Much Music VJ Search (Episode 2)

Gathered in a suite at the Gladstone Hotel on Queen West, all 20 of the contestants looked a lot more ordinary than they did in their auditions.

The judges met with the VJ hopefuls and offered some general comments on their auditions:

Steve Anthony will be the hardass judge. He rightly noted that many of them were there by a fluke because their auditions were amateurish. I couldn't stand him as a VJ but Dina was correct to note (= read from her cue card) that he always did a great job of selling his personality while he was on the air, which is why he thrived in his position for so long.

Traci Melchor is the stern realist -- "this is a job, don't forget it, etc.".

Speaking of people who are lucky to be there, we have Robin Black, who is arguably less famous right now than any of the ten VJ finalists will be in a week or two. His entire career is based on the principle of Style Over Substance and he'll continue to be my whipping posts if he keeps concentrating on getting himself over rather than getting the show over (see: Dickenson, Janice; who earns a free pass from any thinking person's shitlist on account of actually being a huge supermodel).

Kardinall Offishall is a constructively critical and patient counsellor. And he's a big star! Great choice for a judge.

More on realism: it was entertaining to watch the contestants hurriedly and diligently prepare for their interview with Yellowcard, only to be evaluated by the band along the lines of "she was cute/spunky/very pretty -- MMVJ's have to be good looking, don't they?" Well, duh, at least they (the band and MM) are being honest about what the job significantly entails. [is it too much to ask that Erica Ehm should appear on this show to lecture the finalists on her "technique"?]

In the end, the judges basically cut the bland chaff and picked the ten most unique-looking people to go forward. What can you really tell from one two-minute interview anyway? Might as well pick the people who look the part (making small corrections for cultural and cross-Canada geographical diversity).