project 365, week 26...and the big reveal

its really not as exciting as i had hoped.

i went to dallas to audition for american idol this week. i was hoping to be able to post that i got through the first 2 rounds to the 3rd round where you meet the 4 judges that you see on t.v.

no, what you see on t.v. is not the only round of auditions. all those people have made it through at least 2 other rounds. so yes they take people that are horrible singers just so they can put them on t.v.

it was a fun experience, and i figured i'd give it one more shot (i auditioned for season 2, which was several years ago) since i'm at the age limit. i really thought i had made it through the first round, but it was a no. they dont critique or really say anything at all to you at that point, so i don't know why. i nailed the song. i think it was a personality thing honestly. when i get nervous (and i was...very) my expression and body language go to pot, so even though i tried to be perky and expressive, i think i just kind of stood there politely so as not to embarrass myself.

the auditions were at the new dallas cowboys stadium. uh-mae-zing.

i'm not a big sports fan , but i know enough to know that place is top of the line nice. my friend jamie went with me (she didnt make it either) and she was just in awe the whole time, but she wants to work there someday. she was more excited about the possibility of jerry jones being somewhere in the building than singing for a.i.

to her disappointment i did not share her enthusiasm, but like i said, it is pretty.

a little about the whole process for those of you that care (if you dont, you can skip to my pictures for the week)...

we got there wednesday afternoon and registered for the audition. we walked right up and were done in 5 mintues. short and sweet. used to, you camped out for a couple of days and went right in to sing, all sweaty and greasy from sleeping outside and using port-a-potties for 48 hours. not a fan of that, so this was waaaay better.

the audition was on friday. we got to the stadium at 6am, and had to wait in line for about half an hour to get in and find our seats. then we sat and waited for 12 hours. it was a looooong day. i think that was another thing against us. by the time we got down to sing, we were in the last group of about 100 people (out of roughly 10,000) and the judges were obviously very tired of sitting and listening to people sing for them all day long. i would be too. however, i think at that point they were just trying to get the last handful of people through, because we hadnt seen them give any gold tickets out in quite a long time. i'm just sayin'.

anyway, so you're filtered down onto the floor by sections, and you're lined up 4 across and sent to one of 12 tables spread out across the length of the field. the first person steps up, sings for 30 seconds, steps back to their spot. then the second person, and so forth till all four of you have sung. the judge (one of the many producers for the show, remember 12 tables) calls you forward together and sends the 'non-winners' to the left out of the stadium and the winner/s (if there are any from your group) gets a 'golden ticket' and proceeds on to the winners' room.

if you're a 'non-winner' your admission bracelet is cut off and you leave. done.

its a very long time to wait for it to be over so quickly. its funny to think that everyone has to go through that process though. the winners have all done it. here are some pictures hopefully to give you an idea of what it looks like.

when we first got there, we spent an hour doing all the crowd shots and cheering and saying things like 'i'm the next american idol!', and 'welcome to dallas!' and whatnot. its pretty funny to see how much goes into making a 'reality' show. it was all very staged.

we saw them bringing the winners out one at a time and planting them in a crowd of people to film them 'waiting their turn to audition', even though they weren't actually waiting, because they had already auditioned and made it to the exclusive winners room. all quite interesting.

and, just for kicks, heres my song i sang for my audition. i wanted jamie to tape it so i could hear what i sounded like.

here's the week...

SUNDAY, june 21st

happy fathers day!! me and my daddy.

MONDAY, june 22nd

first day of vbs. allen gets the 6th graders every year, so they can have kind of a preview of what they'll get in the youth ministry. jeanie, one of the youth workers, hosts them at her house where they swim, eat dinner, and then have a lesson. i took the kids over monday night to meet the 6th graders and swim. colby had his first experience with the diving board and loved it!

TUESDAY, june 23rd

our neighbor is getting a new fence, so our yard is a bit of a mess too.

WEDNESDAY, june 24th

american idol registration day!

THURSDAY, june 25th

theres a street in plano called roundrock (where i live). its not 2 words, but still cool.

FRIDAY, june 26th

waiting to audition....

we went out to the concourse to get some lunch and stretch out a bit. you can only sit for so long.

after 5 hours, our butts needed a break.

SATURDAY, june 27th

my 10 year reunion!!! i went to the picnic and the dinner saturday night.

it was so great to see everyone and catch up. i had a great time!

have a great week!!!!