Whoa-oo, whoa-oo

My fabulous friend KRISTIA is trying out for American Idol and asked me to be her one guest to hang out with her in line. So yesterday, we left from my house at 4am (up at 3am) to line up for the registration. We got there and there were already a few hundred people hanging out in line.

Everyone was singing and trying to get attention from the camera all over the place and it was so funny to watch people. The sun started to come up about an hour or two later and we starting getting to know people around us. Some were WEIR-dos and some were kind of tolerable. You've seen the auditions on the show - they are crazy! And the best part to watch. We even met a guy (JG) who looks a lot like Chris Daughtry from Season 6.

He and his brother, Carliol, drove from Newport, Oregon for the auditions. JG was in the military as a Navy medic and was put on medical retirement. I saw the camera guys standing close to our area so I was like, "You were in the NAVY? And you got INJURED?? Wow you look just like CHRIS DAUGHTRY!!" Of course, they came right over like a pig to the slaughter and my friend and I scooted closer in behind him while they were interviewing him to get in line of the camera. His brother is standing next to him and is a pretty funny guy. They are both the sweetest guys and we loved getting to know them more. We started calling him D2
(Daughtry 2) but I don't think he liked that very much.
This is Gus. He is the one with his head artistically cocked to the side with the baseball hat. He was pretty funny to watch and got asking people certain questions and had them restate things in different ways to get just the right edit for the show. What a dork.
Ok, I admit that we actually were kind of stalking him to see where he was going next so we could get on camera with him. We scooted in behind some older dad and his two contestant daughters and later wiggled our way to the edge of the barricade to scream loudly and get on camera again as the camera guys drove by on their golf cart.
We were crazy, but that's how we are.

People around us had flown or drove in from Oregon, Idaho, remote parts of Utah (you know - Logan, Ogden, PRICE), Las Vegas, Seattle, Texas and even North Carolina. After almost four hours, the line got moving and we went in waves to get into the Energy Solutions Arena. Finally inside, we went to one of 10 or 12 tables lined up near the doors and showed them our IDs and got wristbands and tickets for the auditions on Tuesday. Afterward, we sort of met up with some people we had met in line just to see where they were sitting on Tuesday and then decided to go find something to eat. The only thing open was a Starbucks at the Gateway Mall so we got some scones and drinks and sat outside talking about the competition.

Kristia and I, as natural-born leaders and BOSSY event planners, even got everyone to take turns singing for our little group of five and soon, people were stopping by in crowds to hear the singers. We were calling out to people and recruiting anyone who was walking by with a red wristband to come and audition for us.
It was SO FUN to meet people from all over or just from Utah and to hear their stories and hear them sing. Some of them were SO HORRIBLE! But none of us had the heart to tell them directly. It did turn into a critique session somewhat, though, and some people would give pointers about performance, song choice, eye contact (or lack thereof) and wardrobe. It was so funny! We met the coolest people from Seattle and one of them, Zach, will definitely be going through to Hollywood. Here he is rockin' out Taylor Hicks style to songs amazing songs by Marc Broussard, my favorite new artist.

They would be stupid not to put him through. Or Kristia for that matter. I think they are the two with the best voices offering some sweet competition.
Well, this horribly dressed girl was also pretty good.
And actually, one of our other friends we met there was Amanda. She is in the polka dots in this picture. She and her mom drove from Las Vegas to try out and she has a unique voice with some fabulous volume! She really has such a great tone in her voice, but she is 18 and seems a little more shy when she sings. But let me tell you - she and her mom were SO FUN! We had a blast hanging out with them.
Ok, there IS some good competition, just absolutely NOT the guy with the black hat. I'm sorry, but he was extremely horrible. And kind of creepy for that matter....
Wish I had some video for you.

But you can check out myspace.com/zachtrandum to hear some audio clips from Zach and myspace.com/matthewmccainglascoe to hear NC's. Well, his real name is Matt but we liked to call him NC.

I'll give you an update after the auditions are over and when I've gotten my sleep back. We are going to be at the arena BY 3AM on Tuesday morning. And probably not even go inside until 11am or something. AND those are only the first round of auditions. You may be asked to come back Wednesday if they like you enough. I guess I better bring some cards or a dvd player or something. Or maybe just a pillow. Go KRISTIA!!