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SIERRA VISTA - They had stars in their eyes and songs in their hearts Tuesday, hoping to land a spot on Fox's "American Idol."
Area residents from 16 to 28 sat on the fence at Famous Sam's to croon for a chance to compete for a spot on one of the most popular reality shows.
"We would absolutely love and adore it," judge Emma Mayne said of the possibility of someone from the "K101 Idol" advancing to win the popular television contest.
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Though the national competition approves the worst and the best, that isn't the case with Sierra Vista's judges.
"If you are good, we'll let you keep singing, but if you stink," Mayne said, it's curtains.
Nobody seemed to be bad enough to get the hook, and 15 of the contestants were asked to return next week - same time same place - to compete against one another. Famous Sam's District Manager Brad Snyder said he has grown used to unpredictable singing such as this, since every Tuesday he must endure the highs and lows of karaoke night.
This includes Tuesday night and next week, which popular K101 on-air personality Grady Butler called a "double feature."
"You're gonna either be really good tonight or really bad, and that should make it interesting," Snyder said, adding the K101 Idol contest, soon to begin, was an a cappella competition, without the option of raising accompaniment volume to mask a vocal train wreck.
Buena High School junior Vanessa Owens and her buddy, senior Sarah Wagenvoord, prepared outside for their performances.
Later, Wagenvoord emerged with contrary news.
"My friend Vanessa says she's chickening out," Wagenvoord said.
"The excitement was too much for me," Owens said.
She'd planned to sing "Going Through the Motions" from the Buffy the Vampire Slayer musical episode. But her mind changed "for sure" after seeing the packed house.
Kenny Alley, 19, of Sierra Vista, planned to perform "A Whole New World" from the Disney movie "Aladdin."
"I used to be in the (Buena High School) choir," said Alley, who was choir vice president before he graduated.
"Kenny has a great chance of winning, he's awesome," Alley's friend Sean Tillman said from across the table.
Tillman, 18, performed as well, with a song called "Painter."
Alley said the acoustics of the noisy bar were awful. Afterward, Alley said the performance was "nerve-racking," yet he was confident.
"Remember, audience applause helps to choose, so you guys are the 'fourth judge' here, OK," Butler announced.
The show was scheduled to begin at 6 p.m. By 6:15, two different girls covered the Patsy Cline standard "Crazy."
The karaoke guy for Famous Sam's, Sean McMullen, sang, "Mack the Knife," but admitted being strong-armed into the performance.
"I'm mainly for filler," he said.
Wagenvoord covered an Ella Fitzgerald song.
"I'm hoping I'm in the 15 (finalists)," she said. "I'm not going to say anything - I don't want to jinx myself, and I don't want to belittle their talent," Wagenvoord said, with respect for her competition.
K101 Idol was sponsored by the radio station, Famous Sam's Restaurant and Bar and Club Charter Travel. The winner will be provided airfare to next season's primary American Idol competition Las Vegas on Sept. 12. The season will air on Fox network January 2005.
American Idol competitions to follow the September primary are yet undisclosed, Mayne said.
"It is played by ear, completely," she said.
On Tuesday, the primary K101 Idol competition followed a strict 8 p.m. stopping point, as those contestants of not-legal-drinking age had to leave by that time.
TheSilverRose wrote on Jun 27, 2009 10:22 PM:
Thank You! "