Re: fascinating AIdol reading
This is all true. I audition every year with a friend (and made it to the judges in season 3) and by far, the hardest round to get through is the first, huge cattle call, when in each city, they weed 10,000 down to about 200-250. This round takes place in a stadium of some sort (here in LA they do it at the Rosebowl). During this round, they line you up 4 at a time in front of a tent (there are about 12 on the field) and each person sings about 30 seconds of a song.
All day, they turn away great singer after great singer. The people they take have to really stand out, either for being very good but different (Taylor Hicks, etc) or very very bad. I'd say about 1/3 of the people they take are bad people.
Then, the 2nd round, they weed the 200-250 down to about 100-120, and constantly remind people not to mention to the cameras that this is the 2nd audition. They really want to create the illusion that SRP see all 10,000 people in every city.
This second round usually takes place in a hotel, lasts for about 10 hours, and there are many interviews and such during the day. Finally, when you audition, it's in front of the British producers (Warwick and Lithgoe) and about30 other PA's, etc. and this takes place in the room that you see on tv.
If you make it through this round, then at a much later date (up to a MONTH later) you come back and audition for SRP.
It is very cruel and manipulative, the way that they pump up the bad singers. Just imagine, you go to the audition to hang out with a friend of yours who is the actual singer. You end up singing for the heck of it, and it's not so good, but they take you! Then, you're taken in the second round. Wow, maybe you could actually be the next American Idol! The entire audition process is very very long and grueling, there's a lot of waiting, a lot of time to let your mind wander. The bad singers are like lambs to the Simon Slaughter.
It seems that every year, there are usually only 2 or 3 people who have a true crack at winning. Just imagine how much better the competition would be if they took more good singers in the initial cattle call round.
Because this first round is the hardest round to advance from in the entire competition, I recommend to anyone thinking about auditioning, who is actually a good singer, to sing very very poorly in the 1st round, or to do something totally bizarre, so that you stand out and get to the judges, then sing well for real.
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