Inside American Idol - Ramping Up

Ever wondered what it would be like to audition for American Idol, what happens from the very beginning? Here is an account from Andrea's friend Julie, who went with her a few days ago. I'm going to post it here in its unabbreviated form since it is fascinating and she writes very well.

Andrea auditions today. Go babe!
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Day One
American Idol Auditions
Austin, Texas

Andreá and I met at the eye-squinchingly early hour of 5:00am at her office, where she parked her car & we carpooled in mine. There was hardly another soul on the road as we made our way towards campus. It's kind of fun to drive around in the wee hours of the morning. The city looks somehow cleaner & more inviting.

We snagged a great (door-ding free...!) parking spot in Lot 80, just catty-corner from the Erwin Center. There were very few other cars in the lot, which was encouraging. We made our way down the hill & to the upper level outside the center, near Gate B where the instructions told us they'd be handing out tickets & wristbands. We quickly found the end of the line, and it wasn't really all that far from the start of the line. Again, an encouraging sign. It definitely paid off to arrive early.

I have to hand it to the folks running this thing, all of whom were Austin / Erwin Center event coordinators (i.e., not out-of-town Fox people). The line was designated by a very long barrier gate that stretched all the way around the perimeter of the building, and they had us lined up such that when the sun started to rise, the start of the line was in the shade. How cool is that? In other words, the *end* of the line (which had, apparently, stretched most of the way 'round to the other side of The Drum) was in the morning sun. Makes sense, if you ask me. Especially since we weren't at the end of the line....

Anyway, we plunked down in our little spot & prepared to wait. The 3/4 moon was out, and quite bright. We were the chatty cathys in our area -- the folks around us were all very quiet. In front of us was a pretty young blonde girl who was all done-up (hair straightened, full makeup, and so on). I think she was with her mom. They were both really sweet. Behind us was an even younger, rather teeny African American girl who was with her aunt. Also a sweetie. It was nice to be around cool people. I hope our constant chit-chat didn't annoy them too much.

Our part of the line wound around inside this little alcove/entrance area, so we had a chance to look at some of the folks behind us in line. One girl who was just *full* of energy earned the nickname "Jessica Medina" because she was definitely Jessica's secret twin! Looked quite a lot like her, and even had some of her mannerisms. At one point she spontaneously shouted "People from Dallas say hey!!!" and there were a handful of muttered "heeeey"s. So she said (even louder) "People from AUSTIN say HEY!!" and there was a slightly more enthusiastic "Hey" -- but only slightly. Bless her heart, she was quite the energy ball -- constantly in motion, bouncing around -- but the crowd just wasn't up for it.

There was also The Austin Chickee with Her Austin Boyfriend. She had on the requisite crunched-in cowboy hat, skin-tight belly shirt, and ratty jeans. Her boyfriend wore an iPod, had on some kind of quasi-athletic shorts & T, and sunglasses. At...5:00 am. He was being nice enough to her, but he kept breaking line to wander around, which was making her nervous. I really don't think he wanted to be there. Andreá and I decided that the role of "support friend" is really a job for a gal pal! I mean, I plan to bring not only snacks on Thursday, but also beauty products, and whatever else Andreá wants to make herself byoootemous -- not that she needs anything but her smile and her voice! Nevertheless, the boyfriends in the crowd all seemed a little uncomfortable and out of place.

Several times someone with a video camera would walk by. It wasn't the news or anything -- just average joes documenting the American Idol wristband line for all posterity. Yeah. Inevitably, sections of the line erupted in loud "Whoooooo"s when the camera would get near them. Andreá did our best to avoid being captured by the camera. It *can* steal your soul, you know. At least, at 5:00 on a Tuesday morning it can. I'm telling' ya.

At one point fairly early on a security guard came by. I can't remember what he said.... I think it might have had something to do with parking. Some folks had parked illegally, even though the Fox website includes a list of about 15 parking lots and 3 garages you're allowed to use for his event. Anyway, he was mighty sweet. Smiled and seemed to be enjoying his early morning security gig.

