dimanche, juin 29, 2008
Canadian Idol
After just four months of being here in Canada, I did one of the craziest things any newbie can do - join a national talent search competition. Ouais, I joined Canada's version of the globally popular Idol franchise. It all started February 1, Saturday at Calgary's Sunridge Mall. Before anything else, a lot of you might be wondering why I'm sharing this only now as the show has already started. Let's just say that same legal gobbledigook was barring us from saying anything as it will spoil the show.
Well, that kinda spoils my story too as you know already that I wasn't able to get into the top 24. However, it was still an experience worth sharing.
I tried out when I found out that Calgary was one of the audition cities this year. I was part of the long queue that had me waiting for hours. We arrived at the audition location at 10 in the morning and I ended up auditioning at 5 pm. I did not know that before you even got to the celebrity judges, you had to go through two rounds with the show's producers first. The first round, we came by fives. I sang Stevie Wonder's For Once In My Life. It was a great feeling to get through that round. We were two. I got this ticket!
We had to go back the following day for the second round. This time, it was a one-on-one thing. I was asked to sing several songs to see how versatile I am and they also did an interview. I sang Lean On Me, For Once In My Life, A House Is Not A Home, and Ikaw ang Lahat Sa Akin (as requested by the producer since he wanted me to sing in Filipino as well). I got great comments after the audition. They told me that I sing from the heart and that I get the message across through the emotions I evoke from singing. I got another ticket and was given instructions for the celebrity judges round.
We had the celebrity judges round at the Fairmont Palliser Hotel in downtown Calgary. Calltime was at 6 am but the whole family was there to give their support. I was told that I was 20th to perform in front of the judges that day. As usual, we had briefings both with the production staff and surprisingly with the judges as well. While there was the usual scare that they will be very honest with their comments, they all wished as good luck.
When I was a few spots away from starting, we were called to stand by the door leading the way to the audition room with the celebrity judges. As soon as I get here, the nerves got even worse as I found out that no one yet has been lucky enough to get the golden ticket.
Finally, I was next. The person before me got in and she was the first golden ticket holder for the day! Whether it would be an advantage for me or not or if it was a sign of better things to come was not clear to me at that time. My stomach was upset and I was bathing in cold sweat. I just would like to get it over and done with.
Entering the audition room was surreal. I couldn't believe seeing the judges like I see them on TV. Only this time, I'm on the hotspot. After a quick introduction, I just sang and I was glad they liked it! I got great comments from all judges and I was given the golden ticket which meant an all expense paid trip to Toronto - from airfare to lodging at the ritzy Fairmont York Hotel.
While Toronto week was a stressful week, it was also a great experience to meet people from different parts of Canada. Though I wasn't able to make it to the top 24, I was there until the last day and got into the top 50. After it all, it wasn't too bad making it that far as around 10,000 auditioned throughout Canada.
jigs | | # | 
