ILS1
08-25-2005, 03:41 PM
By Diane Holloway
AMERICAN-STATESMAN TELEVISION WRITER
Thursday, August 25, 2005
"Austin rocks!" roared the throngs, prompted by an energetic team of "American Idol" staffers.
A festive — or maybe slap-happy — crowd snaked half-way around the outside the Erwin Center on two levels. Thousands of pop-star wannabes were clamoring to be the next Kelly, Ruben, Fantasia or Carrie.
"American Idol" wrapped up two days of wristband hand-outs Thursday with a long day of nerve-wracking auditions. The numbers, unofficially estimated at 6,000 to 8,000 yesterday, will be whittled to mere hundreds for today's round.
Many arrived at 4 a.m., mashed together for long hours in the pre-dawn darkness. Girls helped each other look glamorous; guys pretended to be cool and not care. Mary Dawson of Dallas, offering "consoling and advice" to the rejects, handed out fliers.
Some in this jeans-and-satin crowd dragged suitcases and carried pillows; others traveled light with water bottles and cell phones. All knew that a few seconds of singing could make or break their dreams.
The fifth season of "Idol," seen by some 30 million people each week (second only to "CSI" in overall ratings), debuts in January. Austin, for the second time in the show's history, is one of a handful of audition cities. Hopefuls who make it through today's second round will return Oct. 2 to sing for judges Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson and Paula Abdul. Winners in that group will go to Hollywood.
"It went really well," said Billy Instone, 28, of Austin, who emerged from his audition with a sly grin and a coveted blue slip sending him back today. "I'm a musician, and I just want to get my music out."
A hard rocker with long black hair, black clothes and a chin stud, Instone hopes to be the next Bo Bice, the Southern rocker who was runner-up to country crooner Carrie Underwood last season. A "traveling DJ," he turns 29 in two weeks and barely made the age limit of 28.
Nolan Muña, 20, of Austin, also returns today. This is his fourth try over three seasons of "Idol," and he said it was as nerve-wracking as ever. His legs were shaking in Houston, New Orleans and San Francisco, and they were shaking in Austin today.
Why does the Texas State University student keep putting himself through such torture?
"I can't say it's destiny, and it's not really self-validation," Muña said. "I guess I just want to prove to my friends and family that I can do it."
Michelle LaPoint, a 27-year-old tech manager from Austin, sang "Sitting on the Dock of the Bay" and "Lean on Me." The slight, soft-spoken young woman said she was surprised when they handed her the blue slip "because I had really low expectations."
The odds for success are slim. While hundreds made it through to today's round, thousands did not.
Austin's Elizabeth Taliaferro, 25, expected to make the cut. She won a contest sponsored by Fox 7 TV and KISS FM that gave her automatic placement in the auditions. She didn't have to stand in line for a wristband; she just had to show up and sing.
A jazz and blues singer, Taliaferro is a self-professed "big woman with a big voice," and she wasn't sure how that would go over with producers. But the Crockett High grad who works in a South Austin bank was optimistic about making it to Round 2. With Melody Cantu, her best friend since sixth grade, Taliaferro was calm before the auditions.
On the floor of the Erwin Center were 12 booths in a long line. Inside each booth were two chairs for the producer/judges. As the crowds filed in, production staff shouted encouragement and led sing-alongs of "Deep in the Heart of Texas" as scenes were filmed for the show.
Instructions were given for "winners and nonwinners" to make separate exits after their lightning-quick shot at fame. Reporters and photographers were sent outside during the auditions to await the grinners and weepers. Within minutes, the first nonwinner arrived.
"Tears! Tears" yelled a Fox reporter from Dallas as he signaled his cameraman to catch Reject No. 1.
Taliaferro emerged quickly, too. She won't be back.
"It was really stressful, and I'm really sad," she said with a determined smile. "I guess I rock in Austin, but not all over the world." Asked to sing, Taliaferro belted out a few lines, prompting one woman to mutter, "Geez, it must be brutal in there if this is the talent they're rejecting."
Lindsey Przano, 16, from the Dallas area, couldn't stop sobbing after her rejection, even with mom Dawan offering hugs.
"I don't know what they're looking for," Lindsey said, wiping tears that kept flowing. "I just don't know."
"You got to dream your dream," said mom, patting her girl. "And you're not done. It's going to be OK."
A few nonwinners were mad, not sad. "I wasted all that time," one young man hissed as he left.
Leila Hernandez, 24, of Austin, admitted she came to the auditions just hoping to make the "gag reel," the segments on "Idol" with the awful/funny wannabes. She was rejected.
"I thought I had the worst going for me, but apparently I didn't have enough," Hernandez said with a laugh.
Casting for "Idol" is mysterious business. There's no one particular look, sound or style that seems preferred.
"We don't know what we're looking for," said coordinating producer Patrick Lynn. "But once we see it, we'll know."
