My American Idol Experience
By Kristyn, age 20, Massachusetts
Sweet Designs Staff Intern
Reality ... or staged reality? That is the question ... No, I'm not talking about Hamlet. I'm talking about American Idol, one of the most popular reality television shows of our generation. So I ask you ... is it real? Or is it fake? This I may be able to answer for you.
It was 5:00 AM, and I was on my way to Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts, with my mom to try out for American Idol. I had been singing for almost six years, and people convinced me to try out. I went into my audition so confident. I was sure I was not going to lose. However, things are not always what they seem, and television is not always real.
Simon, Paula, and Randy weren't even there. You have to make it through three rounds just to get to them, for them to hear you sing. When I finally got to audition for Simon, Paula, and Randy, they told me, before I even sang, that I wasn't randomly selected, and I didn't make it through, but I could still sing for the camera anyway!
What the heck? was all I could think. I made it through these rounds. Why wasn't I picked? The next thing I knew producers were handing me a script of what I was to say, and they handed one to Paula, Randy, and Simon as well. All of a sudden it occurred to me that this was an acting job. I should have realized back in round two that this wasn't real when a girl next to me sang like Mariah Carey, and she didn't get through - it all seemed weird.
So anyhow, American Idol was a good experience, but it wasn't real. It was good for me to understand that most of the people in the top twelve are actors. It was important for me to face the reality that my dream of becoming a famous singer just wasn't for me. It doesn't mean I won't be famous for something else someday. It was good to realize that not everything we see is real. The truth is, it's a lot more scripted than most of us realize.
