American Idol
Many have asked about my experiences at the American Idol auditions in Nashville this past weekend. So instead of telling the story 50 times, I'll just write it once :)
The auditions were Saturday, July 17th at Bridgestone Arena. They began handing out wristbands 2 days prior...so Wednesday night, my friend Austin came to stay at my place so that he could go with me in the morning to get a wristband. This was to be his 3rd time auditioning for AI. We got downtown at 6:15am on Thursday morning, and were nearly at the end of the line!! They began giving out wristbands at 7:00am. As the line started moving forward, they staged everyone walking slowly by the camera for the show. There were all sorts of interesting people, but I didn't see anyone too crazy. Lots of cameras going around listening to people sing, asking why they're the next American Idol, etc. We stood in line for about 3.5 hours...once the sun came up, we were ROASTING! So then we found one of Austin's friends from high school in the line and decided we should all be in a group. We got our wristbands and rules, etc. Then it was off to work for me!
Friday night, Austin called to let me know he wouldn't be staying with me on Friday night because he wanted to get there earlier than I was willing to on Saturday. So, I went to bed around 9:30 and was downtown by 5:00am on Saturday morning. Austin was near the front of the line, but I didn't want to cut in line so I went to my place in the back of the line...in the exact same spot we were in Thursday morning. I figured I was in for a looooooong wait. I met some nice girls who were also from Nashville, so we chatted to pass the time. Then at about 6:30 they opened up the doors of the arena and BONUS, they opened the back doors! So, Austin and I actually got into the building right around the same time.
At around 8:00, once most everyone was inside the building and seated (they had also given us seat tickets when we got our wristbands), they did the group shots. One of the producers told us what to say, such as "Welcome to Nashville!" or "Music City!" or "I'm the next American Idol!" and the camera would pan around the arena. They also did a shot where they turned off the lights and had everyone hold up their cell phones or flash their cameras, which was pretty neat.
At about 9:00, they pulled out 12 booths divided by curtains and lined them up on the arena floor. There was a table in each booth. At each table sat 2 producers. Then they started calling people down by section (audition order depended on how early you had gotten your wristband/seat ticket on Thursday). They lined people up in groups of 4, and they would step up to the booths and sing for the producers. Then the producers would either give you a "golden ticket" or they would snip off your wristbands. If you got a golden ticket, you would exit through the "winner's exit" and go on to another round in front of another producer. If they snipped off your wristband, you went through the "non-winner's exit" and your journey was done for the day.
We met some nice girls from Oklahoma who were sitting in the row in front of us, Talia and Damaris. They had both competed in Miss Oklamhoma for the past 4-5 years, which was how they met. Damaras was auditioning and Talia was her support. We also sat with Austin's friend from high school, Rachel, and her mom. Everyone around us was really nice. We found out from a lady who sat in front of us that those who get to see the judges (Randy, Kara, Ellen) actually have to sign a gag order, and they can't tell anyone (except 3 people, who also have to sign a gag order) whether or not they made it to Hollywood. And even if they don't make it to Hollywood, they had to cancel all online presence for 6 months, until the show airs...so no Facebook, MySpace, You Tube, etc. Crazy! Then we people-watched for a while, which was fun. I went out to get some food, and stood in line at the concession stand for NINETY MINUTES!!! Ridiculous...and THEN, I paid EIGHT FIFTY for a basket of fries and chicken tenders...EIGHT FIFTY!!! I was livid...
Another interesting fact...you know how they show interviews of contestants who make it through to Hollywood? They make it look like they just happened to interview the people who made it through, but in reality, once those people make it through, they put them back in the audience as if they haven't auditioned yet! They used our section for at least 3 of these interviews, since our section was still full...so I might be in the background, if they use any of them on the show!
So at about 2:00, they called our section down. I tried to be in the same group of 4 as Austin, but we got separated at the last minute. I went to booth number 1, Austin went to both number 6, and Rachel went to both number 12. My booth was closest to the "non-winners' exit" so I did see Austin walk by while I was waiting to sing...but the producers at my table decided to take a break right before my group, so I had to wait a little while.
They called our group forward and pointed at us to sing, one at a time. They didn't want to hear our names or ages; just singing, for about 20-30 seconds. I sang "A House is Not A Home" by Burt Bacharach, later covered by Luther Vandross. At the last minute, I realized I needed to skip the verse and go straight to the chorus, because I could see they weren't letting people sing for very long (how could they??! there were like 8,000 people auditioning!!!). Then they called all 4 of us forward and said "Good effort today, really good effort, but it's just not what we're looking for for the show this year." And then we got our wristbands snipped off and we were on our merry little way.
All in all, it was a really neat experience. It was really neat to see "behind the scenes" of a show that I've watched for almost 9 years. And now when people tell me "You should audition for American Idol!" I can say "I did" and be done with it :) With all that being said, I don't think I would do it gain. It's obvious that I'm not what they were looking for, and I'm okay with that. I have a good day job, and it pays the bills!
Thanks to everyone who encouraged me to audition and believed I could make it!! Even though I didn't make it through, it's good to know that the people who really matter still believe I'm talented.
