreet Boys, and 98 Degrees and LFO, and all those,…Jessica Simpson. And as popular as it was, there really was nothing that reached a teen audience. There was an award show for every other demographic but there really wasn’t anything for teens so we thought that as popular as those acts were and as big as the demographic was for teens, to create a show where teens decided the winners would be great, and we brought this to the network and they loved the idea.

TeenVoice: So who was your favorite star as a teen?

MB: When I was a teen growing up you mean? Oh my. It was probably more sports driven then anything else. I mean as a teen - as a guy, it was probably Sandy Koufax or baseball players, you know. The Beatles were big then, but it was more of a girl thing going on so that really wasn’t that my favorite

TeenVoice: Well that makes sense. I guess the media has really shaped the whole image of stars these days anyway.

MB: Oh absolutely.

TeenVoice: What do you feel are the most rewarding parts of your job at Teen Choice?

MB: I just think it’s the opportunity for teens to really express themselves and them to decide what’s going on. I mean the show is very much shaped by people who the teens want to see, the winners are determined by who the teens think are most popular. So it’s really giving that demographic a voice on what they see on television.

TeenVoice: Yeah that’s very true. We’ve actually gotten a lot of feedback ourselves from kids saying how happy they are to by able to express themselves. Was there been a big turn out on the website for voting? Do you get a lot of responses?

MB: In the past few years, the voting has pretty much, since we created a specific website, votes have tripled. Actually, it started at like 10 million, then went to 30 million, last year went to 80 million votes so it has just geometrically expanded. It just goes to show about the popularity.

TeenVoice: Wow that’s amazing! What kinds of things have you learned since becoming a part of Teen Choice?

MB: Who is king today is not necessarily king tomorrow, you know, that is a very rapidly changing landscape. Much of the same way that you see, remember Hillary Duff was the biggest thing for a while and then Hillary Duff phased out and then Miley Cyrus was the best thing in a while and I’m sure that too will turn over. So it’s very cyclical. You know who is big today is not who is big tomorrow, in that demographic, it’s very sensitive to who is up and who is down.

TeenVoice: That’s a good thing to keep in mind for all teens I think. What has been your most unexpected Teen Choice moment?

MB: You know when the show goes live and there are comedians on the air you never quite know what they are going to say. Because comedians aren’t there to read the scripts, comedians are there to be funny. We’ve had a couple snap through a few times when some comedians went off script and maybe said some, I would say, inappropriate language on television and it’s like, you know, you kick yourself in the tail for them doing it, but at the same time that’s why you have them there to be funny so, exactly.

TeenVoice: That’s understandable considering this is a teen show. Is Teen Choice active outside of the Awards Show?

MB: It hasn’t been, but if the brand continues to build up equity over the years, we think it’s probably something that should be. So the answer is no, it really hasn’t been, but it’s something that we continue to look at.

TeenVoice: Are there any opportunities for fans to meet their favorite stars through Teen Choice?

MB: It usually doesn’t happen, I mean it’s such a mob of teen mania, the stars are backstage and because it’s a TV show and we’re pretty tight on timing, at the event there really isn’t that opportunity.

TeenVoice: On the night of the show, can you describe what might go on backstage, behind the scenes?

MB: It’s crazy. I mean everybody’s in hair and makeup. Everybody has their entourage or their posse, which continues to grow each every year. Everybody wants to look their best, be the best, change their script. Make sure they’re not being bettered by anybody else, but it’s also kind of a fun atmosphere, because it’s kind of a fun show. But you know, the stars take it seriously and they bring their manager, their agent, their publicist, so you get all those people kind of crazy fanatic backstage. It’s kind of fun, but it’s a little confusing at the same time.

TeenVoice: Wow yeah, that sounds pretty stressful! But it also sounds like a good atmosphere at the same time. Do you have any plans to host the Teen Choice Awards outside of the U.S or include those outside of the U.S?

MB: That’s interesting, we get a lot of votes from people outside of the U.S. It’s something that we should look at, but we haven’t yet.

TeenVoice: We’ve heard from many teens who would like to get into performing like singing or acting. What’s the best advice that you could offer those who are pursuing their dreams?

MB: If they’re pursuing their dreams and they’re in high school, well if you want to be a singer, then be in chorus. If you want to be an actor, then act in the school play. You have to involve your craft, I mean, that’s practicing. The same way if you want to be a basketball player, you better be playing basketball after school. If you want to be an artist you’ve got to be practicing your craft, it doesn’t just happen. All these kids who are on Teen Choice, whether their actors, actresses, or musicians or athletes, you know they work at it hard to get where they’ve gotten.

TeenVoice: Yeah they’ve shaped their whole lives around this, it’s not just a hobby anymore. Are you involved in any projects outside of the entertainment industry, like, besides celebs, movies or artists?

MB: Yeah we do, I mean my company Edge, we do a lot in the health world, trying to do a lot of education on network television, trying to promote health initiatives. That’s a very big push by ours. As important as health is right now, how do you get people to listen to what they need to do health wise, and we try to use entertainment to get that message out there. That’s one of the big things that we’re working on.

TeenVoice: Okay great! Thank you so much then for your time, I really appreciate you answering my questions and some of the questions from our TeenVoices.

MB: Thank my dear, alright, enjoy!

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