Teen hopes to be chosen jingle singing winner

Jeremiah Ourada has a way with B-O-L-O-G-N-A.

The 14-year-old freshman at West Valley High School has been selected as one of 20 finalists in the Oscar Mayer Sing the Jingle, Be a Star contest.

Twenty singers from around the country were selected to appear on the contest’s Web site. They had a choice of singing, “The Oscar Mayer Jingle,” “The Bologna Song,” or the “Oscar Mayer Spanish Jingle.” They were selected from a pool of more than 18,000 contestants. Sixteen of the finalists sing in English and four sing in Spanish.

And they are not all kids. One is an older lady from Los Angeles.

The five winners, four singing in English and one in Spanish, will be selected by a vote at www.singthejingle.com. The five will get an all-expenses-paid trip to a location yet to be determined and get a $5,000 prize. They also will tape a new television commercial for Oscar Mayer.

The deadline to vote is Nov. 27

Jeremiah’s dad, Mike, said that the aspiring musician auditioned for the contest on May 23 when the family was living in Las Vegas.

Jeremiah sings “The Bologna Song” and plays the guitar. He said he’s been playing for about eight years, and he also is part of his family’s band, Blue Diamond Highway, The Ourada Family Band, with his dad, his mom, Lisa, and sister, Sarah.

They learned a month ago that Jeremiah was a finalist, which has its perks. Oscar Mayer has sent the family the Wienermobile, including two “Hotdoggers,” the team that drives the giant dog.

If he wins, he’s planning on spending some of his winnings on the trip, and the rest will be saved for college.

He wants to attend Whitworth College, and someday become a famous musician.

The family spent all day Thursday and Friday driving around town in the Wienermobile, including picking Sarah up from school at Centennial Middle School.

Oscar Mayer will announce who cuts the mustard sometime around Jan. 5.