Idol: Step One

[W3WN]

Well, that's 3 hours of a morning that would have been better spent DX'ing.

American Idol audtions are in Pittsburgh on Friday. Pre-registration started today at 8 AM. So of course, people are lined up at Heinz Field starting at midnite. http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/11194/1160085-100.stm

Jessie has been excited about this since they announced the audition on the show last May. So, armed with a copy of her birth certificate, and lots of water & reading material, we departed from the house at 5:30. Should have been 5:15, but the battery in my car died (a bad omen, if you believe in omens), so I had to get the boss to drive us.

Of course, we miss the T (light rail transit) by a minute. Next one is in 10, though, so could I put some gas in her car while we waited? Good thing the gas station is across the street from the transit stop.

Get downtown, walk over to Heinz Field, join the queue. We were in the tail end of "Section 3"

And after all that, once the line starts moving, we're in and out of pre-registration itself in 10 minutes. But we have her ticket, our armbands, and we have to be back on Friday. At 5 AM. Yuck.

Paper estimates that there are easily 10,000 people auditioning. So who gets picked to see The Judges? Well, that's the part you don't hear about. Seems that her audition or auditons on Friday will be before the show's PRODUCERS. They filter the group down to 200 - 300, and only THAT group gets invited back for the final audition before The Judges.

Odds aren't great. Not that I have any doubts about her singing ability, but I also heard grousing from people who had been at other auditions in past years; even at this level, not everyone gets heard.

Still... you've got to start somewhere.

We'll see what happens.

[NA4BH]

Good luck, we'll be cheering for Jessie !!!!

[NQ6U]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zZoa4l8kb6o

[N2NH]

Good Luck. I'm not a big fan of the show - I feel it jumped the shark after not finding a suitable jester after William Hung - but as you've said, it IS a start.

Please keep us posted. Sometimes the behind the scenes entertainment is funnier and more entertaining than what you get to see.

[W3WN]

News reports now say that because Pittsburgh is the only audition site on the "upper East Coast" this year, they're now expecting over 30,000 to sign up to audition on Friday.

Gulp.

[ki4itv]

Good luck to both of you Ron, I fell you'll need a little extra just to survive this...Let us know how it goes!
That's really pretty exciting!

[W3WN]

I don't mind admitting that I'm probably a lot more nervous about this than Jess is. Of course I want her to do well, I just don't think the enormity of what she's facing has hit her yet. Maybe that's just as well.

Then again, I do tend to worry too much.

[KB3LAZ]

Idk but I dont like that posh douche of a judge. Reminds me of the food critics that forget that not everyone eats at a 4 star restaurant. Often times than not the other critics would agree with my thoughts on this.

[W3WN]

Idk but I dont like that posh douche of a judge. Reminds me of the food critics that forget that not everyone eats at a 4 star restaurant. Often times than not the other critics would agree with my thoughts on this.Simon? He left the show season before last. He has his own show this fall... "X Factor" and they promise he'll be nicer.

Right.

[KB3LAZ]

Simon? He left the show season before last. He has his own show this fall... "X Factor" and they promise he'll be nicer.

Right.

Oh. Dude defiantly has some issues. :P

[N2NH]

Oh. Dude defiantly has some issues. :P

I just think he's got an iron deficiency. This applied to the back of the head would cure that fast.

http://www.flashtraces.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/7-crowbar.jpg

[KB3LAZ]

I just think he's got an iron deficiency. This applied to the back of the head would cure that fast.


http://www.flashtraces.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/7-crowbar.jpg

ROFLMAO. I like the way you think.

[KG4CGC]

News reports now say that because Pittsburgh is the only audition site on the "upper East Coast" this year, they're now expecting over 30,000 to sign up to audition on Friday.

Gulp.Gulp is right!
Sorry for what must be MAYHEM!

[W3WN]

Mayhem? No.

