So you wanna be a VJ...
No, Martha Stewart and Donald Trump's are not looking for the next college Apprentice, but the MuchMusic VJ Search is making a stop to find the perfect addition to their entertainment reporting line-up.
Every two years for the past 10 years, MuchMusic has scoured the country to find the most edgy, unique and musically knowledgeable personalities. Since the audition process went so well at Fanshawe in 2003, the road crew will be returning to find new talent.
Fanshawe is just one of 21 Canadian stops on the coast-to-coast VJ search, which will audition 2,500 hopefuls.
“We want to try to hit everywhere and do this right,” said MuchMusic VJ Search Tour Correspondent, Aliya-Jasmine Sovani.
This year the MuchMusic has taken the VJ search to a new level by expanding the job interview to a prime time, 10-episode, semi-reality series, where the top ten contestants will be put up in a downtown Toronto penthouse for the duration of the interview.
In addition to the 2,500 live auditions, contenders can also submit a tape to tempt the judges. Sovani recommends serious interviewees audition live and send in a tape to get double the exposure.
“This is a crazy job interview, but in the end you get one of TV's top jobs in pop culture and music in Canada,” Sovani said.
Besides being over 18, MuchMusic recommends interested applicant bring their A-game because interviewees on the West Coast have ate fire, break-danced and bared it all to get a call-back.
“He will probably make it to the highlight reel,” she said about the almost nude risk-taker. “There has been a lot of nudity.”
Contestants will get two minutes on camera to do whatever they think it takes to make an impression. This year each contender will receive their audition on a DVD, so they can take it home and impress their family and friends.
The MuchMusic VJ Search: The Series will premiere on MuchMusic and City TV in January 2006 and will end with a two-hour live finale.
The top 20 hopefuls will be chosen as semi-finalists, but only the top 10 people chosen by MuchMusic fans will make it to the Penthouse in Toronto.
These hopefuls will be tested on their skills, style, personality, and character. The winner will receive a standard VJ contract, which is offered to all entertainment reporters at Much.
“There are a lot of people who want this job,” Sovani said. “Go a little buck-wild for MuchMusic.”
Past winners include Bradford How, who has moved on as VH1's top 20 Countdown co-host and Devon Soltendieck, who currently works as a MuchMusic VJ.
Auditions will be on November 9 at Fanshawe. For more information, rules and regulations check out www.muchmusic.com.
