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"She has a new nickname -- The Big Mouth," a MuchMusic spokeswoman joked after learning Stiles had a brief discussion with The Sun yesterday about being one of five finalists set to compete in on-air auditions Jan. 26 and 27.
MuchMusic will not confirm finalists' identities -- or say if there's more than one Winnipegger in the group -- until an on-air announcement during MuchAXStv today at 6 p.m.
A loose-lipped friend of Stiles', commercial and video maker John McClure, telephoned local media yesterday to spread the word.
Stiles, 24, later said she regretted the slip and feared it might jeopardize her chances. But the secret was well out of the bag by late afternoon yesterday.
Stiles said she entered the contest on a whim after co-workers at Earl's on Main Street applied for the job.
"There's a bunch of people at Earl's that sent in tapes, too. I just thought I could do that for sure," she says, adding her co-workers are supportive.
"They're excited, they're super-hyped."
Stiles, an illusionist who got an opening slot on a Vanilla Ice show in Minneapolis about two years ago, made a brief on-air appearance when 2000 veejay search winner Bradford How, who's also from Winnipeg, was at Polo Park mall promoting the contest during a six-city tour in November.
Unlike How, who has radio experience and was studying broadcasting at Red River College at the time of his win, Stiles did not have aspirations to be a broadcaster.
"This was not planned in any way."
MuchMusic received more than 2,000 audition tapes before the Dec. 31 deadline. Stiles was still making her tape Dec. 31, when she braved the cold in a tiny hot-pink outfit during part of the shoot.
The five hopefuls will compete over two days to show off their veejay talents -- conducting interviews, playing host, researching music facts and writing introductions to videos.
They'll also be subjected to The Ultimate Music and Trivia Quiz, a talent competition and a little game Much calls Dares & Challenges.
How, Rick the Temp -- who also won his original temp job in an on-air competition in 1996 -- and other veejays will host the competition, with semi-finalists being voted off before the big win.
Fans can phone, fax or e-mail comments on their favourites, but the station makes the final decision Sunday, Jan. 27.
Other segments in the two-day veejay-fest include a roundup of the best and worst video entries, profiles of semi-finalists and a where-are-they-now look at past contestants.
McClure says he met Stiles last summer when she was cast in a video for local band The Home Crew, and he later used her in a car commercial. When the time came to make an audition tape, she gave him a call and he helped out.