The search for the MTV VJ is on

The arrival of the television channel MTV in 1981 not only forced song artists to become instant actors in those short films based on their hit recordings. Remember, unless they were teen idols like Elvis Presley and the Beatles, singers of earlier generations were more heard than seen. MTV also gave birth to that new hip creation — the VJ. The letters stand for video jockey, which in turn originated from disc jockey or the radio DJ.

I do not know how the word jockey came to be used in this context but disc means a flat round thing and comes from those flat, round black things called records. Radio disc jockeys played them on the air and if listeners liked their selections well enough, then they listened to them again and again. This practice resulted in highly-rated radio stations and popular DJs.

Then MTV came along and with it the VJ. Although visual, the workings of music television were not really that different from radio. So there was a need for DJs or VJs, as they later came to be known, to provide short pleasant intervals between numbers. The VJs started out introducing the music videos, the way DJs introduced records, but soon developed into full-fledged journalists on television, doing interviews, reading news clips and even coming out with their own segments. Needless to say, they also became celebrities.

Among the popular personalities who once played VJ on MTV in the US were Carmen Electra, Carson Daly, Alexa Chung, Ashlee Simpson, Daisy Fuentes, Dr. Dre, Moon Zappa and Jenny McCarthy. Here in the Philippines, some of the best-known MTV VJs from the past were the late rapper Francis M, Anne Curtis, KC Concepcion, Donita Rose, Sarah Meier, Derek Ramsay, Jamie Wilson, G Tongi, Paolo Bediones, Regine Tolentino, Andi Manzano and Cesca Litton.

Handling the VJ chores at MTV Pinoy at present are actress and two-time sexiest woman of the year Sam Pinto; actress, singer and dancer Yassi Pressman; singer Josh Padilla; and upcoming cage star, rapper and actor Andre Paras. Yassi and Andre were paired together in the blockbuster teen flick Diary Ng Panget and are set to shoot more films soon.

You can expect to come across some new additions to the line-up within the next few months because MTV Pinoy has just launched a nationwide search for new VJs. This means that all of you out there who ever pretended to introduce a song behind the famous MTV brand or whoever fantasized about popping questions to the biggest pop stars in the world, will now have the chance to make your dream come true.

The announcement says: Male and female aspirants aged 16 to 24 years old are invited to join the nationwide search. Potential candidates should be articulate, witty, confident, clued in to pop culture, passionate about music and most of all, must be “Pinoy sa Puso.”

As part of the challenging selection process, participants will perform tasks such as read a prepared spiel in English and Pilipino and do interviews. They will also be asked to either sing or dance or show off a special talent. The search will end with the announcement of winners on Oct. 3, after which they will begin their careers as MTV VJs.

Those interested in becoming MTV VJs can simply visit the MTV Booths in the following venues for auditions from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. on specified dates: Ayala Center in Cebu on June 21; Centrio Mall in Cagayan de Oro (CDO), July 5; Marquee Mall in Pampanga, July 12; Glorietta in Makati, July 20; and Trinoma in Quezon City, Aug. 3.

Meanwhile, as per the latest Astrovision/Astroplus chart of top-selling albums, here is the music that most people are listening to and maybe also watching on MTV Pinoy this week. 

I Heart You/ 3rd Album by the teen heartthrob of the moment, Daniel Padilla; Me, I Am Mariah, the latest and much-awaited new album by Mariah Carey; The Nightingale Returns, the all-Filipino classics comeback album after an absence of four years by the Las Vegas-based diva Lani Misalucha; The Promise, a collection of happy, romantic songs by Bagets icon Raymond Lauchengco; Journey, another comeback release and the first EP by R&B Princess Kyla;

She Looks So Perfect, the sensational debut by the hot Australian boy band, 5 Seconds of Summer; XoXo: Growl the Korean version of the latest by the Korean R&B group EXO; Nightowls, a new EP by Pinoy heavy-metal rock band Slapshock; Long Overdue, the really long-overdue, first solo album of Kate Torralba, who if I am not mistaken is also a successful fashion designer; and You and I by who else but the hottest concert ticket-sellers ever in local pop music history, the boy band One Direction. The group’s album Midnight Memories is No. 11 in the hit list.