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JOURNAL
January 2005
WELCOME BACK, "AMERICAN IDOL"
Of course, in the first few weeks, we are not seeing the best of the best. Anybody and everbody is paraded before the cameras and we get to see some fresh talent – and a lot of hopeless, misguided youths putting on cringe-worthy auditions and bad displays of manners. It's easy to laugh at these people from our seat of superiority, our living room couches, but when we laugh, are we laughing at our own follies of youth, our own misguided dreams?
When I watch the bad "Idol" auditions, I'm always transported back twenty years, when I was a fresh-faced kid in New York, ruddy-cheeked and optimistic, gushing with enthusiasm. I wanted fame and fortune and singing was the most fun way to get there. I might add that I wasn't much of a singer then, my experience consisting of singing along with my 45s, a little bit of choir, a couple of beginning acting classes, and a complete obliviousness as to what I was up against in New York City. Nevertheless, I had no patience for my big moment. I hit the ground running and went to cattle-call audtions my first week in the Big Apple.
My first singing audition was in a rundown building in midtown Manhattan. I had to trudge up several flights of creaky, wooden stairs to get to the site. When I got there, I saw dozens of other hopefuls milling around, most of them around my age. I signed up on a long list of auditionees and waited my turn, finding a corner to sit in and keep rereading my lyrics. (Not something I recommend as audition preparation, by the way.) It was the kind of place where you could hear everyone else's audtion through the thin, plywood walls. Everyone was performing two songs, a ballad and an uptempo.
Finally, my turn came and I strode into the studio and handed my picture and nearly-empty resume to the auditioners seated at the table, introduced myself and went over to the piano. I unfolded my sheet music for the pianist and told him, "Kinda fast." I then moved to the center of the room, smile as wide as the Florida sun, and began my song, I Got the Music in Me. It was a typical "American Idol"-type audition song,, insipid and pointless. (The song is still one of my guilty pleasures; however, I wouldn't sing it.) I remember one man smiling but, looking back, it was probably one of those smiles that said, "I like this kid's spunk but, boy, does he need to work on his talent!" After I finished my song, I went back to the pianist to direct him to my other selection. Just then, one of the auditioners said, "That will be enough. Thank you."
"But I have a ballad," I said, hopefully.
"We don't need to hear it at this time, but thank you."
I tried to keep a dignified smile on my way out, but I realized that fifty people outside the door had heard my (apparently) bad rendition and I had been the only one not allowed to sing two songs. I was ashamed beyond belief and it was the first time I was shocked into the recognition that I had no discernible talent in my chosen profession.
Did I give up? No. Unfortunately, I was cursed with a stubbornness and persistence that few people possess, and, as impractical as a performing career seemed, I had no aptitude or desire for sales or medicine or the burgeoning field of computer science. I did, however, find a good voice teacher and a good acting class and a few dives to perform in and eventually took pride in my growing talent, even if the financial compensation wasn't always there.
Today, I've sung in most of the best small clubs in New York and performed in concerts elsewhere, I've recorded on my own label, I've sung gospel solos to standing ovations, and I've done a few plays and musicals as well. The likelihood of me becoming rich and famous as a pop star are miniscule at this point (does anybody over 25 get a contract anymore?), but that is no longer the point of my life. Staying artistically-minded has kept me young at heart and youthful in appearance, and has made my life richer with experience. And my trials and tribulations have made me a better teacher.
It's also important to remember that we all have our time in the sun, some later than others. After all, mean Simon Cowell is having his time now but where was he when he was twenty-two? Would he like us to see him then?
Unlike the other reality shows, when each season of "American Idol" wraps up, we are left with a small handful of new stars who have truly earned their perch. Who could really deny Kelly and Reuben and Fantasia and Tamyra and Clay and Diana what they've attained? As pop singers, they're all better than Ashlee and Lindsay and Hillary and Ashanti, for sure.
As for the others, the long parade of "losers", they can take heart. Although they will most likely never learn to sing well enough in time to get the big contract, they have shown courage and moxie. Those qualities will serve them well in life, wherever they end up.
What's Your Opinion?
KevScoHall@Verizon.net