The 24th Annual Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Awards was held on April 2, 2011, at the Galen Center at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, California, US's University Park neighborhood due to renovations disallowing use of traditional venue Pauley Pavilion until at least 2013. Jack Black returned as host for the third time since 2006. The 2011 telecast was the first Kids' Choice Awards to take place in the month of April since 2006, as the previous four Kids' Choice telecasts from 2007 to 2010 were held on the last Saturday in March. Nominees were announced on February 10, 2011, for twenty categories. During the show, the Big Green Help Award was presented to Justin Timberlake, an honor given each year. More than 200 million record-breaking votes were cast for this year's 20-category awards.
Musical performances during the awards telecast included Big Time Rush, who performed their single "Boyfriend" from their gold certified debut album B.T.R. with a surprise appearance by Snoop Dogg, who was slimed at the end of the song. (This marked the second time a Nickelodeon act performed during the actual Kids' Choice telecast after The Naked Brothers Band in 2008); The Black Eyed Peas and Willow Smith also performed during the awards telecast, and each sang a medley of some of their 2 latest hit singles.
For the third year in a row, the award show was preceded by a Countdown to Kids' Choice! pre-show telecast, which aired live from 7 to 8 p.m. ET as wraparound segments during regularly scheduled programming; the pre-show was hosted by BrainSurge host Jeff Sutphen, Victorious cast member Daniella Monet, iCarly cast member Noah Munck, and recording artist Aaron Fresh. Train performed their 2010 hit single "Hey, Soul Sister" during the pre-show; Victoria Justice, who was also a presenter during the awards telecast, performed the single "Beggin' on Your Knees" from the upcoming soundtrack to her Nickelodeon series Victorious during the pre-show. The song was also featured during a new episode of Victorious, also titled "Beggin' on Your Knees", which aired immediately following the awards at 9:35 p.m. ET/PT.
Like the previous year, Nickelodeon's sister channels TeenNick and Nicktoons suspended regular programming during the 95-minute duration of the award show, allowing viewers to see the awards. A portion of Figueroa Street and Jefferson Boulevard fronting Galen Center was blocked off for the "orange carpet", a stage, and the grandstand for fans to watch the broadcasting of the pre-show. On April 1, Nickelodeon reported the slime was stolen as part of the April Fool's Day joke.
As with previous years, voting took place online via the (no longer active) program's official webpage (www.nick.com/kca11) and mobile site (m.nick.com/kca11) beginning on March 7, along with an iPhone/iPad application made specifically for the awards as introduced in the previous year. In addition, the network's Facebook page also allowed voting via the Facebook accounts of 'fans' of the channel for the first time.
Presenters and performers, and stunts for KCA 2011
Hosts
Jack Black
Pre-show hosts: Aaron Fresh, Daniella Monet, Noah Munck, and Jeff Sutphen
Presenters
Russell Brand
Nick Cannon
Miranda Cosgrove
Rosario Dawson
Randy Jackson
Joe Jonas
Victoria Justice
Kim and Kourtney Kardashian
Heidi Klum
Jane Lynch
Taylor Momsen
Cory Monteith
Keke Palmer
Rico Rodriguez
Jason Segel
Steven Tyler
Sofia Vergara
Shaun White
The Big Show
Performers
Big Time Rush – "Boyfriend" (feat. Snoop Dogg) The Black Eyed Peas – "I Gotta Feeling" with Jack Black, "The Time (Dirty Bit)", "Just Can't Get Enough" Willow Smith – "21st Century Girl", "Whip My Hair" Victoria Justice – "Beggin' on Your Knees" (pre-show) Train – "Hey, Soul Sister" (pre-show)
Announcer
Tom Kenny
Special appearances
Britney Spears only appeared in the skit when she was calling security on Po from Kung Fu Panda. Jim Carrey appeared at the end of the show in a giant hot-air balloon. Po the Panda Bear from Kung Fu Panda (voiced by Jack Black) appeared in the audience at least three times performing in mini-skits with Britney Spears. Blu and Jewel from Rio (voiced by Jesse Eisenberg and Anne Hathaway) appeared backstage at the awards.