We got back to Heinz Field at 5 AM, ended up waiting in Section 3 outside again. Around 6:30, an camera came by and picked up the kid holding a guitar, asked if he knew Kate Perry's Fireworks song. Apparantly that's this year's theme song. He didn't, but Jessie did, and she led some other girls singing. About an octave too high, but never mind.

Around 7:00, they moved our group into the steps leading into Gate A (behind the scoreboard). Spent about a half hour filming the "Welcome to Pittsburgh" crowd shots they use.

At 8, we went in. First time I've ever been inside Heinz Field. (Nice place, PNC Park is a lot nicer). And the stadium concession stands were all in operation -- at game prices, of course.

At 9, most everyone was seated. They filled up the end of the horseshoe opposite the scoreboard. Some more promos filmed; if they show the one with the American flag in the stands, look carefully for hands holding the upper left hand corner of the flag. One's mine, one's Jessie's, we were right underneath. And then the started the auditions, one section at a time.

At 12:45, our section finally went. I had to accompany her as a minor, although I got herded into a "parents only" waiting area. About 1:30, she finally got her 30 seconds of audition.

So, here's how they do it. There are 10 tents set up, each is supposed to have 2 producers in it listening, although most only had 1. The applicants come up 4 at a time. They hand over their release forms. Each sings for about 30 seconds to a minute. When all 4 are done, they are told "yes" or "no". Yes means that they go on, head for those steps into a below-field room. No means go home, exit out the back.

Maybe 1 in 20 got a yes. Maybe.

Jess got a No. Her whole group was told "you all sang great, but we've set the bar higher this year. Try again next year."

I heard a lot of the auditions. Many of the best singers got sent home. And to be perfectly blunt, the ones who looked freaky, the girls who were overweight or obese, the ones who didn't look like TV models -- they went home. As many of you have suspected, they are NOT looking for the best singers or performers. I don't know exactly what they WERE looking for.

Some of those who got a Yes were, frankly, lousy. If you watch the "audition" episodes of the show, now you know why some of those who get rejected by the stars are so upset; they're being set up for failure and humiliation. No recourse, you acknowlede in the release that you might get embarresed on national TV, and you agree in advance not to sue. You also agree that they don't have to audition you, or explain why you're being rejected.

On the news, the producer proclaims "we're looking for lightning in a bottle." Well, whatever that lightning is, they are looking for very specific, narrow things. What, they don't tell you, but being a great singer isn't enough.

Jess was crushed. For about an hour. She's fine.

On the way out, we spoke with another mom. She was one of the few that were actually allowed on the field; turns out she had a friend who is an employee of the Steelers, and that friend was with her, so the Idol people couldn't toss her out (or so she said). She told me some of the Producers weren't paying attention to the contestants, some of the girls were told point blank "you don't have the look we want" or "you're too heavy, lose some weight." But most people got told what Jess got told. Which means... nothing.

It simply means that they're actually looking for two groups of people at these auditions: A very specific look of people, mainly in their late teens or early 20's, who also happen to be able to sing... and people that they are going to humiliate with rejection on national TV.

Was it a waste of a day? Yup. The boss dropped us off in the morning, went home, got a good morning's sleep, and picked us up around 2. Went home and crashed for a few hours, I'm still a little groggy. A little sun burned (sitting in the sun for 4 hours in the morning will do that), but at least I had some bottles of water for us to stay hydrated. Still, I'm glad she had the experience. Her first real cattle call. But if she wants to have a career in this business, she has to learn to accept rejection. And she's fine.

In fact, she's already put in to be an extra in a few weeks for the new Batman movie. At Heinz Field, of course.

At least, now I don't have to figure out how to fire her agent.

[NA4BH]

Well DAMN. The right thing will come around for her.

[W3WN]

It will. It just won't be this way.

And lest I forget, thanks to all for their support and encouragement. Jess really appreciated knowing that she had all these guys pulling for her!

