MTV Base VJ Search names 3 finalists

Hundreds of young hopefuls turned out at Tyger Valley Shopping Centre in Bellville, Cape Town for the auditions - driven by the prospect of escaping the ordinary and getting through to the next round in the MTV Base VJ Search contest.

Each auditionee had just a few minutes to show off their skills and impress the MTV Base producers before learning whether they had made it to the callbacks. To make the cut, the three finalists completed a range of challenges in front of celebrity judges Sizwe Dhlomo, Joey Rasdien, Bonang Matheba and Good Hope FM's DJ Loyd.

Representing Cape Town are: 23-year old actress Loren Loubser; 25-year old campus radio host, MC and entrepreneur Khanya Siyengo; and 23-year old model and last year's top 10 finalist Roxanne Kalie.

The three Cape Town qualifiers will be flown to Johannesburg at the beginning of August to participate in further qualifying stages of the competition against contenders from Durban and Johannesburg, and online entrants.

At stake in the talent competition is a contract with MTV Base worth R 500,000. The winner will also drive away in a Citroën DS3 Cabrio worth R 315,000.

Commented Tim Horwood, channel director, MTV Base: "We were thrilled with the people we saw in Cape Town for these auditions. We've never had a VJ from Cape Town so perhaps it's time for some Capetonians on our VJ roster!"

For more, go to www.mtvbase.com.