Singer-songwriter shoots for ‘The Ellen DeGeneres Show’

Joe Cameron is going to be on “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” – he’s sure of it. He even has a Web site to prove it.\nCameron is a pop/rock singer-songwriter and guitarist out of Kokomo, Ind., who graduated from IU in 2001. A few months ago, Cameron’s mother was so convinced of her son’s talent that she sent “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” a letter urging them to have her son perform. Cameron decided to take things a step further and created a Web site, www.imgonnabeonellen.com. He frequently updates his blog, letting his fans know how much progress he is making in getting onto the show, and he also posts videos of himself performing. The videos show Cameron singing comedic songs or talking to fans about how much he wants to be on the show.\nSo, why Ellen DeGeneres and not Jay Leno or David Letterman, for example?\n“The practical answer is that there’s no way I could get on Leno or Letterman without a recording contract,” Cameron said. “She’s the only one accessible to the public. A big part of one of her goals is the average Joe’s involvement in her show.”\nCameron said he has given up all other job responsibilities and now dedicates himself completely to his music. Though he said he joined the music world late, the 30-year-old has had no problem getting some great playing opportunities thus far. \n“In ’99, I sang in the Indy 500 parade. There (were) 300,000 people in the stands,” he said. “It was awesome.”\nCameron described his music as barbeque-picnic-beach rock that “has a very positive overtone” and is “very mainstream, Top-40 pop-rock,” he said.\nBut don’t be fooled by the broad label Cameron applies to his own music. His voice, catchy melodies and stick-in-your-head lyrics weave together to create a style of music all his own. Cameron said he draws influences from all across the musical spectrum, citing Sting, Sarah McLachlan, Jason Mraz and Rob Thomas.\nSo far, Cameron is making a lot of headway with his goal of getting on Ellen’s show. His Web site has been visited so many times that the show’s producers contacted Cameron asking what the site was all about.\n“They would’ve never contacted me if my site hadn’t gotten so many hits,” Cameron said. “So many people were e-mailing (the Ellen show) from my site that they couldn’t ignore it anymore.”\nCameron says that fans can help by going to his Web site and sending an e-mail to “The Ellen DeGeneres Show” in support of him performing on the show.