VOTING BEGINS IN FINAL ROUND OF NATIONAL CONTEST; MARSHFIELD MAN IN RUNNING
Wednesday, May 4th, 2005 -- 8:51 AM
A Marshfield man?s dream of going Hollywood has taken him to the final round of a national talent contest. 29-year-old Jan Janssen?s performance of the Earth, Wind and Fire song ?Shining Star? has landed him the finals of the Ford Video Casting Call ? an on-line spin-off of American Idol. His video is going head-to-head with Chip Days? and Heather Sconce?s renditions of ?Somebody?s Watching Me?.
At stake: a new Ford Focus, a trip to L.A. to see the American Idol finale and a walk-on role in a video with the final two contestants. Janssen, who finished as a runner-up in last year?s contest, says he?s excited.
"Last year, I was nervous, excited - this year, take that and multiply it by about 10. It's even worse this year," Janssen says.
An aspiring actor/director/performer, Janssen says he hopes winning this contest could be a springboard for his career.
"It would mean a lot," Janssen says. "Possibly a chance for me to jumpstart a career in Hollywood. Just for people to see what I can do. It could possibly open a door for me."
Seeing the competition is based on on-line voting, Janssen is trying to ?get the vote out?. We're encouraging everyone to log onto [url=http://www.fordvehicles.com/americanidol]www.fordvehicles.com/americanidol[/url] and voted for Jan?s video.
Voting ends on May 15th.
Feel free to contact us with questions and/or comments.