Hey there, readers! Do you love the thrill of a performance? Can you sing decently? Would you like to win the chance to get a Dream Ticket, which allows you to make a reservation to sing for actual American Idol judges? If you answered "yes" to at least two of these (I sure did), Disney's American Idol Experience is for you! Located at Echo Lake in Hollywood Studios, the American Idol Experience lets you take your first step to stardom, or, at least, bragging to all of your friends about performing in front of a bunch of people. If the stage is not for you, feel free to stop by the stadium at one of the performances to watch people perform. If you're like myself, however, and whish to perform, here are some things you'll want to know, along with other things I just felt like saying.
First, the starting audition. This is located at several locations in Hollywood Studios. Pretty much, they're small stands that have American Idol wallpaper and someone screaming into a microphone about how everyone within 25 feet of him/her should audition for the Experience. You'd have to be blind and deaf to miss these stands. My advice would be to audition as early into the day as possible. Much like an average day in an amusement park, it gets more popular during the afternoon, and auditioning around that time will weaken your chances of getting in. Also, everyone wants to go on rides at the beginning of the day, so you have even less competition. When you approach the stand and express your desire to sing in the Experience, they'll give you the microphone and tell you to sing a song. Just any old song you can come up with. I sang "I Wanna Hold Your Hand" by the Beatles, and did a horrible job because I was nervous. They let me in anyway.
A word of caution, because I was sixteen at the time of my audition, I had to have a parent/guardian accompany me at ALL TIMES during the Experience. If you are under 18 years of age, you should expect the same treatment, so be sure to have a parent/guardian with you. A positive for this is that your parent has to be the one to fill out those obnoxious forms. If you are 18 or older, you are allowed to bring a friend with you during the time before performances for moral support. This is a given, bring someone morally supportive; however, you'll have to fill out your own forms. I don't think your friend is THAT morally supportive. Also, while a parent/guardian will have to be with you even during the performance (they'll be backstage so they can't embarass you), your moral support has to be in the audience during the performance.
If you get past the mini-audition, you will be lead to the Coca-Cola Lounge inside of the backstage area of the the Experience. Just letting you know, the Coca-Cola Lounge is AWESOME. It has comfy chairs, the Song List, and video iPods. That video iPod will become your best friend in the Lounge, since it has the original and karaoke versions of every song on the Song List. Luckily for you, I found the Song List online, so you can look at it and get a headstart: http://www.wdwnews.com/viewpressrelease.aspx?pressreleaseid=112170&siteid=1. You're welcome.
I picked "Hit Me With Your Best Shot", which was a good and bad thing. While it was a good decision vocally, because I rock that song like no other, it wasn't a good decision in terms of pleasing the crowd. Keep in mind that the audience will be made mostly of children and their parents/guardians. Children love Disney songs, especially High School Musical and Camp Rock or whatever. I needn't tell you which section to look in. Also, one of me and Maddi's friends, Steve, is a fantastic singer, but lost to some chick who sang "God Bless America" or something. No one can vote against America. Just letting you know.
Once you decide on a song, you'll want to listen to the karaoke tracks given to you. Even if you know the original song by heart, the Experience only wants to hear a minute or so of you, so they've shortened the track. Learn the summarized version of the song given, and feel free to sing it to yourself a couple times before heading in. No one's going to judge you. Except me, probably.
Once they call you in, you'll be lead into a room with just a guy sitting at a desk (or a girl, but since I had a guy I'll use masculine references for this part) and a TV screen behind him. Odds are he's extremely friendly, so relax. Be extremely friendly back. He'll tell you to stand on a mark on the floor and sing your song. Your practice in the Coca-Cola lounge will not fail you, since the TV screen projects the lyrics to the song karaoke-style. Once you're done singing, the guy behind the desk will pull up a video of Ryan Seacrest telling you if you got in or not. Just a warning, Mr. Seacrest likes to fake people out. If you got in (like myself), he looks and acts all sad in the beginning of the clip, then tells you that you're going to HOLLYWOOD! Even if you were expecting this result, jump and cheer and freak out. Guy in the desk won't judge you.
Guy in the desk will give you Fast Passes for everyone in your group (awesome) and a lanyard that says "Vote for me!" with the Experience's logo. Wear it proudly. You'll be told to come back to the studio at a certain time for pre-show preparations. For the love of all that is good, be there on time.
At your assigned time, you (and your parent/guardian if you're under 18) are ready for pre-show preparations. First, you and your fellow performers will be put into a room whose name I'm currently blanking on (The Green Room? Maybe) and talked to by a cast member about what you'll be doing.
Next, you will be lead into the Hair and Makeup Room, which, even if you're a guy, you're getting treated in. I was very happy because they liked my eye makeup so much that they didn't change it. Did you hear that, world? Professional makeup artists liked MY makeup. Boo yeah. They also played around with my hair, though there's not much that can be done for hair as short as mine. By the end of it all, even I thought I looked pretty damn good.
Right after you get prettied up, you're taken into another room to practice your performance with a professional vocal coach. This was probably my favorite part of the process. First, he'll go over the song with you a few times. Once he's confident in your ability to sing the notes correctly, he'll work on your stage presence, which is on the same level as your singing skills when it comes to the Experience. This guy (or girl, depends on if they've hired someone else within a year) has been hired by Disney to help you. He knows what he's doing. Listen to him.
You and your fellow performers will next be lead to the stage area. It's completely idiot-proof. It will seem complicated at first, but the cast members have done and will do everything they can to make sure you won't eff up. The stage is marked, there are numbers and colors, everything's laid out for you to follow like a map.
Did I mention the magnificance of the stage? It's a technological feat, for me, at least. They'll give you a device to attach to your clothes. What happens with that clip is that while you're performing, the light system and cameras follow the clip. There's no way for the lights or cameras to miss you. It's pure genius, brought to you by your friendly neighborhood Mouseketeers.
The dress rehearsal is simple enough. The cast members walk you through the performance, and have you sing your song so they can set up whatever lighting they need to get. Piece of cake.
Before you can say "I'm not even interested in getting a Dream Pass, why am I here in the first place?", it's performance time! Once they let in the audience, it's all on. Feel free to act as nicely and interestingly as you want. Everyone loves a friendly, interesting person, especially if said person busts out into "Part of Your World". You get the idea. You and your fellow performers will perform, the audience will vote, and the winner will be promptly announced after a quick Q&A with the performers. If you're the winner, congrats! I wasn't. Why? One of my fellow performers sang "Circle of Life". What did I tell you? Always go for Disney or America.
I'm not particulary sure what happens if you win the first round, but I know that there's always final performances at seven PM. One could safely assume that you'll be doing the same exact thing that you just did, except for higher stakes and with better competitors. Prepare yourself. Clear your schedule. Make me proud.
No comments:
Post a Comment