In my last entry, I posted a bit about my background, which brings me to more recent events, such as my attempt for fame in Fox's American Idol and my most recent win as Princess Idol.
In August 2003, I auditioned (along with 10,000 other hopefuls), for American Idol at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, CA. After 3 days of camping out in blistering 100+ degree heat during the day and chilling 50 degree weather at night, let's say it did nothing for my image (burnt to a crisp), not to mention my singing voice. With LA being the first stop for American Idol that season, Ryan Seacrest had to do SEVERAL takes of his opening monologue. At this point, I was ready to get my audition over with, whether I made it through to the next round or not.
Contrary to popular belief, the first round of auditioning does not consist of Simon, Randy or Paula. You are actually sent through several rounds of auditioning for the show's producers before you are sent through to the infamous trio of judges. So, for the first round of auditions, you are sent up to an outdoor cabana in groups of three. Each of you get the chance to sing for approx. 10 seconds, before the producer cuts you off and lets the next person sing. After all three are given the chance to sing, they notify each of you whether you are what they are looking for.
I gave it my all, choosing Billy Vera's "At This Moment" for my audition piece, and they still didn't like what they saw/heard. A little defeated, and mostly tired, I was sent home to recover from the third degree burns I suffered while sitting in the Southern Californian sun. Since my first attempt at fame on American Idol, people have tried to get me to re-audition for the current season, but the thought of 3 days camping for 10 seconds of audition time doesn't sound balanced to me. Hey, it worked for Kelly Clarkson, but who am I to complain???
In June 2004, I took a 7-day Princess cruise to Alaska with my fiance's family. There were 9 of us on the cruise, and it was an amazing time. During the trip, they were holding a nightly karaoke contest called "Princess Idol", which is obviously a rip-off of American Idol. Of course, it got my attention, and I signed up immediately. I figured it was the best way to spend the evenings on the boat, and I got the chance to sing again.
The competition worked in rounds. There were four qualifying rounds (one each night, Monday through Thursday), and the final show on Friday. For each of the qualifying rounds, 10 singers would perform, and the top performer would advance to the final show. I competed in the first qualifying round by singing "At This Moment", and became the first performer to advance to the final show.
Knowing I was safe until Friday, I returned each night to review my competition. On a ship of 2,500 people, it's amazing to see how many talented people take cruises. I was quite impressed with the competition, and was given the opportunity to sing at the second qualifying show on Tuesday night, while they were tallying the votes for that night's winner. I chose a song I thought I knew by Hootie & the Blowfish, but it ended up as something I had only heard once before. I had to fake my way through most of it, and it turned out okay. Fortunately, nobody caught on to my blunder.
On Wednesday night, the third qualifying show, the previous night's winning performer was invited to sing, and chose to sing "Shout" by Otis Day. Like I had done the previous night, the performer was not familiar with the song, and pulled me on stage to help him out. Fortunately, this is one of my favorite songs, and I was more then willing to help out a fellow performer. The crowd loved the song, and it turned out well in the end.
During the course of the week, I had become a bit of a celebrity on the ship. Many of the vacationers had either been to one of the evening's performances, or they heard about it from their family or friends. I had several people pointing at me, stopping me for encouraging words, or as in one case, stalking me around the ship for autographs. I never really understood what a 13-year old needed so many autographs for anyway...
Friday night was a very calming evening for me. While the crowd grew for the final show, the finalists were kept downstairs, away from the show. We could hear the performer, and watch them on a closed-circuit television, but we were unable to gauge the audiences reaction to each song. The audience was the one who would eventually make the final choice for the winner, after all.
The show was kept very light and fun, making fun of the American Idol standards, such as having three "official" judges, who were professional performers on the cruise. The judges were there for realism, but we were told downstairs they would have no say on the official votes from the audience. We took the stage one by one, and performed as best we could for the crowd. In the end, I think the crowd won out by having 5 great performances.
I had started to rehearse Elton John's "Your Song" for my final performance, but changed my mind due to the fact another finalist was already performing Elton John, and I didn't want to be seen as the duel of Elton John impersonations. I ended up performing my standard "At This Moment", which the crowd seemed to enjoy. I even had a few people taking pictures during my performance, which was quite unexpected.
When the time came for the announcement of the winner, we were all brought on stage, and the lights dimmed and spotlights danced across the line of performers, a la American Idol. Of course, our host decided to draw out the results, much as Ryan Seacrest enjoys doing with the TV audience. When the host finally announced the winner, I was chosen amongst the finalists. I was handed a small group of winners gifts, including a bottle of champagne.
While the applause was dying down, the crowd started to chant for an encore of my performance, which was not rehearsed, nor planned. With little time to decide on a second song, the DJ cued up "At This Moment" again, and away I went. The crowd went crazy, and even more flash bulbs went off. It was one of the best moments I've had of my singing career so far.
The cruise ended the next morning, but I felt like a true celebrity for those short hours until we left the ship. Since then, I have continued performing in small venues, and at local contests, including "SeaBee Days Karaoke", in which I was a finalist in the top 5.
Most times, I can been seen performing at the local club, Paddy's in Ventura on Wednesday nights. They host a karaoke night there, and it's quite relaxed. If I'm ever out traveling, and performing any place new, I'll post it here, and keep you updated.
Until then, keep an eye out for me. You never know when I'll make it big...Oh yeah, if you've seen me perform, or want more information, just leave a comment, and I'll email you back. I could always use the constructive critiquing...
