4 Canadians to vie for Elvis title in Graceland

FourCanadians are heading to Memphis this weekend to compete for the title of Ultimate Elvis Tribute Artist in the former home of the King.

Jay Zanier of Guelph, Ont., Jeff Bodner of Chilliwack, B.C.,Gino Monopoli of Toronto and David Muggeridge, a North Carolina resident born in Lachine, Que., are among 24 contestants who will vie for the title at Graceland.

The winner gets $5,000 US, a recording contract and a chance to perform on a special Elvis cruise, but the real prize is the chance to pay the ultimate tribute to an artist they've loved since they were young.

Qualifying rounds for the competition have been taking place across North America and in the U.K. and Norway, with the winners of each contest getting a place at the Graceland competition.

In Ontario, competitions were held in Ottawa, Windsor and Collingwood,and in B.C., in Kelowna and Penticton

U.S. tribute artists came out on top in the international competitions in Windsor and Kelowna, but Zanier was the winner in Collingwood, which has one of the biggest Elvis tribute competitions anywhere.

An Elvis tribute artist for 15 years, Zanier won the Collingwood competition with a moving rendition of My Way, including a little impromptu story he told on stage that reminded the audience of Elvis Presley's natural style.

Zanier told CBC News he'd broken a mirror just before going on stage.

"I was standing there looking down at the broken pieces and this seven-year-old — he'd been on earlier in the competition — he came up to me and said 'That mirror won't bring you bad luck,'" Zanier recalled.

The story got a round of applause on stage for Zanier, an Italian Canadian who started out by singing an Elvis song at Speaker's Corner, in front of the CityTV studios in Toronto, in the 1980s.

Toronto native Monopoli, who won the competition in Ottawa,is also a professional tribute artist who has sung all over the U.S., Canada and the U.K.

Muggeridge, who now lives in Mt. Airy, N.C., has been a tribute artist since 2003 and won the Windsor contest.

Bodner, an RCMP officer who is an Elvis tribute artist for fun, won the competition in Penticton.

"He was a great man, a great performer, the entertainer of the century," he says of Elvis, who he first emulated in public at a fundraiser for the local figure-skating club.

"He had a mystique about him, a charisma that engulfed everything he touched."

Bodner already has his songs picked out for the preliminary round of the Graceland competition — he wants to sing American Trilogy, You'll Never Walk Alone, Hurt, Viva Las Vegas or Johnny Be Good.

Bodner said his RCMP supervisors support him in his hobby, though "As you can imagine, I get teased once or twice."

The competition begins this weekend with each artist having a chance to sing two songs, with a change of costume in between.

Ten competitors will go on to the second round and three will be chosen for the final round.

On Aug. 17, the day after the 30th anniversary of Presley's death, Graceland will choose an ultimate tribute artist.

Aug. 16 will be Elvis Day in Memphis with a special memorial service and concert planned.