The Next Mitzi (Johnsonverse)

The Next Mitzi was the name of a national contest held by ShowBiz Pizza Time, Inc. and Creative Engineering that involved selecting the voice of Mitzi Mozzarella Jr., the female vocalist of the Rock-afire Explosion and daughter of the original Mitzi, running from August 1, 2014 to January 9, 2015. Over 1,000 girls posted auditions to Johnson Industries CEO Tim Johnson, RAE creator and Creative Engineering founder Aaron Fechter, and original Mitzi voice actress Shalisa Sloan James. The winner of the contest was Sarah Locke of Kenner, Louisiana, who has voiced the character ever since.

Background
In 2014, CEC Entertainment was acquired by Johnson Industries and renamed back to ShowBiz Pizza Time. At the same time, it was announced that ShowBiz Pizza Place and the Rock-afire Explosion would be revived. RAE creator Aaron Fechter announced on his YouTube channel that he got Burt Wilson back as Fatz Geronimo, Duke Chauppetta as Dook LaRue, Rick Bailey as Beach Bear, and Jeff Howell as Uncle Klunk. However, Shalisa Sloan James (Mitzi Mozzarella) refused to come back, seeing herself as too old to voice a role model for young girls. It was decided to replace Mitzi with her daughter, Mitzi Jr., with a similar wardrobe but a more independent personality.

Contest
On May 21, 2014, Tim Johnson announced in a joint press conference with Fechter that a national contest would be held for the new Mitzi voice actress, running from August 1 to January 9.