Parents Hanging On To Win Hannah Montana Tickets in Tampa

[8SRLVR]

TAMPA - Twenty contestants are touching a 12-foot Hannah Montana statue to prove how much they love the singer … er … their children, as part of a radio station contest.

The contestant still holding onto the replica of Disney television character will win four tickets to the Best of Both Worlds concert tour, which features 14-year-old singer-actress Miley Cyrus as herself and performing as pop sensation Hannah Montana.

The winner also will receive backstage passes and $5,000.

The concert is Nov. 19 at the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa.

"My daughter will choke me," says Debbie Piscitella, 41, mother of 9-year-old McKenna and 6-year-old Sebastian. "If I lose, I'm done. I might as well not even go home."

The Hannah Monstrosity contest, held by the "MJ Morning Show" on WFLZ, 93.3 FM, began at 7:57 a.m. today in the parking lot of Clear Channel Communications, 4002 W. Gandy Blvd.

The contest will last until Nov. 18, the day before the sold-out concert.

"I'm in the promotions and spectacle business," says radio host Todd "MJ" Schnitt. "She's [Hannah] a phenomenon and is the tween version of a pop culture icon."

The participants receive 12-minute breaks every three hours. They are not allowed to entertain themselves while holding on, meaning no iPods, books or cell phones. Permission is needed to switch positions.

As of 9 p.m. on November 9, 17 contestants remained.

Tickets for the Nov. 19 stop at the St. Pete Times Forum in Tampa went on sale Aug. 10 and sold out in 18 minutes, according to Holly Brown, a Forum spokeswoman. Although ticket prices ranged from $30 to $70, some parents have shelled out thousands to ticket brokers to ensure their children are in the arena.

"I think for a lot of people their kids are at the age that this will be the first concert," Brown says of the Hannah frenzy. "And, it's the crazy popularity of the TV show."

"With the concert selling out, they're more pumped to do this," says radio show host Todd "MJ" Schnitt, who predicts the contest will last five days. "This is not some 24-hour deal; it's about the long haul."

Lavern Smalls took off from work for "personal reasons" to camp out at Hannah's feet. The mother of three, ages 5 to 12, wants to reward her children.

"I'm a single parent and they've stuck by me. I want to give back what they've given me," says Smalls, 31, of Bradenton. "I like her songs, she's wholesome and makes you dream big; it's what I teach my kids."

The Paul Bunyan-like statue, which cost $11,800 to construct, will either be sold on eBay at the end of the contest or destroyed - final plans are being debated.

In the first 24 hours of the contest, fatigue, back ailments, sleep-induced errors and chilly temperatures – as low as 51 degrees – took its toll on the parents, aunts and uncles vying for tickets.

One contestant, Stacey, dropped out early today, saying on the WFLZ, 93.3-FM, Web site, "I almost made it through the first night, but at 4:45 a.m. I decided I didn't want to participate anymore."

At 12 Noon Eastern Standard Time on November 10, thirteen lucky people are still clinging to their dream.

The Marine is gone. The mom who took personal leave from work also is gone. And so is the mother who claimed her daughter would choke her if she failed.

And, most importantly, the Hannah Montana concert tickets that became available Monday also are gone.

Just more than 2,000 tickets went on sale today at noon and sold out in four minutes, according to Holly Brown, St. Pete Times Forum spokeswoman.

"The fact that we were able to release seats surprised everybody; we didn't know this was going to happen," Brown said. "It's exciting; that's 2,000 more people who get to go."

Marcia Blount of Odessa attempted to get tickets for her 12-year-old daughter. After getting through online, she realized she bought tickets to Monday's show in San Antonio, Texas.

"I was pretty bummed out about it, and I'm left without tickets," said Blount, 51, who later got her money back. "I can only tell you, I was so elated that I got through and to be let way down was very disheartening."

Back at the Clear Channel Communications parking lot, four people are still touching a 12-foot Hannah Montana statue in hopes of getting tickets to the Nov. 19 show. A person dropped out at 3 a.m. (her foot left the base while she was stretching), leaving Jennifer Becker, Lara Padgett, Jody Powell and Rosana Ramirez.

"There are no signs of letting up," said Joey B., a Clear Channel spokesman. "Tonight will tell the tale, we'll see what happens."

Tuesday could be interesting with radio show host Todd "MJ" Schnitt of "MJ Morning Show" on WFLZ, 93.3 FM, possibly attempting to push contestants to their limit.

There is a talk that MJ may make the remaining competitors sit on stage and physically hold on to the statue instead of waiting it out on their sand "bunkers" at the statue's base. There's also the possibility of nonstop Hannah Montana music being blared at them, which is no concern for Lara Padgett, of Tampa.

