Big Brother is by far the most popular reality show in Brazil, when millions of viewers tune in to watch seventeen contestants live together in a house in Barra da Tijuca in Rio de Janeiro, and get voted off one by one until there’s one person remaining, who wins R$1.5 million. Cameras watch the contestants’ every move, and viewers can order a special 24 hour channel to watch different cameras throughout the house and yard at any time of day, if they can’t get enough of the regular programming.

Today, Globo announced the contestants for Big Brother Brasil 2011, who range in age from 22 to 40 who come from various parts of the country, although the majority are from São Paulo and Rio. Candidates were asked to send in videos explaining why they should be on the show, and thousands of people applied for this season.

Here are some of the applicants who posted their videos on Youtube, both for your listening comprehension practice and your entertainment.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vMrFhpHxtGE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O-lmlCYjQ2A

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mfijoGCOzGA

The 2011 season of Big Brother begins on January 11th on the Globo Network. Even if you’re not in Brazil, you can watch videos from BBB here.