TOP 13 BABY!!

This actually happened July of 2009, but I thought I would share it on this blog because it was such a cool experience.


Last Monday night, I was driving home from work when I heard on the radio that they were doing a Salt Lake Idol competition. As you know, I tried out for American Idol last year and had thought about doing it again, but auditions were in Colorado and I didn't know if it was worth it to go out there. So, when I heard about this competition, I thought I might as well check it out.

Turns out, the deadline to submit your video was the next day by 5 pm! I decided to go for it... I stayed up late, made the video, and then paid Michael to drive it to Salt Lake for me. Ha ha. I didn't have time to mail it! I felt like an opportunity presented itself and I might as well try.


A couple days later, I got a call from Fox 13 News saying that I had made the top 13! I was really excited! I was supposed to be there at 8 am on Saturday morning to audition. They would then cut it down to the top 5 and then finally to a winner, who they would send to Colorado that next Monday for the auditions.

This was all so last minute, I felt somewhat unprepared, so I just planned on singing songs that I already knew. I had mixed feelings about doing this. I figured there was no harm in trying, after all, that was my attitude when I submitted the dvd and I made it! But after experiencing and understanding what really goes into American Idol, I didn't know if that is what I really wanted to do.

I had to wake up at 5 am on Saturday morning and I knew that I had to get a good night sleep. So, last Friday night, I went to bed at 8:30! Can you believe it? I woke up feeling very confident that things would go well and that something good would come of that day.

Mom and Michael went with me and it was great to have their company. When we got to the news station, we were there for a few hours. They brought us into a break room where we could watch the others auditioning on the tv. However, at first it wasn't working at all. Then they got the picture, but no sound. When it was my turn to audition, people could see me, but couldn't hear me. I was okay with that. :)



I actually wasn't as nervous as I thought I would be. I was able to sing the song the way I wanted to and I was able to feel comfortable getting into it. I got a lot of positive feedback from the judges and they seemed to really like me.

After everyone had auditioned they announced the winners and I did not make it to the top 5. Of course I was a little disappointed, but for the most part I was totally fine with it! They told us that there were a couple people that were within one point of making the top 5 and I have wondered if I happened to be one of those people because the judges seemed to really like me.

While all this was going on, I met another girl that was auditioning there. We ended talking the whole time. She is coming out with her own album and knew so much about the music industry. She gave me all kinds of information and even phone numbers of people I could call! I knew something good would come of that day and that was one of them. It was such a great opportunity just to meet her and learn so much from her. I guess as mom has always said, you really can learn something from EVERY person you meet! :)

Oh and another good thing that happened was another girl that was there auditioning came up to me and said she recognized me from a competition that I did TWO years ago! She said that she thought I was so good and that I was beautiful. Well, that alone made my day to know that someone could remember me from TWO years ago!

So, I went away feeling very grateful for the experience. A lot of good came from it and I've learned that when an opportunity presents itself, we should take it! Wayne Gretzky said, "You miss 100% of the shots you don't take!" So, don't ever give up or feel like you are a failure because you're not a failure until you fail to try. :)

Turns out, my picture is on www.971zht.com (the radio station that was there) and it is also on www.fox13now.com. On Fox 13's website, I am the only one besides one other guy that has a picture on there alone besides the top 5. That made me feel pretty good. :) So, here are the two pictures that you will find on the websites.

Here is the video that I sent in!