[NA4BH]

If you stop and think about it, there have only been two from Idol that have actually made it. Clarkson and that girl that sings country. The rest have been flashes in the pan. Idol might be a way to get your name known, but for the majority (of them) no one can remember their names. She'll do good and she can count on the Island family to be in the audience supporting her.

[ki4itv]

If you stop and think about it, there have only been two from Idol that have actually made it. Clarkson and that girl that sings country. The rest have been flashes in the pan. Idol might be a way to get your name known, but for the majority (of them) no one can remember their names. She'll do good and she can count on the Island family to be in the audience supporting her.

Those two made it big...but there are more than a few others who are working in the entertainment industry as professionals and are doing what they dreamed of their whole life.

Actually, some of the ones who bailed early are doing very well for themselves. Winning and locking yourself into the AI contract may not be the best way to play that game.

[ad4mg]

If you stop and think about it, there have only been two from Idol that have actually made it. Clarkson and that girl that sings country. The rest have been flashes in the pan. Idol might be a way to get your name known, but for the majority (of them) no one can remember their names. She'll do good and she can count on the Island family to be in the audience supporting her.

4367 <-- full sized photo worth a click!

Carrie Underwood. Quite the hottie, and really can sing!

Glad to hear LMFD handled the madness OK, Ron. She will find her place when it's time!

[W3WN]

Well, FWIW, many of the morning radio shows were talking about the auditions yesterday morning.

There are a LOT of unhappy people. More than a few claiming the whole thing is a scam or a fix.

Now, I wouldn't go that far, but it's now obvious in hindsight that part of their purpose is to fill the stands so that they can do their "crowd scene" promos, and display a diversity that implies that everyone has an equal chance at *Stardom*. But they don't.

Yeah. Imagine that. Cynical Hollywood producers, coldly misleading people into wasting a couple of days, for their own commercial interests. Who'd've thought?

[W1GUH]

"I don't know exactly what they WERE looking for."

Britney...gaga..."Letter after 'L' "....what THEY do on stage.

[W3WN]

Reviving a zombie thread here...

Tonight, Fox showed the Pittsburgh auditions. Sorry gang, it was one of those days at work, so I totally forgot to mention it, but you on the West still have a chance to catch it.

The American Flag shot was shown... but at an angle from the opposite corner, so no, our hands didn't make it.

But at about 10 after 8, there's a shot of the crowd, featuring a kid in a real bright yellow shirt. Now I missed it (I will have to check the tape, of course I taped it), but Jess starts yelling "Mom! Dad" Did you see it? Did you see it?" Apparantly, if you look right behind the kid, you'll see a yellow towel -- not a Steeler's Terrible Towel, same color but it has the Pirates' logo on it with no lettering. Yup; Jess's towel. She said you not only could see the towel, but her.

Of course, Mom wants something else taped while she watches Grey's Anatomy, but as soon as that's done, I'll check the tape to be sure.

And all those shots they took of people singing Katy Perry's Fireworks song? Never showed a one.

[KB3LAZ]

The best Idol would be the one that forced Simon into a crab-walk and then took a healthy shit in his mouth. He has just always seemed to be the type you would see as a food critic that would degrade someone for not making a four star quality meal. Much like many food critics would tell you; whereas four star is great there is just something about home style cooking that brings a tear to your eye.

Ie he is a snobby pug bastard.

That to me is why Idol left a bad taste in my mouth. In return, he should receive a taste. ~.^

[W3WN]

Simon is no longer on Idol. He's now got his own show, X-Factor. Which bombed last fall. (Not that Fox wants to admit it, but it did)

[KB3LAZ]

Simon is no longer on Idol. He's now got his own show, X-Factor. Which bombed last fall. (Not that Fox wants to admit it, but it did)

I know but I would still like to beat that man with a flail.

[W3WN]

I know but I would still like to beat that man with a flail.I kinda gathered that when you mentioned it last July :rofl:

[KB3LAZ]

I kinda gathered that when you mentioned it last July :rofl:

Lol I guess I did repeat myself. :P