My American Idol Experience

Wednesday August 6th, around 10:30am I received my wristband and seat ticket... 074359, Ticket: Section 102, Row T, Seat 9.



Friday morning, August 8th I was up at 3:30 to get to Kemper in time for my 5:00am call. Yes, 5:00 am-
I was running a little late, but since the "doors" to Kemper did not officially open until 8:00 (so they said) I was not worried. As I suspected, there was a lot of traffic as people were skulking down American Royal Drive to pay their $10 parking fee. I arrived to my place in line at about 5:20.


I was most surprised by the numbers of people who did not look like they were going to an audition- Instead, they looked like they were going to the beach with tussled hair, cut-off shorts, tank tops and flip-flops. And then there were the people like me, crisply dressed but not over the top. I was going for a 40s theme~


I am wearing a my handmade sweet cherry dress, and some fabulous handcrafted jewelery made just for me by my friend Amy. And of course there were countless others who were overdressed or in costume. Most noteable in my book were "Banana Man" who sang vaudeville style while wearing a yellow polyester jacket, bright orange pants, and carried a banana in each pocket; "Money Man" who wore a pimp style hat, $$ glasses, and a shirt covered with fake $100 bills. Also there were some cheerleaders, a girl dressed like a bee, another girl dressed in traditional Czechoslovakian gear, and a young lady dressed in a corset with feather underpants... There were probably more, but those are the ones I remember.



Anyhoo- I met some very nice people and we passed the time making idle small talk until the sun started to come up and the producer started giving us direction. 10,000 people, just standing around... until at least 8am. (I do not know exactly, I made the conscious decision not to wear a watch so I would not be staring at it all day). We started pandering for the camera- doing unimaginative cheers like "Kansas City Rocks" and then throwing up our hands and screaming. The only really cool thing about this was the camera work the production assistant was doing. People are crazy- Screaming until they were hoarse... BEFORE they had auditioned. Weirdos.

After all of that tv bull crap they started to let us in the building. I think I walked in the door around 9:30. By the time I was in my seat, they had already started singing the "group songs." This was actually REALLY REALLY cool. 10,000 voices singing in harmony- It was AMAZING. It did get old the 15th time we sang it, but thats tv.

Finally, they rolled out the tables for auditioning- it was 10:30 by this time... I had been awake for 7 hours and waiting for 5. My spirits were still high, but those around me were getting restless. This is where things start to vary from what you see on tv. We did not all audition for Randy Paul and Simon. They rolled out 12 tables, seated with 2 chair for "industry professionals," and separated by a thin black curtain. American Idol style blinders. HA. Then they started to parade contestants down in sections and groups of 4 would go up to sing at a time, per table.

They auditioned through almost 2 full sections when they decided to clear the floors- for a surprise guest: Ryan Seacreast. Here is a bad picture- the dude moved FAST.

People were FAINTING. He is teeny, but I was totally impressed by his congeniality. He let fans take pictures, even snapping a few with fan's cameras. We did a bunch of promos, and damn that took FOREVER. Did you know that in television, every cheer or sentence a crowd chants must be followed by "WHOOOO" and clapping. Yeah. Classy.

It was well after noon by the time we got started auditioning again and nearly 4pm when it was my turn.



Those 4 hours I spent watching and waiting, I learned a couple of things. There were 2 ways to get a "golden ticket" (the ticket that allowed you to go on to the next round- and NO, that round did not include Simon, Paula, or Randy)... Either you dress up in crazy clothes and act like a joke, OR you belt at the top of your lungs. My original plan was to sing 'Cry me a River' and then if prompted for a second song, I would bust out the bridge from 'Holding out for a Hero' (remember Footloose? or Shrek 2?). I decided to change my plan. I was going to bust out the belty, lusty, rocking 'Holding out for a Hero' and then if they asked me for a second song I would sing 'Cry Me a River.' However, they had only asked a grand total of 5 people to sing more than one song in the hours I had been watching and learning. So I did not expect anything more than to belt my brains out and be told their decision.

As I approached table #4 with 3 comrades from section 102, I felt my painful, chest tightening anxiety melt into confidence and strength. I knew I could do it- Why not??? This was my chance, no need to be scared.

The young gentleman at table 4, seated beside an equally unimpressed 20 something intern mentioned my cherry purse matching my cherry dress. I told the story wanting to change my name to Cherry as a young child. It was a good ice breaker and showed a bit of my personality (something I suspect could have gotten me closer to the next stage)... I was the last to sing in my group and thought hey all had nice voices, I knew I could out sing them. I stepped up and RIPPED it. I sang with all of my heart and body and I ROCKED my 30 seconds worth of song. I was shocked and happy and impressed with myself. I could tell by the judges faces that they were impressed too. As I finished, the gentleman asked for my second song. And I blanked. Bye bye brain. About 4 seconds later, my mouth started singing before my brain caught up. I was singing 'The Very Thought of You' in a sweet, though slightly anemic voice and not at all impressive compared to the earlier song. UGGG- I saw the judges faces change... And I knew I had lost them.

Moments later I was approaching the table with the other 3 contestants and getting the bullshit "this is the end of your journey" speech. Then they clipped my wristband off, threw it in the trash- and I walked away, head bowed, trying to hold in my tears.

So- not sure what I think about this experience just yet. I left my house around 4:45am and picked up Mina from Ruth's at 4:45pm- I was damned tired. I am still damned tired actually. American Idol is a big fat production machine. It is meant to make good tv, not find REAL talent. They are looking for packageable talent... So they turned away some very incredible voices.

If I were to do it again, knowing what I know now- I would have done my belting number and then I would have sang something to show off my high range... maybe the chorus from the Queen of the Night aria- However, I don't want to do it again. I am not sure that I would call that day "fun." It was an experience, something I am proud of myself for doing, but not exactly fun.

American Idol is an institution, they are there to make good tv... I knew this from my research, but so very many people at the auditions did not know a thing. I enjoyed all of the people watching, and I am glad I did it. I can tell my kids about it someday...

And I think that is what all of this boils down to. I have been afraid of trying out for American Idol for years, putting it off and rolling my eyes when asked "why" I have not tried out. But being a mother has made me brave. Some people are born brave- Mina is a thunderheart- she is fearless. I knew that I needed to show my children that even if the chances are slim, it is important to TRY. Winning is not what is important. Finding the courage to do your best, no matter what the circumstance? That matters. That is what is most important. And I did that. I tried my best, and I am proud.