MySpace could be flooded by Elvis impersonators
Elvis Presley Enterprises is hosting a high-profile concert on the News Corp.-owned social network that encourages members to submit Elvis karaoke performances via video. Winner gets a trip to Graceland.
There's going to be an Elvis karaoke contest on MySpace. That is not a joke. I can't seem to figure out whether it's trying to market Elvis to a younger generation or MySpace to an older one--or if it's just for kicks.
The News Corp.-owned social network, best known for attracting a demographic for whom the King has always been dead, announced Monday that it will be hosting an official Elvis karaoke competition for "Elvis Week 2008," which runs from August 9 to 17. It's in partnership with Elvis Presley Enterprises, and members can enter through August 4 by submitting videos of Elvis song performances to MySpace's karaoke site. Elvis Presley Enterprises, for that matter, has launched an official MySpace page as well.
The winner gets to perform live onstage at Elvis' historic Graceland home, backed by entertainers who actually performed with Elvis himself. Ten second-place winners get a DVD of Viva Las Vegas as well as some variety of MP3 player loaded with Elvis songs. Third-place prizes, of which there are 20, are one-year memberships to an "Official Elvis Insiders" club.
The contest is a singing one, not an impersonation one, but I'm presuming there will be plenty of video entrants decked out in sunglasses and gold-studded leather jackets. Let's hope they welcome contest entrants in Elvis regalia a little more warmly than they do with the media.