Spring Break
Your 15 seconds of fame starts in 12 hours
Derek Campbell
Issue date: 8/18/08 Section: Culture
We found our seats and almost immediately, the producers began constructing the shots they needed, with some haste and not much tact. On several occasions, the 10,000 "Idol" hopefuls filling the seats at Kemper were told to "shut up," some being singled out by the men with the microphones for interrupting their filming processes.
The audience participated in a long string of robotic singing and staged cheering at the cameras for two grueling hours before auditions finally began. Unfortunately, there was still no sign of Randy, Simon, Paula or even "Idol" poster boy, Ryan Seacrest. In the middle of Kemper Arena, 12 stations were lined up with each with two members of the production staff who served as preliminary round judges to weed out people who either weren't good singers or weren't good enough "television."
After one hour of auditions, the tables were cleared. While those of us who had not yet auditioned were thoroughly confused, the waiting was about to finally pay off. Though only a fraction of a percentage of the people in that arena would go on to see the "Idol" triumvirate, Kemper filled with camera flashes as "American Idol" host, Ryan Seacrest," came in to do his shots for the Kansas City audition episode.
At approximately 3:00 p.m., my section was finally called to audition. In rows of four, Hollywood hopefuls sang their hearts out for up to 30 seconds to either be sent home or to get the famous "golden ticket." While the producers thought my version of "Walking in Memphis" was "very nice and sounded good," they said, "it just isn't what we are looking for."
Those who were passed through to the next round included: a young man wearing a banana yellow blazer and bright orange pants; a guy wearing a feathered pimp hat and an outfit with dollar signs all over it; a girl who reminded me of a cross between a poodle, a mime, and a tap dancer and maybe one or two absolutely amazing singers. Be on the lookout in January to see if Kansas City can produce two "American Idol" winners in a row.
dcampbell@unews.com
The audience participated in a long string of robotic singing and staged cheering at the cameras for two grueling hours before auditions finally began. Unfortunately, there was still no sign of Randy, Simon, Paula or even "Idol" poster boy, Ryan Seacrest. In the middle of Kemper Arena, 12 stations were lined up with each with two members of the production staff who served as preliminary round judges to weed out people who either weren't good singers or weren't good enough "television."
After one hour of auditions, the tables were cleared. While those of us who had not yet auditioned were thoroughly confused, the waiting was about to finally pay off. Though only a fraction of a percentage of the people in that arena would go on to see the "Idol" triumvirate, Kemper filled with camera flashes as "American Idol" host, Ryan Seacrest," came in to do his shots for the Kansas City audition episode.
At approximately 3:00 p.m., my section was finally called to audition. In rows of four, Hollywood hopefuls sang their hearts out for up to 30 seconds to either be sent home or to get the famous "golden ticket." While the producers thought my version of "Walking in Memphis" was "very nice and sounded good," they said, "it just isn't what we are looking for."
Those who were passed through to the next round included: a young man wearing a banana yellow blazer and bright orange pants; a guy wearing a feathered pimp hat and an outfit with dollar signs all over it; a girl who reminded me of a cross between a poodle, a mime, and a tap dancer and maybe one or two absolutely amazing singers. Be on the lookout in January to see if Kansas City can produce two "American Idol" winners in a row.
dcampbell@unews.com
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