Luke Frey, a media studies and production sophomore, won second place in a contest that would have potentially given him the opportunity to host his own digital show that would air before episodes of “Keeping Up with the Kardashians.”
Frey submitted a video into a national contest after seeing a tweet by E! Online. Contestants had to respond to questions about their favorite Kardashians and why they felt they would be the show’s best host.
After submitting the video, the Temple Talk co-host said he brushed it off and forgot about it because he didn’t think he’d make the cut.
After searching “high and low for the biggest Kardashian fan,” Frey was named a Top 4 finalist in E! Online’s Keeping Up with the Kardashians contest.
Frey said he immediately “freaked out” and called his roommate and longtime friend, Nakiya Shamshudin.
On March 15, Frey’s video, along with the other three finalists, was published for fans to view and vote for their favorite contestant.
Shamshudin was initially excited and happy for her best friend, but her biggest concern for Frey was that he might have to move to Los Angeles mid-semester to film the weekly show. Nonetheless, she was supportive because she “knew this was one of his dreams.”
Frey was the only male selected among the final four contestants. During the two days of voting, Frey said he felt all over the place.
“I was constantly checking my phone to see where I’m at, how I’m doing [in the contest],” Frey said.
The two roommates said they spent hours promoting the contest to friends through different social media platforms, like Facebook and Twitter.
Shamshudin was even able to reach out to her and Frey’s hometown newspaper, The Shippensburg News-Chronicle. The newspaper featured an advertisement for Frey.
Not only did his family, friends and acquaintances encourage his dreams by voting, but the School of Media and Communication sent out multiple tweets with the voting link attached.
“Seeing [Temple] help out and share it helped even more,” Frey said. “I’m happy my school supported me in what I was doing.”
When it came down to the final hours of voting, Frey and Shamshudin were determined to get as many last-minute votes as possible.
“The last hours were basically tied,” Frey said. “It was very tense.”
Another contestant, Dana Robie, quickly became Frey’s toughest competitor.
Although Frey and Robie were way ahead of the other contestants, Frey said, they were still running a tight race against each other toward the end of the voting process.
Around 8 p.m., an hour before the voting deadline, Frey said he checked the standings and saw a one-percent difference.
Ultimately, Frey fell to Robie by a small percentage, he said, although exact numbers or percentages weren’t released to the public or contestants.
Frey said he was devastated, but he still watched a part of Robie’s first episode.
He said he will try again next year if the contest is held.
“I am only a sophomore, and I’m not perfect,” Frey said. “I will have a few more years of practice until I’m on a national level.”
Jane Babian can be reached at jane.babian@temple.edu.
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