US – Folgers and Kara DioGuardi crown Grand Prize Winner in \’The Best Part of Wakin\’ Up™\’ Jingle Contest

ORRVILLE, Ohio – Folgers has announced Ethan T., Dan C, Landon L. from Missoula, MT and Jenny S. from Tacoma, WA of the Ethan Thompson Band as the Grand Prize winners in the first-ever \”The Best Part of Wakin\’ Up™\” Jingle Contest. The aspiring musical group from Montana performed their rendition of the classic Folgers Jingle live in front of a panel of judges including one of the nation\’s most well-known judges of musical talent, multi-award winning songstress Kara DioGuardi.
 
The winners were awarded the $25,000 prize and now have a chance to appear in a future Folgers commercial. 

The winning rendition of the iconic Folgers Jingle received the highest overall scores based on their musical performance, stage presence and creativity/originality after the five contest finalists took the stage in New York City to showcase their version of the jingle. Visit www.bestpartofwakinup.com  to view each of the finalists\’ original entries. 
Runners-Up:
– Helena M. and Maria M. from Hacienda Heights, CA
– Chase H. from Wrightsville Beach, NC
– Amanda L. from Charleston, SC
– Troy K. from Mount Juliet, TN and Wesley W. from Nashville, TN
 
\”The creativity and talent demonstrated in today\’s top five performances was incredible,\” said DioGuardi.  \”The Folgers Jingle is classic and I\’m honoured to now be a part of its history and witness the next generation of talented musicians to put their unique stamp on it.\”
One of the judges at the live event was the original voice of the Folgers Jingle, Diana Rae Uhrig from Nashville, TN.  She dazzled the audience with a performance of her now classic rendition of the jingle and shared memories behind its creation. 
\”We were thrilled by the live performances from each of the five finalists.  Each of their entries were unique and memorable renditions of the iconic Folgers Jingle,\” said Maribeth Badertscher, Vice President, Corporate Communications, The J.M. Smucker Company. \”The winning rendition of the jingle truly embodies the spirit and optimism of Folgers Coffee.\”
Musicians from across the country shared their original renditions of the jingle from January 19 through February 28, 2010. All submissions underwent an initial round of judging to determine 10 entries that would compete in an online vote.  From March 28 through April 21, the top ten semi-finalist entries were posted to www.bestpartofwakinup.com for a public vote.  The top five finalists were determined based on points awarded from both the preliminary judging round and online vote totals.  
Visit www.bestpartofwakinup.com  to view the finalists\’ video entries and complete Official Rules.
 
(Source: The J.M. Smucker Company)