American Idol Auditions In Austin (www.austin360.com/news/content/movies/television/2005/08/26idol.html)
AMERICAN-STATESMAN TELEVISION WRITER
Thursday, August 25, 2005
"Austin rocks!" roared the throngs, prompted by an energetic team of "American Idol" staffers.
A festive — or maybe slap-happy — crowd snaked half-way around the outside the Erwin Center on two levels. Thousands of pop-star wannabes were clamoring to be the next Kelly, Ruben, Fantasia or Carrie.
"American Idol" wrapped up two days of wristband hand-outs Thursday with a long day of nerve-wracking auditions. The numbers, unofficially estimated at 6,000 to 8,000 yesterday, will be whittled to mere hundreds for today's round.
Many arrived at 4 a.m., mashed together for long hours in the pre-dawn darkness. Girls helped each other look glamorous; guys pretended to be cool and not care. Mary Dawson of Dallas, offering "consoling and advice" to the rejects, handed out fliers.
Some in this jeans-and-satin crowd dragged suitcases and carried pillows; others traveled light with water bottles and cell phones. All knew that a few seconds of singing could make or break their dreams.
The fifth season of "Idol," seen by some 30 million people each week (second only to "CSI" in overall ratings), debuts in January. Austin, for the second time in the show's history, is one of a handful of audition cities. Hopefuls who make it through today's second round will return Oct. 2 to sing for judges Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson and Paula Abdul. Winners in that group will go to Hollywood.
"It went really well," said Billy Instone, 28, of Austin, who emerged from his audition with a sly grin and a coveted blue slip sending him back today. "I'm a musician, and I just want to get my music out."
A hard rocker with long black hair, black clothes and a chin stud, Instone hopes to be the next Bo Bice, the Southern rocker who was runner-up to country crooner Carrie Underwood last season. A "traveling DJ," he turns 29 in two weeks and barely made the age limit of 28.
Nolan Muña, 20, of Austin, also returns today. This is his fourth try over three seasons of "Idol," and he said it was as nerve-wracking as ever. His legs were shaking in Houston, New Orleans and San Francisco, and they were shaking in Austin today.
Why does the Texas State University student keep putting himself through such torture?
"I can't say it's destiny, and it's not really self-validation," Muña said. "I guess I just want to prove to my friends and family that I can do it."
Michelle LaPoint, a 27-year-old tech manager from Austin, sang "Sitting on the Dock of the Bay" and "Lean on Me." The slight, soft-spoken young woman said she was surprised when they handed her the blue slip "because I had really low expectations."
The odds for success are slim. While hundreds made it through to today's round, thousands did not.
Austin's Elizabeth Taliaferro, 25, expected to make the cut. She won a contest sponsored by Fox 7 TV and KISS FM that gave her automatic placement in the auditions. She didn't have to stand in line for a wristband; she just had to show up and sing.
A jazz and blues singer, Taliaferro is a self-professed "big woman with a big voice," and she wasn't sure how that would go over with producers. But the Crockett High grad who works in a South Austin bank was optimistic about making it to Round 2. With Melody Cantu, her best friend since sixth grade, Taliaferro was calm before the auditions.
On the floor of the Erwin Center were 12 booths in a long line. Inside each booth were two chairs for the producer/judges. As the crowds filed in, production staff shouted encouragement and led sing-alongs of "Deep in the Heart of Texas" as scenes were filmed for the show.
Instructions were given for "winners and nonwinners" to make separate exits after their lightning-quick shot at fame. Reporters and photographers were sent outside during the auditions to await the grinners and weepers. Within minutes, the first nonwinner arrived.
"Tears! Tears" yelled a Fox reporter from Dallas as he signaled his cameraman to catch Reject No. 1.
Taliaferro emerged quickly, too. She won't be back.
"It was really stressful, and I'm really sad," she said with a determined smile. "I guess I rock in Austin, but not all over the world." Asked to sing, Taliaferro belted out a few lines, prompting one woman to mutter, "Geez, it must be brutal in there if this is the talent they're rejecting."
Lindsey Przano, 16, from the Dallas area, couldn't stop sobbing after her rejection, even with mom Dawan offering hugs.
"I don't know what they're looking for," Lindsey said, wiping tears that kept flowing. "I just don't know."
"You got to dream your dream," said mom, patting her girl. "And you're not done. It's going to be OK."
A few nonwinners were mad, not sad. "I wasted all that time," one young man hissed as he left.
Leila Hernandez, 24, of Austin, admitted she came to the auditions just hoping to make the "gag reel," the segments on "Idol" with the awful/funny wannabes. She was rejected.
"I thought I had the worst going for me, but apparently I didn't have enough," Hernandez said with a laugh.
Casting for "Idol" is mysterious business. There's no one particular look, sound or style that seems preferred.
"We don't know what we're looking for," said coordinating producer Patrick Lynn. "But once we see it, we'll know."
American Idol Auditions In Austin (www.austin360.com/news/content/movies/television/2005/08/26idol.html)