5 a.m., July 21: Amanda arrives and we head to Freedom Hall. I have decided to do a Ray Charles tune instead of a Whitney Houston number, in hopes of standing out and not being too cheesy. We carpool with Katy Rene, another “Idol” hopeful. It’s not even 5:30 a.m., but we drive straight into chaos. People are everywhere, and once again a massive line wraps around Freedom Hall.
Camera crews talk to hopefuls, asking their song choice. Lots of people are singing, practicing their songs over and over. There’s a group of girls singing an Alicia Keys song. They have three-part harmonies going and sound really great. One has tattoos all over her arms, another looks like she is about 29, and the last girl has a sweet lower voice. I can also tell that most of the people around me are nervous. Some people are pacing back and forth. A lot of girls are doing their hair and makeup over and over. Everyone has a theory about what the producers are looking for.
My section of new friends hope they want more organic, original type of artists — something new for America to see. Hey, like us! The girls behind us, however, look like would-be pop idols with too much makeup. They just want to be on television. We all conclude that it’s a mystery. No one knows what the producers really want.
After three hours in line, we are finally inside the building. But before the individual auditions start, we must endure the cheesiest part of it all. We now have to sing two songs as a group and the songs picked are “Louie Louie” and “Get Ready.” We have to shout, in unison, things like “Getting Lucky in Kentucky! Woohoo!” and “Welcome to the Bluegrass State” and, in a nod to the eighth season of “Idol,” “Five-Six-Seven-Eight!” followed by the obligatory fist pump. It was cheese overload. This is the soul-sucking price of seeking fame. It is too early for this.
But I grin and bear it. All of it, including the guy in a cowboy hat walking around screaming “Welcome to Kentucky!” Not sure if he was hired by the show to represent the commonwealth or if he was a real hopeful. But it’s time to put on a happy face.
