Red Deer’s Kyle Whitehead has cracked the top 10 in MuchMusic’s VJ search.
The 24-year-old graphic designer and marketing specialist is vying to become a music television host for Canada’s main music cable channel.
Reached by phone from Toronto on Monday, the 2006 graduate from Ecole Secondaire Notre Dame High School said the competition on the reality show is getting more intense.
But he’s up for the challenge.
“Every day, we get blindsided by stuff that keeps it fresh and exciting, and I’m having the time of my life,” said Whitehead.
The contest started with more than 600 applicants. Since making the top 20, Whitehead has been in challenges across the country — ones that seemed to assess everyone’s personality.
Now in the top 10, the challenges are more about testing people’s knowledge of music.
The VJ hopefuls have been teamed up with mentors and are facing live eliminations as decided by the public.
“We need to know about pop culture and who’s in the billboard charts, who are the names of the four or five people who make up One Direction,” said Whitehead, referring to the English-Irish boy band.
Whitehead said he’s been watching the show himself and has noticed how the producers are focusing on the cliques that are emerging among the competitors. Everyone has their favourite buddy.
“I don’t know if people have it out for each other,” said Whitehead. “There’s no need for alliances or crazy tension. But some personalities don’t mesh and there’s a few here I kind of avoid and I just kind of do my own thing. We all have very strong personalities and we all want the job.”
Whitehead is urging Central Albertans to vote for the lone Alberta boy in the competition. After all, a number of his competitors come from large metropolitan areas like Toronto or Vancouver.
Anyone who is on Twitter can use the hashtag #Kyle4Vj to drum up more support.
“I just want to thank everyone for the support thus far I’ve received from Alberta and Red Deer and surrounding area,” said Whitehead.
The MuchMusic VJ Search show runs at 4 p.m. Monday to Friday on MUCH. The live show gets underway at 4:30.
Fans are invited to the MUCH VJ Search web page for exclusive videos, galleries, blogs, polls, trivia and the chance to win $5,000.
The winner of the MUCH VJ Search will be crowned on Friday, April 26.
ltester@www.reddeeradvocate.com