If you watched more than ten continuous minutes of The X Factor USA this fall, you know that part of the winner’s massive prize package was the chance to star in a Pepsi commercial during the Super Bowl. Along with that $5 million recording contract, Simon Cowell lauded the commercial as a huge opportunity for the winner to go from rising star to superstar.
On Sunday, February 5, season 1 champ Melanie Amaro will finally get her big moment. And another big name is joining her in the spot: Sir Elton John. But that’s King Elton to Melanie, as she explained the concept of the ad to EW:
“Well, basically I’m a singing princess warrior. [Laughs] And me being the singing princess warrior, I have to try to get the entire kingdom some of the sacred treasure, and the sacred treasure is, of course, Pepsi. I have to go through the talent part of the being in front of the king at his court [to get the treasure], and my talent was, of course, to sing. So I sing, I blow his mind, and I get everybody to have some of the Pepsi. I don’t think I’m going to tell you any more than that. I think I’ll let everybody wait until they see the commercial, because there’s some special surprise guests in there that I think everybody is going to enjoy.”
No need for more, Melanie. That about says it all! But, as pictures do this spectacle so much more justice than words ever could, here’s Good Morning America with some sneak peek footage from the shoot, and an interesting angle on the ad:
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Granted, the ABC interview is with Elton, so they’re looking at this as his commercial. But with so much focus on the legend and so little on his “talent show winner” co-star, the question is no longer what Melanie’s Super Bowl ad will be like. The question now seems to be whether it’s Melanie’s at all. Will she end up getting outshined in a commercial whose original purpose — as her X Factor benefactors promised, anyway — was to make her shine?
Read the full EW interview for more from Melanie about her filming experience with Elton and her forthcoming album, which she says she’ll start recording “pretty soon.”
(Image courtesy of Pepsico)
Senior Writer, BuddyTV
Meghan hails from Walla Walla, WA, the proud home of the world’s best sweet onions and Adam West, the original Batman. An avid grammarian and over-analyzer, you can usually find her thinking too hard about plot devices in favorites like The Office, It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and How I Met Your Mother. In her spare time, Meghan enjoys drawing, shopping, trying to be funny (and often failing), and not understanding the whole Twilight thing. She’s got a BA in English and Studio Art from Whitman College, which makes her a professional arguer, daydreamer, and doodler.
