Kia Motors America launches “Who’s Next?” talent search on Youtube with grand prize of $10,000!!

$10,000 awaits you. Show that you’ve got Soul. Produce the coolest video themed around the funky and innovative Kia Soul crossover and get to fly to Los Angeles for free.

What do Susan Boyle, Justin Bieber and Charice Pempengco have in common? They were all YouTube sensations before they became major stars. YouTube has launched their careers to legitimate international stardom. Who’s next? Who’s going to be the next Internet sensation?

That’s exactly the question being asked by the newest Internet talent search contest, “Who’s Next?” And guess who’s asking it? American Idol production? America’s Got Talent production? Guess again.

Kia Motors America (KMA). That’s right, Kia, the car maker is asking “Who’s Next?”

Riding on the success of its hamster ad campaign for the 2011 Kia Soul, Kia Motors America is inviting everyone to join Kia Soul’s video contest. Create your own talent video based on the creative uniqueness of the funky Kia Soul for a cool $10,000 prize.

In case you have not seen the award-winning TV ad, it goes a little something like this, to give you an idea. It begins with a shot of suburban city streets inhabited by hamsters who senselessly run in place inside their exercise wheels. A Molten Red Kia Soul then pulls up. Windows roll down and voila, inside are hip-hopping hamsters in hoods with head bobbing to the beat of loud R&B music. These cool hamsters have discovered “A New Way to Roll.”

That’s the point of the Kia Soul. It’s new. It’s cool. It’s a new way to roll. And that’s also the point of KMA’s video talent search. Show your own new way to roll.

Here is how to join Kia Motors America’s “Who’s Next?” Internet talent contest.

- The contest runs until the end of September. Everyone’s invited to submit a video themed around the Kia Soul, which by the way was declared one of the top 10 coolest new cars.

· Videos will be posted on Kia Soul’s video channel on YouTube (youtube.com/kiasoul). Make sure your video captures the Soul’s unique personality features, technology, style and popular music.

· August 9, judging will begin, and on August 20, YouTube fans and viewers can start voting which ones they like best. The judges are YouTube stars SMOSH, ShayCarl and Lisa Nova, whose combined channels have more than 640 million views and 2.62 million subscribers. Now, that’s a lot of people watching how you roll.

· The judges will then choose the best 8 videos and enter them into a 3-round judging process. The final 8 will be narrowed down to just two people who will be flown to LA for the announcement of the $10.000 grand prize winner.

Here’s a little info about the Soul to get you started. The Kia Soul is specifically designed for the young and young-at-heart. It is stylishly modern, uniquely combining technology, value and personalization options, which includes pulsating speaker lights that create an overall personal lounge feeling as you roll. There are three trims: the Soul+ with funky black cloth seats with “glowing” Soul logo; Soul! with a sand-black interior; and Soul sport with bold red-black interior trim with red-trimmed cloth seats and metal-finish interior accents.

The vice president of marketing and communications said, “The Kia Soul has attracted a new audience to the Kia brand and engaging these fans through the ‘Who’s Next?’ contest gives them the opportunity to have fun with the Soul’s playful personality. Social media is an important part of the marketing strategy for Soul and engaging passionate enthusiasts in this space creates additional opportunities to build buzz through a new, interactive experience.”

So, who’s got the Soul? Who’s next? It could be you.