shaniasupersite.com

Help get CMT's ultimate Shania fans on "Oprah"

CMT Canada
10/22/10

Ultimate Shania Twain fans, Mike Tobin (left) and Nick Roper (right)

Seven years ago students Mike Tobin and Nick Roper won the opportunity of a lifetime, a chance to meet their idol, Shania Twain. Now almost a decade later, the two super fans have a new goal - to get on Oprah and have a "Shan-i-Aha!" moment.

Tobin and Roper, who entered CMT's Ultimate Fan Access: Shania Twain contest in 2003, were the lucky winners selected in a nationwide contest. Of all the submission videos CMT received, Tobin and Roper's video was placed in the top five, put to a national vote and announced the winner.

Their prize: the ultimate Shania Twain access pass, which included round-trip flights to Vancouver, two days behind the scenes at the Pacific Coliseum, front row seats for two "Up!" World Tour concerts, and a sit down interview with the one and only Shania Twain.

Shania Twain fans since the age of fourteen, Tobin and Roper considered themselves not your typical diehard fans when they entered the contest at 22 years of age.

"We had no problem whatsoever poking fun at ourselves about it," said Tobin, now a 29 year-old Communications Manager for BMO Bank of Montreal. "I think we got a laugh or two."

But why Shania?

"To us, two teenaged guys, Shania had it all," says Tobin. "The looks, the sound, and she's Canadian! There is also something special about someone you admire so much coming from your own country. Nothing quite beats national pride!"

Twain, whose been on hiatus from the spotlight, jumped back into the swing of things this year when she appeared as a guest judge on American Idol. She's also announced a book deal where she will pen her own biography, star in a new documentary series on Oprah Winfrey's OWN Network, and is working on a new album.

"We would love the opportunity to spend time with Shania again," said Roper, now an insurance consultant in Calgary. "She's been out of the spotlight for a while and it sounds like she is ready to jump back into the public eye. [In 2003] Oprah was the only other person to interview Shania during that tour and it would be so much fun to join forces this time around."

The series, which is expected to air on the OWN Network in the Spring, got both Tobin and Roper's wheels turning.

"To promote this show and her new autobiography, odds are in our favour that Shania will appear on Oprah's talk show," said Tobin. "So we figured, why not ask Oprah to let the Ultimate Fans do the interview."

In their efforts to reunite with Twain, Tobin and Roper have posted a YouTube video begging Oprah for her help. In addition they have set up a Facebook page and Twitter page to help spread their message of obtaining a "Shan-i-Aha!" moment through the media mogul.

"Oprah's the most powerful woman in the world," said Tobin. "She makes things happen."

To support their goal and help spread the work, visit their Facebook, Twitter and YouTube pages to show support and spread the word.

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