Students bare all for a chance to be MuchMusic’s next VJ

LONDON, ON. (CUP) — On stage with his clothes resting in a pile beside him, Scott Wilson auditioned to be the next MuchMusic VJ in his tighty-whities, exposing himself for all of Fanshawe College to see.

“I’m not asking you guys to help me win, I can do that on my own. I just want to make it to the top 20,” said a confident Wilson to the crowd of students gathered to watch him perform in his skivvies.

Wilson, who came from Kincardine, about 150 km north of London, for the chance to try out, said he turned down a six-month job in Mexico as a sports entertainer just so he could audition.

“There is nothing I want to do more than this,” said Wilson, who has submitted audition videos to four of the five MuchMusic VJ searches over the past decade. He has also been on two different MuchMusic TakeOver’s and applied to be a MuchMusic Temp.

In addition to Wilson’s live performance, where he stripped down and had three girls and MuchMusic host Aliya-Jasmine Sovani repeatedly slap him across the face, he also sent in two audition tapes just to make sure he exhausted every chance to get noticed.

Fanshawe’s Student Centre was just one of the 21 stops the MuchMusic VJ Search crew made on their two month, cross-country pursuit for the newest entertainment newscaster.

“We heard Fanshawe has one of the best broadcasting programs,” MuchMusic VJ Search Producer, Jane Lillicrap, said about why the show chose to come to Fanshawe.

“We just want a new personality; someone that is a fan,” she said.

Adrien Schumacher, a first-year Television Broadcasting student at Fanshawe, said he saw the posters around the school and didn’t even prepare for his time on stage.

After wooing current MuchMusic VJ Sovani with his comedy routine, Schumacher exited the stage with high hopes.

“I’m awesome and I want to be famous,” Schumacher said as to why he auditioned. “I’m not impressed with the competition.”

Lillicrap said they are not looking for professionals, which is why they are touring the country conducting what they call “job interviews.”

Every two years for the past decade MuchMusic has turned to their viewers to scout for new VJ talent. This year the search has gone all out; the top ten candidates will live in a Toronto penthouse for the duration of their interview, while being filmed 24 hours a day.

MuchMusic VJ Search: The Series will document the competitive job interview process in nine original, hour-long episodes, which will air in January 2006. The winner, who is ultimately chosen by the fans, will be announced during a two-hour live finale.

Approximately 45 to 50 people were given two minutes to prove they had the personality, style and confidence to be the next VJ. Some danced, preformed mock interviews, and sang and one brave contestant even peeled a banana with her feet.

The theme of the search is “Expose Yourself” and Sovani said many potential employees are taking that motto literally.

“People have been hilarious on stage,” Sovani said. “There’s been a lot of nudity today.”

Matthew Cusick, a factory worker from nearby St. Thomas, danced and worked the crowd with his comedic pleas during his two minutes on stage.

“The life I have right now sucks,” Cusick said as to why he tried out for the position. “[Being a VJ] would be a good job.”

After their stop at Fanshawe, The MuchMusic VJ Search crew will hit the road and interview candidates in Windsor, Oshawa, Kingston, Ottawa, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick.

Candidates can still apply for the job by sending an audition tape to MuchMusic. Go to

www.muchmusic.com for more details.

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