Proud Auntie Bragging. :)
I had the opportunity to go with My Sissy and my niece (aka Mini Me) to my niece’s first “cattle call” audition Thursday and it was a blog-worthy experience for sure.
The show is X Factor and there were literally thousands of people from all over the country auditioning in Dallas. This was my first experience with a situation like this and I was not impressed with the lack of organization on the show’s part. It seemed like they didn’t properly anticipate the amount of hopefuls and nothing went as smoothly as it could have throughout the day. Still tho, it was fascinating…
They got all registered on Wednesday morning and brought me a copy of the image release, I’ve never seen such a thorough document in all my life. It actually said they have the right to use any image they got of me throughout the universe and for eternity…I could not make this stuff up. I signed it even though I’m not thrilled by the thought of images of me running around without my control but I had to go support the Mini Me. :)
We got up at 4 am (omg how is that possibly the beginning and not the end of my day?) and caught the 5:15 train to the convention center. Thanks to my awesome neighbor for that brilliant idea because the train drops off inside the convention center and we didn’t have to deal with (or pay for) parking. We arrived at 5:30 and the epic waiting began, corralled into the Blue 2 section.
We found a lady who had brought her guitar (even though the instructions said not to bring instruments) and she had a small group around her that were hanging out and singing and having fun. Obviously we gravitated to the fun. The group was about 10 of us who all ended up hanging out for the 6 hours we were stuck in the parking lot. We got to be friendly, got to exchange stories with each other, and built a basic camaraderie during that time. I’m pretty sure Mini Me traded Facebook info with some of them so hopefully we can keep up with them and how they progress in their careers and with the show.
The crowd was the most interesting thing. The fashion ranged from classy to klassy and even included some people who could have been contestants on Let’s Make a Deal. I swear some of these people did not have mirrors in their homes or any friends or family, otherwise they would not have left the house looking like they did. Yikes! We had too much fun being the fashion police.
They moved us to the tunnel outside the convention center and then left us sitting there for another 2 hours before they finally let us into the building. I’m thankful we were in the shade though; you should have seen the sunburns the people got who were left out in the parking lot, poor things! Once we got into the building we finally had a place to sit down (other than on the ground) and wow what a complete and total relief. We made more friends around us once we got inside because we got stuck there for an additional 5 hours before they finally called her into the last line to get in front of the first-round judges.
Through the whole day people would just spontaneously burst into song and most of the time it was a happy pleasing noise, however, there were others that made you wonder what they were doing there. I gotta say, some of these people made me feel better about my own singing voice…which is hilarious and sad all at the same time. Our seats had a great view of the lines to the curtained “rooms” that had judges in them and we got an interesting fashion parade and got serenaded with some super loud singing during our wait.
Once they called Mini Me to the final line, My Sissy went with her and I adjourned outside where I ran into a friend who was also there auditioning and we talked and passed the time. Mini Me wanted to go in alone so My Sissy stepped away during her audition. Mini Me did well enough that even though the judge didn’t choose her, she did tell her that she’s young and they would be back in a few months and she should try again. We’re all encouraged by this because the judge told several people “No, just no.” while they were waiting.
Mini Me was understandably disappointed but to me, this was her first audition outside of school and I really didn’t expect much other than experience for her. She was a trooper, she stood most of the day while My Sissy and I sat on the ground so as not to mess up her dress. She didn’t sing with the other people much to save her voice for the judges, and even laughed at the people who were just belting it out and said they should blow out their voices to give her a better chance. She didn’t get all weepy when she didn’t make it, she sucked it up like a pro. And I think this experience has made her even more determined to make something happen with her singing career and that’s worth a million bucks right there.
A couple of people we made friends with made it to round two auditions and I’ll be curious to see what happens with them. We met some amazingly talented people during the day.
My function at the event was simple, observe the crowd, and take mental notes for the next time we do something like this. I also got to be cheerleader after the bad news was given and I am the ninja at that. Before we got in the car, Mini Me was laughing and we were all talking about strategies for the next audition.
She’s a very brave girl for even having the courage to do the audition; it’s something I’m not sure I would do no matter what the audition was for. However, I remember as a kid wanting to be famous and it seems she has that same ambition. I’m going to help her out however I can to make sure that happens for her. I’m the proudest auntie EVER and can’t wait to see what the future holds for her! Go Mini Me!!
