so i went to the american idol auditions on aug 19

a friend and i decided to go to get a glimpse at the "inside". gosh, i was so fooled. it used to be my favorite show, but i was soooo disappointed, i don't know if i can watch it anymore.

the auds were in east rutherford, nj. a lot of ppl tend to think that auds they show in the big cities with paula, randy, & simon are the only auditions held. that is false information because you have to go thru 3-4 rounds of preliminary judging by low-level producers before you get to see the three famous judges. the clips they show of tons of people yelling to the camera aren't even at the actual locations. in east rutherford, they had us chant hollywood! hollywood! they do it at every one of the preliminary judgings when tons of ppl show up (there were 15,000 ppl on the day we auditioned) and use the "best ones" on tv.

so yeah...we showed up a couple days early to get our audition tickets and wristbands. then on the 19th, we got to the izod center at 5:00 am and stood in line for 3 hrs in 90 degree weather before being let in. this is the first bullshit move they pulled so that the news crew cameras could get a good view of all the auditioners. there were between 3-6 helicopters hovering over us outside at any given time, plus news cameras set up on roofs. the reason i say this is bullshit is because everyone has an assigned seat anyway, so instead of making people stand in line for 3 hrs, they could easily just have ppl from diff sections arrive in increments and let them go in.

once we got in, here is a pic to give you an idea of the amount of auditioners:

so once we got in, they had us sing two songs for the camera - hit me with your best shot by pat benatar and get ready by the temptations. cool, cause i learned a new song...uncool, cause the # of times they make you sing it totally wreaks havoc on your vocal chords. then they had us to chants, such as "idol, idol!" and "i love new york!" (even though we were in nj). then they had us cheer and dance and look happy for filming. someone behind us said that it was the "best wave they'd ever seen" because everyone was so sick of it that they would sit down when the camera left them (they had a wide lens circling the arena), and then get up again when the camera got close to their section.

when all that nonsense was done (took about 3 1/2 hrs), the actual auditions started. the way it was set up is that we were called down section by section to line up and sing before some unknown producers in groups of four. they constructed some makeshift booths for us, which did nothing to reduce the volume of everyone talking in the arena nor afforded any privacy whatsoever, pic:



before anyone else got to audition, one of the producers (quite a dickhead, fyi) got up on the floor and said, "all the people who got a letter from fox saying that you were "special" please come down now". so these "special" people went before anyone else and got 2-3 minutes for their individual auditions. call me crazy, but that seemed super sketchy to me.

there was also this highly suspicious marriage proposal. this girl's fiance called her down from the stands and made a big ole scene, had the kids there and everything (odd because one of the stipulations was that no kids were to be brought to the arena). she was oh so hysterical and amazed, but still managed to slow down while the camera followed her and flash the ring.

i forgot to mention that all press other than the american idol cameras was ordered to leave the premises before the auditions began, and while "non-moving photography" was allowed, any type of video was forbidden. anyway, when us commoners got to audition, we were called down in sections to line up and audition for unknown producers in groups of four. as it turned out, my friend and i were seated in one of the very last sections, so we got to see thousands of auditions. of the 15,000 people that came to sing, we both agreed that there were roughly 50-60 who made it through to the next round - maybe less, maybe a couple more. and, of those, maybe 15 could actually sing. the rest were either a.) in a costume, b.) ripped off their clothes, c.) did a strange dance, d.) generally looked and acted like an idiot. so, by the time our turn came, we were absolutely positive that we had no chance of getting through. which was fine with us, because it had been a pretty interesting day. the funny thing was that there was this girl sitting next to us who was very friendly and asked us for some opinions on what song she should sing and such. she looked like a gogo dancer - zebra print skirt, shiny purple belt, very gaudy makeup - and her singing was pretty much awful. lo and behold, she was in our group, and ended up being the one person to make it through.

so, after we got this lovely shpiel from our totally apathetic producer: "thank you very much for coming out today. we realize that it has been a long day for everyone, and we really appreciate that you took the time to audition. unfortunately, it's going to be a no for number 1, 2, and 4." we were promptly rushed to a person who cut off and threw away our wristbands. earlier, when we went down onto the floor, our audition ticket was also taken. so, after 15 hours of standing/singing/sitting, we weren't even allowed to keep those two little souvenirs. it was almost as if they wanted people to believe we'd never actually been there...hmmmm....

Very interesting.

I only watch Americal Idol on the first day of the new season just to get a laugh. I don't watch it agaon until the last 2 are on and I just watch who won.

To me it has gotten boring.

I am into ANTM know.

i'll prly do that too when the next season starts. i used to watch antm a couple years ago, but for some reason i haven't watched it lately. maybe the air time or something.

haha, yeah. it certainly makes a good story, as very few people have any idea how it goes. it amazes me that any good singers (aside from the "special ones") are actually noticed.

i'd also like to know what one does to acquire "special" status.

you're welcome, m'dear.

I started watching 2nd season, when Clay Aiken came in second, but was clearly a winner too, which was the also the best and most memorable for me. That season was pretty awesome! Seriously, now i wished they would just forego all the goofiness and tacky singers, that magically somehow get through. It's tiring now & a time waster, imo..lol The first few years, it was kind of funny & new, but seen it too many times, and just get on with the better singers, already please..lol

Anyway, I've just finished watching Canadian Idol (not sure if Americans get it); tuned into the last 3 singers. Theo Tams was the winner this season.

Thx for posting the 'inside' wheels, interesting!

oh, yeah ..i've heard rumblings or rumours that AI may now get a fourth judge, another female? maybe ..

never heard that before. wonder who?

The 4th Idol judge is going to be Kara DioGuardi - award-winning songwriter, producer.