Much love!!
The auditions were Saturday, July 17th at Bridgestone Arena. They began handing out wristbands 2 days prior...so Wednesday night, my friend Austin came to stay at my place so that he could go with me in the morning to get a wristband. This was to be his 3rd time auditioning for AI. We got downtown at 6:15am on Thursday morning, and were nearly at the end of the line!! They began giving out wristbands at 7:00am. As the line started moving forward, they staged everyone walking slowly by the camera for the show. There were all sorts of interesting people, but I didn't see anyone too crazy. Lots of cameras going around listening to people sing, asking why they're the next American Idol, etc. We stood in line for about 3.5 hours...once the sun came up, we were ROASTING! So then we found one of Austin's friends from high school in the line and decided we should all be in a group. We got our wristbands and rules, etc. Then it was off to work for me!
Friday night, Austin called to let me know he wouldn't be staying with me on Friday night because he wanted to get there earlier than I was willing to on Saturday. So, I went to bed around 9:30 and was downtown by 5:00am on Saturday morning. Austin was near the front of the line, but I didn't want to cut in line so I went to my place in the back of the line...in the exact same spot we were in Thursday morning. I figured I was in for a looooooong wait. I met some nice girls who were also from Nashville, so we chatted to pass the time. Then at about 6:30 they opened up the doors of the arena and BONUS, they opened the back doors! So, Austin and I actually got into the building right around the same time.
At around 8:00, once most everyone was inside the building and seated (they had also given us seat tickets when we got our wristbands), they did the group shots. One of the producers told us what to say, such as "Welcome to Nashville!" or "Music City!" or "I'm the next American Idol!" and the camera would pan around the arena. They also did a shot where they turned off the lights and had everyone hold up their cell phones or flash their cameras, which was pretty neat.
At about 9:00, they pulled out 12 booths divided by curtains and lined them up on the arena floor. There was a table in each booth. At each table sat 2 producers. Then they started calling people down by section (audition order depended on how early you had gotten your wristband/seat ticket on Thursday). They lined people up in groups of 4, and they would step up to the booths and sing for the producers. Then the producers would either give you a "golden ticket" or they would snip off your wristbands. If you got a golden ticket, you would exit through the "winner's exit" and go on to another round in front of another producer. If they snipped off your wristband, you went through the "non-winner's exit" and your journey was done for the day.
We met some nice girls from Oklahoma who were sitting in the row in front of us, Talia and Damaris. They had both competed in Miss Oklamhoma for the past 4-5 years, which was how they met. Damaras was auditioning and Talia was her support. We also sat with Austin's friend from high school, Rachel, and her mom. Everyone around us was really nice. We found out from a lady who sat in front of us that those who get to see the judges (Randy, Kara, Ellen) actually have to sign a gag order, and they can't tell anyone (except 3 people, who also have to sign a gag order) whether or not they made it to Hollywood. And even if they don't make it to Hollywood, they had to cancel all online presence for 6 months, until the show airs...so no Facebook, MySpace, You Tube, etc. Crazy! Then we people-watched for a while, which was fun. I went out to get some food, and stood in line at the concession stand for NINETY MINUTES!!! Ridiculous...and THEN, I paid EIGHT FIFTY for a basket of fries and chicken tenders...EIGHT FIFTY!!! I was livid...
Another interesting fact...you know how they show interviews of contestants who make it through to Hollywood? They make it look like they just happened to interview the people who made it through, but in reality, once those people make it through, they put them back in the audience as if they haven't auditioned yet! They used our section for at least 3 of these interviews, since our section was still full...so I might be in the background, if they use any of them on the show!
So at about 2:00, they called our section down. I tried to be in the same group of 4 as Austin, but we got separated at the last minute. I went to booth number 1, Austin went to both number 6, and Rachel went to both number 12. My booth was closest to the "non-winners' exit" so I did see Austin walk by while I was waiting to sing...but the producers at my table decided to take a break right before my group, so I had to wait a little while.
They called our group forward and pointed at us to sing, one at a time. They didn't want to hear our names or ages; just singing, for about 20-30 seconds. I sang "A House is Not A Home" by Burt Bacharach, later covered by Luther Vandross. At the last minute, I realized I needed to skip the verse and go straight to the chorus, because I could see they weren't letting people sing for very long (how could they??! there were like 8,000 people auditioning!!!). Then they called all 4 of us forward and said "Good effort today, really good effort, but it's just not what we're looking for for the show this year." And then we got our wristbands snipped off and we were on our merry little way.
All in all, it was a really neat experience. It was really neat to see "behind the scenes" of a show that I've watched for almost 9 years. And now when people tell me "You should audition for American Idol!" I can say "I did" and be done with it :) With all that being said, I don't think I would do it gain. It's obvious that I'm not what they were looking for, and I'm okay with that. I have a good day job, and it pays the bills!
Thanks to everyone who encouraged me to audition and believed I could make it!! Even though I didn't make it through, it's good to know that the people who really matter still believe I'm talented.
Much love!!
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