Mere hours after we interviewed Veronica Belmont last month, news broke that she was leaving the daily video podcast she helped launch -- Mahalo Daily.

Soon enough, Jason Calacanis, founder of Weblogs, Inc. and CEO of the people-powered search engine Mahalo, announced an American Idol-esque contest to find the next host of the Mahalo Daily vlog.

As dozens of potential hosts lined up to audition in side Mahalo HQ in Santa Monica, we grilled Calacanis (and his bulldogs) to find out exactly what kind of host was desired and how she might be found.

We interviewed three of the top Mahalo Vlog Idol contestants (Sarah @w00d, Bonny Pierzina, and Lisa Brewster) shortly before they took their big turn in front of the judges (and "webebrities" in their own right) Calacanis, Loren Feldman, and Alex Albrecht:

The search for the coveted full-time job as host of Mahalo Daily continues today. Watch it all unfold live on UStream (or check the archives here).