Barely making the age requirements and the deadline, Alison Hillard of Frederick was recently named the winner of a national YouTube.com video contest.

Presented by Atlantic Records in association with the independent music label Fueled by Ramen, the theme of the contest was based on the rock band Panic! At the Disco’s hit song “Lying is the Most Fun a Girl Can Have Without Taking Her Clothes Off.”

The band asked fans how they could best answer the question “What’s the most fun you can have without taking your clothes off?”

The grand prize: An all-expenses paid trip to see the final show of the band’s world tour in Las Vegas.

While surfing the Web, Ms. Hillard, 14, discovered she could broadcast herself online for a chance to hear the band play live in concert. She knew right away she wanted to participate.

Ms. Hillard and her mother, Kelly Hillard, put their heads together to come up with different ways to answer the question without being too goofy or too boring, she said.

“I decided the most fun I can have without taking my clothes off is by doing the opposite,” she said.

To go along with the band’s typically circus-like music, Ms. Hillard decided to dress as a mime and dance in front of the camera, operated by her father, while putting on layers upon layers of clothing with the help of her mother.

She signed up to become a member of YouTube.com and went right to work on her production. After several hours on the first two days of December, she finally finished her prized piece and uploaded it moments before the deadline, Dec. 2 at midnight.

“It was really close, but we made it,” she said. “It was crazy.”

Contestants had a week to submit entries. All eligible videos were reviewed and judged by the band. More than 400 other fans made the cut off, she said.

A few days later, she received a call from a representative of Atlantic Records. At first, she didn’t know she won because he only congratulated her for being a finalist, she said. He then began asking her more detailed questions — whether or not she was a resident, if she was above the age of 13 and where tickets could be sent.

“I started getting curious, so I asked if I was the winner.”

She could hardly contain her excitement when he confirmed that she was chosen to see Panic! at the Disco in Las Vegas with a guest.

“We flew out at four in the morning on Dec. 8,” she said. She attended the concert that Friday and enjoyed hotel accommodations at the MGM Grand accompanied by her mother.

For two days, they visited some of the city’s landmarks, including Paris Las Vegas, the Venetian and Caesars Palace.

She didn’t have any trouble missing school. Her teachers at the Butler School in Darnestown were proud of her achievements, she said.

If it wasn’t for YouTube.com, a consumer media company founded in 2005 for people to watch and share videos worldwide, Ms. Hillard might not have had this opportunity to showcase her talent.

“It was a cool experience,” she said. “I had a really good time.”

Ms. Hillard’s mother, sharing in the excitement, said she could smell victory while they were in the process of creating the video, which runs about four minutes.

“It just felt like we were going to win the whole time we were making it,” she said.

Even though the prize lasted two days, the memories created working together on this project as a family will last forever, she said.

- To watch Alison’s video, click here

Source: fredericknewspost.com

1. Video Contest Winner!

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