"It's fine by us moms because we know all her stuff," she said laughing on Friday. "Who's enduring more, us out here or the dads at home … this is easy."

At 6:10 a.m., after the morning break, radio show host Todd "MJ" Schnitt of the "MJ Morning Show" on WFLZ, 93.3 FM, made good on his promise to kick things up a notch by moving contestants off their sandy seats to atop the stage at Clear Channel Communications in South Tampa.

"I warned you this could happen, and it has. This is going to be the deciding factor," Schnitt says. "But this could go to Friday."

He also dropped hints that other challenges could be on the horizon, depending how things go today. The contest began Thursday with 20 contestants.

Contestants lying on the wood stage peppered with energy drink cans are looking a bit rough today, with chatter at a minimum. In addition to not being allowed to entertain themselves and needing permission to switch positions, they are no longer able to use blankets as support. From here on out, it's body on wood.

Lara Padgett is tired, lamenting she doesn't have a game plan.

"The sun is zapping my mental clarity," Padgett says with a blank face. "It's not going to get any better tonight."

Rosana Ramirez nestles between the statue's legs so she can lean against one leg while touching the other with her feet.

"I'm OK so far, but it's hot," Ramirez says with a grimace. "It's tougher up here."

The contest, streamed live on the show's Web site, mjmorningshow.com, has attracted some 125,000 viewers, said Michael Piotrowski, senior producer from Tampa Digital Studios. On average, viewers from across the country and Canada are spending two uninterrupted hours tuning in. Even record executive Clive Davis sent one of nearly 1,000 e-mails to the station.

Jody Powell, the last man standing in the contest, is keeping calm.

"I'm laid back and relaxed," he says, shielding his face from the sun. "But these women are tough. If a war breaks out, I'm putting them in a foxhole with me."

And then there were three.

Contestant Rosana Ramirez of Jacksonville was eliminated from the Hannah Monstrosity contest Tuesday afternoon.

Apparently there was a dispute over whether she took her foot off the stage, but in the end the judges ruled against her, according to the "MJ Morning Show" Web site.

They say it takes two to tango.

And that was the case, even after Lara Padgett let go of a 12-foot Hannah Montana statue in the seven-day contest held by the "MJ Morning Show" on WFLZ (93.3 FM).

Jody Powell of Port Charlotte was declared the winner of the Hannah Monstrosity contest, but he'll share the prize with Padgett.

"I'm ecstatic. It's like a dream come true," said Powell, 35, holding four tickets to the sold-out show and a photo of his fiancée with 6-year-old daughter, Hannah. "If I had to stay one more night on that stage with Lara, I was leaving. She wasn't giving up."

The contest winnings also included $5,000 and backstage passes to the Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus "Best of Both Worlds Tour" scheduled for Monday at the St. Pete Times Forum.

Padgett didn't hang tough for 176 hours for nothing. She and Powell made a deal: he gets the tickets, she gets the backstage passes and they'll split the money.

Powell said he will use his half of the money toward his January wedding.

"I'm still in shock," said Powell's fiancée, Amy Robinson, 31. "Entering the contest was my idea, but I know I didn't have the endurance to do it."

Earlier this week, Powell made it clear he was determined.

"After Hurricane Charlie, we had to live in FEMA housing; it was bad," said the father of six children ages 19 to 7. "This is a vacation."

Padgett apparently became distracted Thursday afternoon while adjusting her T-shirt and let go.

"That sun really got to me today," Padgett said. "I took my hand off the fur-lined boot."

Padgett was later taken to a nearby hospital to be examined after she said she wasn't feeling well. A Clear Channel official told reporters Padgett's vitals "were normal."

The Hannah Monstrosity contest began last Thursday with 20 contestants holding onto the statue's base in the parking lot of Clear Channel Communications, 4002 W. Gandy Blvd., in Tampa.

As the days and nights wore on, contestants dropped out at a rate of two or three a day. They were allowed 12-minute breaks every three hours, their meals were catered, and contestants couldn't be entertained by books, cell phones or iPods.

The nights proved hard with people falling asleep and losing touch. On Wednesday, the remaining four contestants were moved atop the base to make direct contact with the $11,800 statue.

[Zoneboy]

Originally Posted by The Article

Although ticket prices ranged from $30 to $70, some parents have shelled out thousands to ticket brokers to ensure their children are in the arena.

Ticket brokers? Don't they mean scalpers?

[8SRLVR]

Look at MJ Morning Show, and click on the 93.3 FLZ logo.

[catlover79]

Originally Posted by Zoneboy

Ticket brokers? Don't they mean scalpers?

Seriously. As much as my parents love me and my siblings, I don't think they would've gone THAT far.