Congratulations to our very own Nicole Pignatelli for being voted Staten Island’s Best Diva in the 2008 AWE Reader’s Poll.

We’ll be doing something special for Nicole soon.

Props to Lucie Terranova of SexPot Scandal for running a close second.

And congrats to our roomies the Avon Junkies for earning the title “Best Original Band.”

WE NEED YOUR HELP!

It’s time for the 2008 AWE Readers’ Poll, and we need your votes to win 12 months worth of Island-wide bragging rights. AWE is the weekly arts and entertainment pullout section of the Staten Island Advance.

You can read about the poll here.

The official rules are as follows:

• Only one pick per category.
• At least half of the ballot must be completed for your votes to count.
• Only one entry per person. All entries must include a full name and contact number or e-mail address.

There are at least two ways to vote:

• For the somewhat tech savvy, you can download the ballot as a Microsoft Word document; type an “X” next to your selection for each category, or write in your choice next to “Other”; save the document; and upload it to AWE here.
• For the ink-and-paper, snail-mail inclined, you can fill out the printed ballot from the Thursday July 10th issue of AWE, or print and complete the Word document, and mail it to:

2008 AWE Readers’ Poll
Staten Island Advance
950 West Fingerboard Road
Staten Island, NY 10305

Now for the most important part!

With all due respect to those nominated, we oh-so-humbly suggest that you cast your ballot for the following choices, and we thank you in advance for your support:

• The Bandulos for “Best Impossible-To-Label Band/Duo”
• We also encourage you to write in “The Bandulos” for “Best Cover Band,” where we’ll go toe-to-toe with our friends The Blue Meanies, Man Down, and other great SI cover bands.
• Our very own Nicole Pignatelli for “Best Diva”
• Our good friend and collaborator, reggae legend Milton Henry for “Best Original Solo Pop/Rock Artist”
• Our good friends and collaborators Dead End Kids for “Best Hip-Hop Act”

Remember, be sure to include at least your name and email address, and fill out at least half of the ballot for it to count.