Birmingham Auditions

Idol hopefuls have been lining up all weekend in anticipation of the Birmingham auditions which begin this Monday.  Birmingham, AL,  the home of two Idol winners (Ruben Studdard and Taylor Hicks) and an Idol runner up (Bo Bice), is hosting the auditions this year for the very first time.

In this Birmingham News story written by Mary Colurso, Taylor Hicks reminisces about his Idol audition:

 “I didn’t fall in with all the singing and screaming and banner waving. I was somewhat excited, but I kept quiet and kept to myself. I was kind of like the weird, gray-headed guy in the corner. People couldn’t figure me out.”

“I walked out and it dawned on me that I was going to Hollywood.

And in another article, Taylor dispenses some advice to would-be auditioners:

What to prepare: “I’d recommend two songs. Sing the best song first and the next-best song second. You’ve really gotta sell the first one. I tried to entertain the whole room.”
Your set list: “Be as different as you can. The more different the song, the better off you’re going to be. Everyone gets tired of hearing the same songs over and over.”
Selling yourself: “You have to think about what you’re going to do. I sang `Swanee River Rock, ‘ because it’s a hot song. Think about it: Ray Charles doing that song is hot! Don’t forget that it’s television. Singing is the main thing, but it’s just as important to be as visual as possible.”
If you make it to the second or third cut: “Go set up a big, bright light in your room and practice singing with that light on. That’s what scared me. Not the producers, not the judges, not having to sing, but having the lights and cameras around.”

Good luck to the Birmingham auditioners!  If you want to share your audition story with me, you can send it to: mjsbigblog@gmail.com.