IRVINE, Calif., Sept. 9, 2016 /PRNewswire/ — Alcatel – the number four handset manufacturer in North America – today unveiled a marketing partnership with ‘Ones to Watch,’ an emerging artist platform dedicated to discovering and presenting the best new artists to fans. As part of the alliance, Alcatel and their all-new IDOL 4, along with Cricket Wireless will be the exclusive mobile handset, VR accessories partner, and wireless provider of Ones to Watch. Alcatel will also sponsor three national Ones to Watch tours, featuring music groups Kaleo, Against the Current and Mindless Behavior.

The first Ones to Watch tour sponsored by Alcatel kicks off on September 13 with a private performance by Kaleo at the VORTEX DOME in Los Angeles. Fans interested in attending this exclusive show can enter for the chance to win tickets via Alcatel, Kaleo, Cricket and the Ones to Watch social channels.

“At the heart of every Alcatel device is a value driven experience for our customers, and this is especially true with IDOL 4,” said Steve Cistulli, President and General Manager for Alcatel, North America. “Ones to Watch is an awesome platform and provides us the opportunity to introduce fans across the country to Alcatel and IDOL 4 with VR Experience, as well as be part of popular concert tours like Kaleo, Mindless Behavior and Against the Current.”

Ones to Watch is on the pulse of the emerging artist scene with daily blog posts, artist profiles, branded video content and playlists. Alcatel and the IDOL 4 will be integrated into the robust platform through:

  • Exclusive content, including artist interviews, that will provide fans insight into the musical journeys of each of the artists on tour
  • Access to curated playlists from the artists that will be made available through the Deezer from Cricket app on the IDOL 4

In addition, throughout each of the tours brand ambassadors for Alcatel IDOL 4 will be on-site to provide an opportunity for fans to have a hands-on viewing experience with the Virtual Reality goggles.

“We’re excited to be working with Alcatel around these Ones to Watch tours,” said Tiffany Baehman, Chief Marketing Officer, Cricket Wireless. “The combination of the Alcatel IDOL 4 with VR Experience and Deezer from Cricket brings a one-of-a-kind music experience to our customer through these three music tours.”

Alcatel’s IDOL 4 was released on August 5 for $199.99 exclusively at Cricket Wireless, and is the first smartphone at Cricket to bring an immersive out of the box VR experience, with virtual reality goggles included with the IDOL 4 packaging. The IDOL 4 also has dual 3.6-watt multi-directional external speakers and features Waves Audio technology that optimizes volume and clarity. The Onetouch Music app lets users tap in to mix their own tracks, create playlists and mix and sync tracks from the integrated Deezer from Cricket on-demand music service.