Nelson musician jumps into final

Nelson musician Dan Kendrick's energetic, hair-tossing rendition of the Van Halen song Jump has earned him a place in the final of the television talent quest show Stars in Their Eyes.

Kendrick's performance as David Lee Roth, the American rock group's former lead singer, was broadcast on last night's programme.

His win places him among nine contestants who will compete in the final, to be broadcast in late June.

Kendrick said this morning he was completely surprised to hear his character's name called as the winner, especially because it was the first time he had won anything.

"I once won a sailing race in an Optimist dinghy, but that was by default, because the boat in front cheated."

Kendrick, a co-organiser of Smokefree Rockquest and a member of Nelson bands Mojo and Road, said his win was also a surprise because he did not think he sang as well as he could have.

Roth was not his first choice of singer to portray, but another entrant already had dibs on Led Zeppelin singer Robert Plant.

However, that turned out to be a "blessing in disguise", because he ended up having "great fun" as Roth.

"It took about three hours just to do the hair."

He said he was hoping that his success would have positive repercussions for his music career.

The winners of each episode are decided by votes from the studio audience, who pick their favourite impersonator.

Kendrick said the audience was chosen at random, after people applied online. They were then screened to make sure they did not know the performers taking part.

All episode winners go through to a grand final, where the public will have an opportunity to take part in deciding the winner by text or phone voting.

- © Fairfax NZ News