Judges make and break American dreams at recent 'Idol' auditions

Want to be an American Idol? The thousands who recently flocked to auditions most certainly did. Vying for a spot on "American Idol II," the second season of the mega-hit television show, they hoped to get their shot at a recording contract. Aspiring singers, aged 16 to 24, descended on New York City on Oct. 24 for the first round of the competition.

"It would be pretty cool to be a superstar," said Grace Labatt '06, who planned to go to the New York auditions but decided to stay on campus and study for midterms. "Also, I wanted to meet Paula Abdul."

Jacob Van Naarden '06 and Troy Holland '05 also thought about auditioning.

"If it's a chance to get on TV for an extended period of time, and have a little fun, why not try?" said Van Naarden.

Had the Princeton students showed up on Wall Street right at the scheduled 8 a.m.slot for the audition, they would have missed their chances for potential stardom – and meeting Paula Abdul – by several hours. Because so many participants mobbed the site early, organizers started designating participants the night before the event was scheduled. By 7 a.m., all 1,800 audition slots were filled.

Scrutinized by the first season's judges Paula Abdul, Simon Cowell, and Randy Jackson, contestants for "American Idol II" are being drawn from auditions in Los Angeles, New York, Detroit, Atlanta, Nashville, Austin, and Miami. At the conclusion of the seven-city selection process, 150 lucky participants will fly to Los Angeles to get ready for the show's much-awaited season premiere in January.

"[The show is] completely addictive because it really pushes the whole American Dream thing," said Labatt, who watched nearly every episode of the first season. "Before this summer, all of the contestants were just as normal as the rest of us. Now they are all getting record deals. Such a quick transformation makes fame more accessible."

While the show may pay homage to the American Dream in the hearts of local fans, the idea for "American Idol" began in the United Kingdom when former Spice Girls manager Simon Fuller created a show called "Pop Idol" in October of 2001. Called "the biggest thing to hit Great Britain since The Beatles," the show drew in over 10 million viewers who tuned in to watch aspiring British popstars belt everything from "Hit Me Baby One More Time" to "Mamma Mia." The final episode solicited a record 8.7 million phone votes.

As with its American spin-off, "Pop Idol" gave its winner a contract with the record company BMG. Will Young broke the record for a fastest-selling single after winning the UK contest.

Among the UK judges was record executive Simon Cowell, a current American Idol judge dubbed the "Mr. Nasty" of the UK program. Cowell crossed the Atlantic along with the "Pop Idol" phenomenon in April to judge the first round of American hopefuls for the rechristened "American Idol: The Search for a Superstar.Ó" Paula Abdul and MCA Records' Randy Jackson joined him in sealing the fate of the thousands who auditioned for the first season.

American Idol premiered on June 11th on Fox, drawing 9.9 million viewers as the judges reduced the pool of over 10,000 hopeful singers to a mere 120. The second week of the show incorporated audience participation, allowing viewers to call in and vote for their favorite candidates. Out of a group of 10 remaining contestants, the judges eliminated one, and viewers chose their favorite of nine using a toll-free number.

A decisive 58% of viewers voted Kelly Clarkson the winner of "American Idol" in September. Her double-sided CD featuring the hit single has since sold over 450,000 copies.

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Van Naarden, however, is skeptical about the longevity of the victor's fame.

"The height of the singers' popularity is while the show airs," Van Naarden said. "Even with a record out, [Clarkson] has lost her audience."

Labatt, however, believes Clarkson's instant success inspires much of the attraction to the show and to the auditions.

"They've really stressed that Kelly Clarkson was a cocktail waitress from a small town," said Labatt. "It becomes such a Cinderella story when you describe it like that. Everyone wants to be discovered."

This desire for a good rags-to-riches story may actually hold just as much weight during the audition process as vocal talent. Just ask Jarrod Spector, formerly of the Princeton Class of 2003 and now a student at NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, who was at the New York auditions.

Spector made it as far as the third round of auditions, going up in front of Cowell and Abdul. He received a very positive response for his performance, but it was his history that eventually took him out of the running.

Spector, who appeared as Gavroche in Broadway's "Les Miserables" in 1990, was also a contestant on "Star Search" fourteen years ago. Though the official rules state that an Idol contestant cannot have appeared on national television in the past ten years, the judges felt that Spector had too much experience and wouldn't make a good story.

Spector was disappointed, but not distraught. "You have a one in 10,500 chance starting out" he explained. "And even if you make it all the way, all that matters is first place. Sure, Justin Guarini [Idol's second-place winner in the first season] got a record deal. But who has heard what comes out of that? All he's going to be remembered as is the guy with the funny hair who came in second place."

Spector also noted the recent withdrawal of new judge Angie Martinez to explain what he thinks is the flaw of the show. In a statement released last week, Martinez said, "After judging the first few auditions, I've decided to leave the show because it became too uncomfortable for me to tell someone else to give up on their dream, especially when I realized that many of them have supported my career."

Essentially, Spector said, what could have been a venue to promote the American Dream has turned into something that destroys the hopes of young singers.

And can a show really manufacture fame? Spector asked himself that same question.

"Crowell really went wrong when he compared Kelly Clarkson to Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston and Christina Aguilera," Spector said. "Though those three may be, respectively, a diva, a drug addict and a whore, at least they can really sing and have had careers that showed their longevity. Clarkson just happened to take first place on a television show."