Idol Story

"Chances" - Five for Fighting

American Idol - Registration Day

Well, today was nothing short of crazy. Got to Nashville last night around nine, and most would have decided to go to bed right away (knowing I had to be up at 3:00 the next morning). But no, I really cant remember the last time I was able to fall asleep before 12, or 11:30 at least. So, like the dumb asses we are, Rach and I went out to grab a quick drink to help with the early bed time. One hurricane later, and needless to say I had NO issue falling into a deep sleep. That is, until 2:55 am when my alarm clock started buzzing. Honestly i felt like i had just gone to bed and had taken a brief nap. Ironically, the wake up call i had asked for for 3:00 never came. That pissed me off already. Great start to the day.

We got ready pretty quickly considering we weren't functioning at our... best. But before I knew it i was showered, make up on, hair dried and straightened, and waiting in the lobby for our 4:00 am taxi ride. However, we waited there in the lobby from 3:50 to about 4:20. I was getting a little ticked. Really? Today they decide to be late? So, without debating too much in my head , i grabbed my keys and we headed off in my car (deciding we'd have to suck it up and probably walk blocks and blocks from our distant parking spot). Oh well, I remember thinking. Get all the bad luck out of the way now...

We arrived shortly there after, and to my amazement, easily found a parking spot one block away from the Bridgestone Arena. Fifth st. was blocked off, but I didn't see many people at all. I payed my $7 parking bill for the day (which was rather cheap i thought), and Rachel and I started walking towards the arena, pretty confused at this point. Eventually we did find a rather small crowd around the corner and we took our place in the line of sleepy musicians. It was still dark, and thank god. At least we had a couple hours before the heat set in. We talked to several people who had auditioned in previous years and learned more about the whole process from this day on. We also quickly discovered that our neighbors to the right of the curb were also from Ohio. That's a funny story in itself. But then, I caught a glimpse of somebody else's phone. The time on IT was 4:30 am. Wait, WHAT? lol. After much confusion, I came to find out that my phone was the one with the wrong time, and we had ACTUALLY arrived at 3:50 rather than 4:50, and my alarm had ACTUALLY gone off at 1:55 rather than 2:55, and the taxi or the hotel wake up call had ACTUALLY not been late. Damn it. Oh well... looking on the bright side we were further up in the line, and had we arrived an hour later, we would have been standing in line much longer. But a very early start to the day, I must say.

Standing in that line of talent for what seemed like an eternity made for some GREAT people watching. I watched as different groups of musicians gathered together based on genre. You saw the alternative guitarists rocking out as the sun started to rise. The R&B singers clapping and grooving to beats down the way. The musicians who were "too good" to socialize with the others. And the ones that were too shy to. And then there was me and Rachel, sitting on the curb analyzing everybody else. If I don't advance very far in this competition, the experience itself has been worth it already.

Its funny how musicians size each other up. From an outsider's point of view it may just appear as though were are having friendly conversations. No. When we act excited for each other, we're not. When we ask what are you singing, we don't really care (we're just hoping its a bad choice). When we ask to hear some of the song, we want you to sound bad. Cruel, but all true. So that's what I found humorous about the whole scene. Tons of egotistical musicians crammed into one line and forced to socialize for hours on end. Musicians HATE being around others who are potentially better than them. Fun fact for you.

Other than the people watching, the morning was pretty uneventful. Once the line started moving it progressed pretty quickly. Rachel and I had our wristbands and tickets before we knew it, and we were told to return on Saturday morning. And that's that. The first step of a hopefully long journey to come.