Later, an event coordinator named Mark came by and gave us all advice about making friends with the people around us in line. He suggested that we'd have an easier time spotting line cutters if we knew the folks near us. It's funny -- the Fox website has a lengthy discussion about the repercussions of cutting in line. I can only guess that it has been a big problem in the past. Anyway, the result was that everyone turned to the people near them in line and made introductions. That was fun. Mark also talked for quite awhile about parking. He was great -- made some cracks about people in line, and was generally just a friendly fellow.

After about an hour and a half of waiting, another event coordinator walked by and said "Pick up your chairs! Pack up your stuff! Time to get tickets & wristbands!" So we all started moving down the ramp & around the corner into a little cattle chute near the doors to the center. As Andreá pointed out at the time, there's a reason they call it a "cattle call". Moo. I kept looking around at the people surrounding us and thinking, "Can *all* these people *really sing*? Surely not." Not to be snotty, but I know several people who, uhhh, *think* they can sing. I asked Andreá, "What do you think it is like for the judges to have to listen to allllll that singing...??" She said that, in her past experience as a judge, you get to where you can sum a person up before they even open their mouth -- you can tell a lot about a person by the way they walk in the room. I believe it!

We ended up at the very front of the line, as they were letting in groups of 20 to get wristbands & tickets. This gave us a chance to chat with the event coordinator who was doing crowd control there. We asked him when his day started, and he said 4:30 or so. He explained that at about 4:30 they started allowing people to get in line. There were signs posted -- lots of signs -- stating that overnight camping was prohibited, under threat of arrest. He told us that some folks had arrived at 9:30 last night, and, since no camping was allowed, they had parked (legally, at least) on the street in front of The Drum. They camped in their cars overnight, and promptly at 4:30 they got to be first in line. Fanilows, every last one of 'em!! (That's my favorite new word.)

After just a few minutes we were allowed into the center where they had tables set up -- a station for ID check & wristbands, and another station for tickets. We picked up our wristbands first -- yellow for support friends and I want to say green? for auditioners. They put a green one on Andreá without even asking. As I told her then, it is because she is so obviously idol material! We picked up our tickets. Every person gets *an actual seat* in the Erwin Center, so there's no rush for good spots, or whatever, on Thursday. We are in section 41, row 22, seats 3 & 4. That's not the first ring, but not the nosebleed ring either. Go here for a map, if you're interested: http://www.uterwincenter.com/maps/round.html

And...that was it! We were out of there by 7:15. It was all quite painless, and extraordinarily well organized.

We did learn a few things about what to expect on Thursday. It's not terribly advantageous to show up at 5:00 on the spot, but then again you get the ID/waiver process over with a lot sooner if you get there earlier. Also, the early bird gets the best parking spot, and you all know how important good parking is to me! They are going to line us up outside for a period of time *just so they can film us*. Bleah! I can't remember the exact language the woman I talked to used, but it was something like "Ohhh, yeah, Fox wants to show the *whole event* from start to finish, or whatever, so y'all have to stand in line for awhile so they can tape you."

But I know they'll let us in before too long because they really are very afraid of people having problems with the heat. More than one event coordinator made mention of it -- looking up at the sky & saying something like "It's gonna get hot!!" As a matter of fact, they aren't letting people in any later than 8:00, which is when auditions are scheduled to begin.

Also, they will have the concession stands open all day inside the center. I am sure they'll charge the usual outrageous prices, but at least we can supplement whatever snacks we bring with something more substantial, if needed. There's a limit to how much we can take in, so it's nice that we don't have to be self-sufficient all day.

As much as we'd love to have visitors, it won't be allowed! But I'll take plenty of pictures (I'll have my SLR & my digital cameras with me), and lots of notes. I am intensely curious to see how they run things tomorrow -- how on earth do they process that many auditioners on one day?? As I mentioned before, it will probably be an odd combination of bursts of interesting activity & hours of boring waiting. Nevertheless, as y'all know, I am looking forward to it!

And now we get to the most important part of this recap, which is the GO ANDREÁ GO!!! section. I will probably make some kind of silly sign for Thursday (unless Andreá asks me not to), and I will definitely pack in whatever is needed to make the day go well. Andreá is well prepared with her natural talent and beauty, but be sure to remind her over the next two days just exactly how fabulous she is!! And on Thursday, remember to think about her as she makes her way through the auditions.

Thanks to you all for your support! We'll tell you what happens on Thursday!