The show is X Factor and there were literally thousands of people from all over the country auditioning in Dallas. This was my first experience with a situation like this and I was not impressed with the lack of organization on the show’s part. It seemed like they didn’t properly anticipate the amount of hopefuls and nothing went as smoothly as it could have throughout the day. Still tho, it was fascinating…
They got all registered on Wednesday morning and brought me a copy of the image release, I’ve never seen such a thorough document in all my life. It actually said they have the right to use any image they got of me throughout the universe and for eternity…I could not make this stuff up. I signed it even though I’m not thrilled by the thought of images of me running around without my control but I had to go support the Mini Me. :)
We got up at 4 am (omg how is that possibly the beginning and not the end of my day?) and caught the 5:15 train to the convention center. Thanks to my awesome neighbor for that brilliant idea because the train drops off inside the convention center and we didn’t have to deal with (or pay for) parking. We arrived at 5:30 and the epic waiting began, corralled into the Blue 2 section.
We found a lady who had brought her guitar (even though the instructions said not to bring instruments) and she had a small group around her that were hanging out and singing and having fun. Obviously we gravitated to the fun. The group was about 10 of us who all ended up hanging out for the 6 hours we were stuck in the parking lot. We got to be friendly, got to exchange stories with each other, and built a basic camaraderie during that time. I’m pretty sure Mini Me traded Facebook info with some of them so hopefully we can keep up with them and how they progress in their careers and with the show.
The crowd was the most interesting thing. The fashion ranged from classy to klassy and even included some people who could have been contestants on Let’s Make a Deal. I swear some of these people did not have mirrors in their homes or any friends or family, otherwise they would not have left the house looking like they did. Yikes! We had too much fun being the fashion police.
They moved us to the tunnel outside the convention center and then left us sitting there for another 2 hours before they finally let us into the building. I’m thankful we were in the shade though; you should have seen the sunburns the people got who were left out in the parking lot, poor things! Once we got into the building we finally had a place to sit down (other than on the ground) and wow what a complete and total relief. We made more friends around us once we got inside because we got stuck there for an additional 5 hours before they finally called her into the last line to get in front of the first-round judges.
Through the whole day people would just spontaneously burst into song and most of the time it was a happy pleasing noise, however, there were others that made you wonder what they were doing there. I gotta say, some of these people made me feel better about my own singing voice…which is hilarious and sad all at the same time. Our seats had a great view of the lines to the curtained “rooms” that had judges in them and we got an interesting fashion parade and got serenaded with some super loud singing during our wait.
Once they called Mini Me to the final line, My Sissy went with her and I adjourned outside where I ran into a friend who was also there auditioning and we talked and passed the time. Mini Me wanted to go in alone so My Sissy stepped away during her audition. Mini Me did well enough that even though the judge didn’t choose her, she did tell her that she’s young and they would be back in a few months and she should try again. We’re all encouraged by this because the judge told several people “No, just no.” while they were waiting.
Mini Me was understandably disappointed but to me, this was her first audition outside of school and I really didn’t expect much other than experience for her. She was a trooper, she stood most of the day while My Sissy and I sat on the ground so as not to mess up her dress. She didn’t sing with the other people much to save her voice for the judges, and even laughed at the people who were just belting it out and said they should blow out their voices to give her a better chance. She didn’t get all weepy when she didn’t make it, she sucked it up like a pro. And I think this experience has made her even more determined to make something happen with her singing career and that’s worth a million bucks right there.
A couple of people we made friends with made it to round two auditions and I’ll be curious to see what happens with them. We met some amazingly talented people during the day.
My function at the event was simple, observe the crowd, and take mental notes for the next time we do something like this. I also got to be cheerleader after the bad news was given and I am the ninja at that. Before we got in the car, Mini Me was laughing and we were all talking about strategies for the next audition.
She’s a very brave girl for even having the courage to do the audition; it’s something I’m not sure I would do no matter what the audition was for. However, I remember as a kid wanting to be famous and it seems she has that same ambition. I’m going to help her out however I can to make sure that happens for her. I’m the proudest auntie EVER and can’t wait to see what the future holds for her! Go Mini Me!!
Comments
Post a Comment