Big Easy, Part 2
Sorry it took so long for me to post again. I went to NC for Labor Day to hang out with my twin sis and my dad. We actually went to the beach (!) and the hurricane made things downright lovely there, seriously. I felt a little guilty about relaxing and getting some sun...but hey, we drove through lots of hurricane weather on the way home. Anywho, good times were had by all. Yay.
And now, I get to share the rest of my New Orleans trip! I wish I had a really exciting story to tell you, about how I sang my heart out, and I got to meet Paula and Simon and Randy and tell Paula how "Will You Marry Me?" from her album Spellbound was like totally my anthem when I was younger, and tell Simon that I secretly think he is hunky in his tight shirts, and tell Randy: what's up dawg?
But. That SO did NOT happen. (Can you tell I visualized a couple of times though? )
What happened is that we headed back to the Superdome at 3:30 AM (and thank God for Sarah because Anne Marie and I would've kept sleeping until 5:00 the next evening.) Once in the Superdome, we had nothing to do but SIT THERE. (well, and knit, obviously.) I was kind of jumpy and getting nervous since this was in front of me....
those booths are where the judges sit.
Like, I actually have to sing for somebody! Argh! Click for more...
Here's me and Sarah knitting in our seats....
Sarah worked on a gift and so did I. Shh!
And Anne Marie....
How cute is she?!!?
Anne Marie worked on a Bottoms Up Bucket the entire time we were there, seriously. Even after we'd been there for about 5 hours... and the producers started filming crowd shots for the actual show with this camera...
This camera swung back and forth and filmed us being excited.
We had to jump up and down, and cheer and say "Welcome to New Orleans!" and "I"m the Next American Idol!" and "Simon, you suck!" and all sorts of other exciting and realistic crowd sayings. We also had to sing "Dancing in the Streets". (Note to American Idol producers: Attempting to get a crowd of 10,000 very sleepy people to sing "Dancing in the Streets" in UNISON? Bad idea. Really.)
And throughout ALL OF THIS, Anne Marie was holding her Bucket Hat, and knitting. I kid you not. If you see us on TV, you will see the three of us, and you will see Anne Marie's little circular needles flying. Or maybe you'll see Sarah putting the smackdown on some rude seatmates we had, but you'll have to ask her about that.... :)
Anyways, the actual auditions started about 8:45 or 9AM. (by now, we'd been in the Superdome for about six hours.) But, our section was after about 2000 people, so we got to watch the crowd filter down to the field, and filter out. And man, were the judges harsh. They let through VERY FEW people at all, so when someone got sent to the LEFT instead of the RIGHT, all of us would cheer wildly (and secretly hope that we got to do the same thing.)
Here's a large pop-up pic so you can see what it looked like when people started auditioning...
They sent people forward in groups of four. You would step up to a table of one or two producers. (note: you only got to sing for Randy, Simon and Paula after making past two cuts) Then, each person would sing individually until a producer held their hand up (signaling to stop). Then, after everyone in your little group of four had finished, they would call you all forward and give you the verdict.
You could kinda tell when they were going to pass someone through, because most of the time they had the lucky person sing more than one song. But dude...it was slow going for a while....no one was getting through. By the time my group went up, I would say about 2000 auditionees had gone, and about 40 were passed on to the next level.
So, here I go!
I'm the one with the red arrow over my head.
I sang "Hanky Panky," a Madonna song from the Dick Tracy soundtrack. It's kind of obscure and jazzy, and a little naughty, and I was hoping that it would make me stand out. Not so much. But, I'll be honest...I have never been so nervous in my life! I've been to lots of auditions for musicals, and choirs, etc., and usually once I get in front of the auditioners, I get comfortable and belt it out. This time, I was totally overwhelmed. I had heard these absolutely amazing singers who were singing their butts off, and they all got rejected. So why did I even think I could do this? AACCKKK!
But, I sang my song. I even mustered a little movement, and a smile. I had energy. I got through a verse and a chorus before the judge asked me to talk to the hand. (well, not really. but you know what I mean.)
And just like that, after five hours in the line to get in line, and nine hours of sitting in stadium seating, it was over. My whole group got cut. We didn't have the "spark" they were looking for. I immediately called Anne Marie, who was genuinely surprised ! and disappointed. (That girl has so much faith in me!) We met Sarah outside and decided that our next move was obviously to go to Cafe Du Monde and get beignets. So we did.
Beignets, how I love thee.
So, maybe I was tiny bit disappointed that I didn't get to be on American Idol. I was, a little bit. But I had the most amazing time with two amazing girls** , and I got to be in New Orleans and eat and shop and knit, and it was definitely one of the nuttiest things I've ever done. And I DID IT.
**(hey, Anne Marie and Sarah: okay. NOW look at my boobs. )
Comments (23)
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Posted by big brother big sister | November 14, 2004 2:52 AM
Sorry it didn't happen for you this time. I'm also auditioning too.It's my 3rd idol...the lucky one I hope.Both seasons I've audition for,I made all the cuts and saw paula,simon, and randy(they also got televised) I really wish this one is it.I been prepping 24/7 and taking hard core voice lessons.Anyhow,Carrie I would suggest for you to come to San Francisco and audition...It isn't over yet.This time sing something more known.You can do It.
