Well, I'm back and I didn't make it or meet Paula
But I still had fun!
I left for Vegas on Friday night at 10:30 PM. I was doing really well until about an hour out of Vegas when I was just getting SOOO tired. But I made it ok. On the AI website it said that they wouldn't allow anyone to line up until 6 AM and I rolled into Vegas at 4:30 AM. Well, there was a huge line. I guess the police had made them start the line around 1 AM as there were so many people milling around the streets waiting for 6 AM. I brought a lawn chair and my pillow and a blanket and a bag of food and reading material and water. I sat down next to this girl named Rachel and her mother. They were from the Bronx. There was also this boy and his girl cousin that were from Washington State. They were very pleasant people and I felt bad that I was too tired to really speak to them. Anytime there was a lull in conversation I would fall asleep. Well about 6:15 the AI people told us to pick our stuff up that they were going to start moving us into the arena. This process took until about 9:30 for me to get into the arena. When we got to the door of the arena they gave us a wristband and a ticket that had an assigned seat. We went in to the arena and one of the producers spoke to us and told us how the audition process would go and that if there were any of us without a hotel we were welcome to stay at the Arena on the floor or in the seats. He also told us that it was a possibility that we would have to stay in Vegas until Thursday because of the way the auditions would go. Sunday we would sing in front of some producers and if we made it through that round on Monday we would again audition for them and if you made it through that round THEN on Tuesday and Wednesday is when Simon, Paula, and Randy would be in. Of course that was a big "darn it" moment.
After this they were filming a Coke commercial, a throw back to the one done in the 70s...you know "I'd like to teach the world to sing, in perfect harmony". Whoever wanted to could be in it. I chose to do it since I didn't have anything else to do. I stood in front of a Coke background and sang the song and I finished it Elvis style with a "Thank you very much". I tried to go sleep as I was so tired that I was simply shaking. But it was really hard to sleep on those seats in the arena not to mention there was a lot going on. They had Charro ("Coochie! Coochie!") come in and give us a pep talk. She was doing that on the other side of the arena and she exited where I was laying down. I sat up when she was leaving and waved at her and she waved back. She actually looks better in person than she does on TV. They also had an Elvis impersonator and a show girl come in and some of the other people filmed a promo with them. I had my picture taken with them.
I decided that I should cut to the chase in my desire to see Paula so I went and spoke to one of the producers and told them that yes I was there to sing and make it through AI but that I also wanted to meet Paula. He said she wouldn't be in until Tuesday and even then the judges have really strict rules about just meeting anyone. I thought, yeah right, I'll find a way.
Anyway, I went and tried to sleep some more but it was mainly just laying there with my eyes closed. At one point I did fall asleep but then I woke up because I heard a really LOUD snoring...not just someone around but snoring from THE LOUD SPEAKERS. When I opened my eyes there was a cameraman on me
So most likely I'll be on the Vegas episode of AI sleeping...
I decided a little later to go to Caesar's Palace but when I got on the Strip the traffic was ridiculous and I couldn't figure out where I should park so I gave up and went to KFC for dinner. I went back to the Arena. A little later Monica Jackson from FOX5 in Vegas was there to do a little story about the auditions. She had brought a CD with some dance music on it that apparently is really popular in Detroit and places like that because those people from there really liked it and were teaching us these dances that went to the songs. It was really fun and joined in that. One of the black guys, when we were finished dancing, said, "I don't care about the rest you all, this white dude here knows how to get his groove on!" He was speaking of me, of course.
Monica did her piece for the news where she interviewed some of the contestants, one of which was a girl that is seven months pregnant. She left around 10:30 PM. I decided that it was time to go to sleep. Just as I'm drifting off to sleep I hear really loud walking which turns out to be the footsteps of George Clooney in the movie "Ocean's 11" that they are showing on the big screen...I was so mad! Because not only was that going on but they weren't dimming the lights in the Arena. Well, luckily I was so exhausted that I fell asleep. We had to be awake by 4 AM because they wanted everyone to come back to the Arena and start getting in their seats so that by 7:30 we could prepare to film a song as a group. Each city had their own song that everyone would sing together. Vegas's was "I'm So Excited". I went and changed and we sat in our seats. The creators of AI came in to speak with us. They were really funny. And then we filmed the song. I know I was on camera a lot during that because the camera seemed to always been in our direction. After that the auditions started.
There were ten booths set up with three judges in each. They would have four auditioners go up at a time and sing individually. I didn't get up to the audition table until about 11:45 AM. I sang "Fallen" by Sarah McLachlan. They told us that we really only needed to sing a verse and a chorus but to continue singing until we reached the end of the song or the judges stopped us. Well, I thought for sure they would stop me after the chorus. But then I started into the second verse and mid way through it, because I was so excited he was allowing me to continue singing I forgot the words. After my group of four finished the main judge told us that we were a unique little group in that all four of us had really great voices and knew how to sing. Our hang up was that none of us were performers, that we allowed our nerves to get the better of us. So we were all let go
I went outside and got ready to go but found that Kimberly Caldwell, an Idol from Season 2 was there. She now works for TV Guide channel as an interviewer. She was interviewing people who had lost and who had won. I had brought my Paula scrapbook with me and I thought, "I'll show this to Kim, who knows Paula, and then Kim can mention me to Paula." Then it occured to me that some of the pictures of Paula had her with the Idols so I found one with Kim's picture. When she was finished with an interview I went up to her and asked her to sign her picture. Her cameraman was on us and filming and she asked, "What is this book?" I told her it was my Paula scrapbook and she thought that was so sweet. I told her I had brought it to have Paula sign it but unfortunately that wouldn't happen right now. She said she was sorry. Then I had my picture taken with her and I left.
I had a lot of fun even if I didn't meet Paula. If the age limit is still the same next year I'm definitely going to audition again!
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