The Experiences Before and During My First American Idol Audition in San Francisco

Recalling an exciting and nerve-wracking experience

The year was 2004. I had just turned 22 years old. The show had just completed its second season. I had just watched Ruben Studdard (my personal favorite) narrowly defeat Clay Aiken in the closest American Idol voting finish in finale history. I absolutely loved being a spectator for the first two seasons and seeing Kelly Clarkson and Ruben Studdard setting a trail and showing how to become successful on the show.

An Idol dream

The two winners were fairly close in age to me at the time and I had always wanted to become a famous singer and get more exposure for a voice that many had enjoyed when I was a kid in the children’s church choir and also in the early years of my karaoke career.

I hadn’t had any formal training outside of singing in a choir. I hadn’t been in a band. I couldn’t really play any instrument except for a little bit of the Casio keyboard I’d been practicing on. I was coming into this musical journey with the sweetest asset I could though, my singing voice.

After the second season of Idol had included, they announced the cities for the next auditions and I was hoping and waiting to hear a city I could get to from my hometown of Sacramento. My prayers were answered as I heard San Francisco. I loved going to San Francisco and I had friends and family there. It would be perfect.

The cattle call audition and my audition partner

The venue that would be the home of the auditions was going to be the Cow Palace. The Cow Palace is a decently sized venue and could hold thousands of musical hopefuls in a stadium-style audition. When I arrived at the venue on the day of the registration, I saw a line that was the longest I’d ever stood in before.

Luckily, that year, I had a line and audition partner. He was from Chicago and he was trying out so that he could escape his job as a sports ticket agent. He wanted to do something more than sell seats to Cubs and Bears games. He definitely looked the part so I felt like he had an advantage over me.

He was an attractive young man about the same age as I was. He had a silky, smooth, and pleasant voice. In my head, I was thinking that he could easily compete with me as well as we had similar lanes into how we wanted to get into the business.

Soulful and emotional voices feeling confident

I don’t quite remember the song he sang but I ended up singing, “Tears In Heaven” by Eric Clapton, as it was a song I could sing very well technically but also capture the pain and the emotion that Clapton brought to the track that would distinguish me from other contestants. I felt that my emotional connection with music would shine through with enough technical talent to get me through. I was confident without being overly cocky.

My partner, on the other hand, was nervous and tentative. I could tell that he might bomb his audition. We practiced all day and all night. We all got to stay at the venue overnight and I got to sit with my partner in the stadium. The next day which was the day before the auditions, a couple of the people I’d met throughout the day wanted to go to a popular karaoke place to practice singing called the Mint.

The Mint is the most popular karaoke bar in all of San Francisco. I’m sure that actors, singers, and many different performers have walked through those doors. I felt like a celebrity walking through the doors with the group that included my singing partner that day. I sang my audition song and delivered it with such technical and emotional ease that I got a standing ovation.

Getting the energy I needed for the auditions

I obviously felt the momentum and the energy I needed for the auditions that were to come in the morning. At this point, I didn’t think that my getting through the auditions would even be a technicality at this point. I don’t know if the rest of the group got jealous or if everyone was just nervous after that night, but most of the group had distanced themselves from me after that final night before the audition.

The next day, we all waited in line at our cattle call auditions anxiously awaiting the tables of assistant producers waiting for the groups of 4 about to come up at a time and sing at the dozens of tables set up all at once. I wanted to stay with my singing partner that day as we had built a connection and had kept each other company and we had been a calming presence for each other. Plus, he was the only one in the group remaining who wanted to hang around me after the night at the Mint.

The line was cut down and we were up to perform

One by one as we anxiously waited, we saw groups of people being eliminated at a time and saw our hopes being cut down like the thousands who had already performed before us.

A couple of hours later, my new friend and I made it to the front. We had four people, him, me, a guy in a suit, and a girl. I didn’t know what to expect. I hadn’t heard the other two sing. I just knew that I could outsing my friend and that was all I could tell.

We each sang our songs one at a time and to my surprise, the judges deliberated and then selected two out of our group. It was the first time I’d seen that this whole time in line.

Did they really just do that..?

My partner, who had previously been nervous, actually stepped up and did well. He pointed in my direction and towards the girl. I was like, “This has to be a dream,” as I started to walk forward.

They said, “No, not you, the guy next to you in the suit.” I had a look of shock and disgust on my face as I started approaching the table a little aggressively. My friend was the only other not selected in the group alongside me. I had to ask very quickly before they were going to dash my dreams with one scissor cut of my wristband why they didn’t pick me or my friend.

They told me I had the voice, the breath control and the look weren’t quite there but that I should try again. From what I had heard, the girl and the guy in the suit were awful, but they didn’t comment on my singing partner.

The two good singers were rejected while two horrible singers were selected for the next round

To be honest, I think they had just selected those two as a joke audition and decided against selecting the talented singers. It was either that or that table was only for selecting terrible singers. I honestly couldn’t tell.

I graciously waited to have my wristband cut off, looked at the other two in encouragement, and walked off with my friend. We both were pretty upset at the result, knowing that either one of us or both could’ve beaten those two terrible singers.

We had to be okay with the result though as I’m sure they had security there to protect the judges against thousands of others who would be cut that day. It definitely was an exciting experience.

The experience was still valuable and didn’t stop me from auditioning multiple times after

I don’t regret trying out and I tried out three more times for the show after that first experience so it wasn’t like the first time made me think I wasn’t good enough. The first time just showed me that the talent shows aren’t always looking for the best talent and that they have particular things that they are looking for and certain talent that they want for those shows.

I’m well over the age of 29, which is the maximum age, at this point to ever try out again. I guess I’d tell anyone who wants to try out for those shows to just set yourself up appropriately for rejection. You have a very small percentage chance of making it to the main judges on that show and an even smaller chance of making it to the Hollywood rounds and above.

The experience gave me a tougher resolve against rejection going forward and helped me set realistic expectations against what to expect in the music industry. It was definitely a valuable, fun, and unforgettable experience for me to have had.

Here’s the same story with more details on my singing companion and fewer details about the extra activities. Same result, different story, right here.