Mike garcia
e-mail me if you like
Posted by Michael Garcia | September 17, 2004 3:27 PM
Great verve and sas! I admire that you did it!
Posted by Melly | September 10, 2004 7:54 PM
I bet next year, if you sing really awfully and throw beignets at them, they'll let you through. They only cut you this year because you're actually GOOD!
Yay for a fun trip, though! Sounds great.
Posted by Bethany | September 9, 2004 1:32 PM
I've heard you sing, doll, and they were CRAZY to let you go, but there's next year. I'm so proud of you!
Posted by Rachael | September 9, 2004 1:57 AM
What a great story~and it so great that you were able to spend time with those lovely ladies! Congrats for having the "cajones" to even go and audition! Keep at it :)
Posted by Lauren | September 8, 2004 7:47 PM
Sounds like you guys had an awesome time. I love that you guys were sitting there knitting... good use of some spare time! :)
ooohhh... the beignets! I am so jealous! Casey and I were seriously dying when we were watching that donut show. That is why we had to get Krispy Kreme's the other day... and why we ate too many and felt sick.
oops. Glad you are back, we all missed you! :)
Posted by frecklegirl | September 8, 2004 4:15 PM
Beignets are better than American Idol anyway!
Posted by patricia | September 8, 2004 2:05 PM
Yay for Carrie! I remember Auditioning...it's so nerve wracking! Props to you sweetie for getting up there and getting it done.
Next year!!
Posted by Heather | September 8, 2004 1:20 PM
That is an amazing story! I can't believe how many people were there at the auditions. Good for you for trying, and you know, so much of that is just being in the right place at the right time. You are still our little knitblog American idol, and hey, you got to have amazing coffee and beignets, and it doesn't get much better than that!
Posted by Mariko | September 8, 2004 1:17 PM
Rock on, sister! It sounds like you had an amazing time, and with 2 fabulous knitter girlfriends to back you up, you can't go wrong no matter what. Friends with faith in you are so priceless! You will kick major bootay next year, I'm certain!
Posted by Giao | September 8, 2004 12:20 PM
Carrie,
I think it's fabulous that you even went there to try out. Good for you. Don't ever give up on your dream!! Either way it's great that you had so much fun. :-)
Posted by Eilene | September 8, 2004 10:25 AM
You go, girl! I'm bummed that you didn't get it this year, but next year, baby! Next year! Hey, maybe all the Monkeyknits girls can come down and cheer you on?!?
Posted by Jen L | September 8, 2004 9:34 AM
Well there's really no excuse: tv producers are dumb. Maybe they needed more coffee or something. You totally have to go back next year! And thanks for posting all your pictures, so we can see what it was really like -- the beignets, oh the beignets.....
Posted by Ann | September 8, 2004 9:16 AM
Now that I know the mystery behind the AI auditions...I'm more than a little perturbed that the judges clearly need to look for the ridiculous singers as well. Feh.
I loved reading about your trip and audition experience! Mmmmmm....beignets. You know you can order the mix, right? Maybe I should do that. Might be cheaper than flying there.
Posted by Em | September 8, 2004 9:11 AM
they missed their chance - one day you will be famous and they'll come crawling to lick your boots...
Posted by carolyn | September 8, 2004 8:56 AM
how satisfying to finally read what happened in your exciting adventure. I am very sorry that you didn't get the chance to make Simon crap his pants, because you surely would have, but oh well -his loss, right? xoxo MJ
Posted by mj | September 8, 2004 8:43 AM
Thanks for sharing the behind-the-scenes of American Idol with us! What an experience! And I'm sorry it didn't work out for you this year, but you're right--NEXT YEAR!
Nothin' like a road trip with the gals! Yay girlfriends!
Posted by Rossana | September 8, 2004 7:36 AM
i'm so glad you took the chance and auditioned, but dude, i'm going to have to endure the hundreds of bad singers when the show starts to air- and you get cut! the injustice of it all.
xo
Posted by rachel m | September 8, 2004 6:52 AM
I'm with Beth on the beignets... I haven't had one in soooo long, seeing them is making me long to be in NOLA. :) I think the judges were crazy to not see you as we all do, but you can say that you did it!! Keep trying! You look like ya'll had a ton of fun! :)
Posted by Holly | September 8, 2004 12:39 AM
Hi! I found you via Giao.
That is so GREAT that you auditioned, but what I think is even more FAB is that you were knitting there too! Now that's a diehard knitter if I ever saw one! :)
Posted by Rubber-Sol | September 8, 2004 12:24 AM
I gotta admit, I got most excited when I saw the beignets. There's always room for beignets. I'm so jealous. I live in St. Louis, and I rarely get to go to New Orleans, but it's my favorite place in the whole world. Reading about your trip gave me that sick little "I'm not in NOLA!" feeling but I loved it anyway. Glad you had a good time. Now, get some sleep!
Posted by Beth | September 7, 2004 11:53 PM
Experiences like this will be remembered for a lifetime.... good for you that you had the experience... how many people can say they tried?! I'm proud of you. Going back next year is a great idea... if at first you don't succeed, try, try again :) I'm so excited about you and Sarah meeting up... I wish you two would get over to our group and tell us all about it. You three girls look adorable together :)
Posted by Teresa | September 7, 2004 11:25 PM