Going out on a limb Here....

Last week I did something I've wanted to do for about 7 years.... I auditioned for American Idol! (Don't laugh!) I don't really know why I wanted to, it's not like I want to be the next Kelly Clarkson. I know I'm not that great of a singer. It's just, I've always loved to sing. (I remember telling Mrs. Martin in 5th grade that I didn't need to learn math because I was going to be on broadway. Yeah, um- That didn't happen). Truth is, I get SO nervous singing for other people. It's really something I want to get over. AI is one of my favorite shows and I figured what better way to attack my nerves that to sing for a bunch of strangers and TV producers?

I heard that auditions were coming to Kemper Arena in downtown KC. I thought about it A LOT. I didn't want to look silly or like some total crazy Idol wanna be. This was more for me to stretch my comfort zone, than anything else. I knew I would regret it if I didn't at least try. Also I thought it would be cool to be "behind the scenes" a little, to see how this show really worked.

First thing was registration. Two days before you the actual audition you have to go register. This is to make sure you're "legal" to be on the show. I've heard even this can cause big lines. I also heard that the order you reg. is pretty much the order you audition. So I decided to get there at 6:00 am to get a good audition time. I waited in line for 2 hours before I finally got in and spent the 5 mins it took to actually register & get my wrist band. It was fun though. They had camera crews, of corse- but I was trying to avoid them. I met some fun people and watched some crazy ones too. One new friend was Cassandra. We talked the whole time we were in line and decided to stick together for the auditions on Friday. She was super nice, and had an amazing voice.



One person I recognized there was Andrew Cook, David's brother. He's the one that got David to audition last year. The local Fox news team had him interviewing "Idol hopefuls". I kinda wanted to say Hi, I mean it's not like he (is) his brother, but it would still be cool. I only saw him with cameras around and I wasn't about to sing on the news, like lots of other people were. Once I finished my registration. Cassandra and I saw him walking away with a few friends. It was my friend Kristin's B-day and I had already called her & had random people in line sing her Happy Birthday. I joked with her that I would get Andrew Cook to do it next. She thought that would be SO COOL. "I'll never erase it from my answering machine" She teased. When I saw him with just a few friends and no cameras I though- Why not? He had been eating up the attention earlier. I was sure he wouldn't mind. Besides I'd already mad a dork of myself in front of his brother, "David Cook- High Five!" What's one more embarrassment for a Happy Birthday wish?

So I did it. Here is what we got off her answering machine-

We talked for just a quick minuet more and I said Thanks & Bye. It was pretty fun. That's what this whole idol thing was about for me- soak up every moment, Every silly opportunity! Yeah, I know I'm a total dork! :) Anyway back to the audition-

We were told to meet at 5:00 am on Friday morning outside the arena. They did cheesy group shots and chants for the camera till 7:30 when they finally started to get us into the arena. I met up with a friend Lindsay outside in the line. She was so fun to hang out with. I think people thought we were a little strange to be so friendly and excited at 6 in the morning. She had her cousin Jamie come with her for moral support and We met Ashley there too. She traveled from Oklahoma to audition. We waited there for 3 hours. Making friends, being dorks, yelling for the cameras.... It was a blast!



With 10,000 people auditioning, I had to do a little something to stand out. Plus, I hated the question they always ask, "Why are you the next American Idol"? So with some help from Glenn, I came up with a fun way to answer. " Well, Have you seen my shoes? They have American idol written all over them"!

Dorky maybe... okay yes, but I don't care, they were fun.
I used scrapbook stickers, so they come off easy. This picture is from the Fox news website. I figured a shoe shot couldn't hurt.

The crowd nearly filled the arena. The hallways were full of singers some good, some amazing, but most...... not so much.
It was so fun just for all the nice people I met. We all sang for each other to practice- I never would have thought I'd do that,
sing for random strangers, but it was fun pretending I wasn't too embarrassed. These two girls I sat by were AMAZING!! They sang a lot through the day and I truly thought they would make it to the next round. Neither one did though. In fact not one of the amazing voices I heard made it through. And some not so wonderful voices did make it. I have no idea what they were looking for that day.

So here's how it goes down. After we got into the arena @ 8 am, We did more group cheers and songs over & over for the cameras. We sang, "Singed, Sealed Delivered, I'm Yours" & "Get ready 'cuz here I come" like fifty times.
If I have to say,"Kansas City Rocks" one more time I think I might...... wait, Oh no... Here it comes.......

Finally about 11 am they brought out the tables & curtains to start the actual auditions. They stared to bring people down by seat sections and lined them up in groups of four. Then they would tell you what number booth to go to and you would wait till your group was the next to go.
We had waited forever to finally have the auditions start. Then about an hour into it they stop, break down the tables, clear everything out and they won't tell us why. We all guessed it by the time they announced that Ryan Seacrest was "In the building". I was a little bugged that they couldn't do this earlier. They had already gotten through 2 sections and our was coming soon. I didn't know how much more my nerves could take!
It was really cool to see him though. He is a really nice guy. He was talking pictures and hugging a lot. It would have been cool to be closer, oh well, I got Andrew Cook right?

Ryan Welcomes the crowd-

Finally, we finished the PR shots. It took like 6 hours of film that I'm sure will be cut down to like 90 secs. CRAZY!

It was almost our turn to audition. Once your group is up, they call you one by one to sing. You have about 25 secs to make an impression. I had gone through all sorts of emotions that day as I waited. I thought I had finally gotten them under control until I stepped forward. My heart was pounding. I was SO nervous!!! But I couldn't let it show. There were two producers sitting there waiting for me to sing... What was I doing there?
I sang George Harrisions, "Something". ( I have it at the bottom for those who don't know it. No it's not me singing- I'm still not brave enough to put that on here).

I was actually really happy with my "performance". For just jumping into it and not having a lot of formal experience I think I did a pretty good job. Thats all I had hoped for.

After everyone in your group sings they ask you all to step forward to give you your results. The producers were very nice and took the time to tell us that he thought we were good, but now with it being season 8 the bar has been raised and we're not quite at a Kelly Clarkson or Carrie Underwood level..... REALLY?? What a shock!
He did suggest to come back next year after I work on my performing skills. But I don't know if I will. This was going to be my year to work on my nun-chuck skills or computer hacking skills.... We'll see.
Honestly, He may have just been being nice, but I don't care. I'll take it. Most of the other producers were not that kind.

So, off I went to stage left to get my wrist band cut off. Oh well, I'm not the next American idol, but I did it! I faced my fears, made new friends and just maybe you'll see an orange dot on the show that will be me!