Last week we announced a Marilyn Manson YouTube contest for a pair of guest list spots for The Manson and Rob Zombie co-headlining show here in Houston, set for tomorrow night at Reliant Arena.
REWIND:
Rocks Off's Marilyn Manson YouTube Video Contest
The contest was fun, but most of the entries collected were from places not near Houston, Texas or even the United States. Which is cool, because that means the word got out, and people were listening. But they didn't see the part about Houston, I guess. Still, they all did a great job. Pesky rules. Sadly, we couldn't fly anyone in from Australia.
The Rocks Off private jet has become tied up in legal red tape.
Anyhow, we picked a couple from Baton Rouge, Louisiana, who turned in a hilarious video that we think Manson himself would have approved of. Plus, they agreed to actually make the trip to Houston.
John Upton and his girlfriend are students at LSU, she in the EMT training program.
"We're high school sweethearts from a smaller city in central Louisiana," says Upton. It was the girlfriend who alerted him to the contest.
"We decided to choose 'Sweet Dreams,' so we put it on as we ran through several different filming scenarios," he says. "We ultimately decided we had to include the stripper pole, and I thought of how funny it would be if smoke was drifting out of my mouth during those guitar riffs."
Wait, you guys have a stripper pole at home? But, but why?
"She wanted a sexy way to exercise," says Upton.
Our winner wasn't always into Manson, and when he was younger, the shock-rocker scared him, like he did most people.
"I remember being 11 or 12 and hanging out with my older cousin," Upton says. "He had a poster of Manson on the wall in his room, and I asked him about it, telling him Manson freaked me out. He pulled out a copy of Lest We Forget and put it on. I have been into Manson's music ever since."
Congrats, you crazy kids, and have a safe drive to and from Houston.
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