8 Tips to being the next American Idol
Will she win?
There’s something special about being a pop star that beats just about every other profession in the world, isn’t there? You get paid a whole lot of money for doing something you love (so how can you call it work?). You get VIP treatment everywhere you go. Hordes of fans all want to be your friend. Truckloads of money to go shopping with. And guys? — whew! Take your pick, girl!
Up until the Idol series (and other reality talent competitions like it), becoming a pop star meant travelling the gruelling road of botched demos, embarrassing public performances, hours of walking from record label to record label… and pretty much doing all of that without even knowing if you’re ever going to sell enough singles to buy your next meal or not.
These days, though, there’s a shortcut to stardom: American Idol. But if you’re thinking about trying your luck with this super competition, you’d better take these top tips first.
1. Can you sing?
I know this seems stupid, but you’d be surprised to know how many people think they can sing, but can’t. This is not about belting out Aretha Franklin — just being able to sing in tune is challenging enough for these folk. “They said I sang out of tune, almost through the whole song,” recalls Tracie, a competitor in an Idol-format competition. “I was stunned. When I asked my friends about it later, they admitted that the judges were right: I was horrible.” So, the first thing to do is to ask someone reliable to be brutally honest with you — are you tone deaf, or not?
2. Okay, you’re not tone deaf. But can you really sing?
Loading ...Okay, so lots of people can hold a tune, but few — very few — can do so well enough to make you want to look up and see who it is that’s singing. And there are fewer still that you’d actually pay money to watch! “Most contestants are too normal,” comments Izham Omar, CEO of 8TV. “The judges are always looking for something spectacular.” It’s easy to gauge if you can really sing. Are you often asked to sing at family get-togethers? Have you always performed in singing acts in school? Are you always being invited to karaoke? If this kind of thing happens often, then there’s a pretty good chance that you may be in the top 10-percent of the singing population. But are you in the top 0.001%? Well, I guess you’ll soon find out!
3. Do you really want this?
There are really no guarantees in the entertainment business. Today’s Idol could very well be tomorrow’s Passé. It’s hard work getting to the top, but it’s even harder work staying there. Everyone wants to be a superstar, but are you ready to do what it takes to stay one? “If you are serious about being a singer, then you should invest your time and energy into it,” adds Omar. “That’s the only way you’ll succeed. There will be little sleep and a lot of pressure. Only the best survive.” The entertainment business is all glam, gloss and goss. There’s a whole lot of bitchiness going around, too. Not many women have the stomach for the incessant attention that must be paid to their faces, their bodies, their hair or their teeth. Sure, the money (if you sell well enough) could make this all worthwhile. But many stars who make it big wish they had their own lives back again. The question is: are you ready for the spotlight, and will you stand it?
4. Your first song at the auditions
Must you choose Whitney? Or Mariah? Or Beyonce? In other words, do you really think you’re good enough to sing like a Whitney or Mariah or Alicia? If you’re honest with yourself, you’ll say no (you would already have a recording deal if you could). The point I’m trying to make here is that you should be original and be creative when choosing your audition tune. The judges have listened to many, many renditions of I Will Always Love You and I’ll Be There during their lifetimes. If you want to stand out from the rest, choose something really different, really unexpected, and master it.
5. Make the time for it
There will be lots of filming for the show’s sponsors, lots of practice sessions, lots of hanging around doing nothing while the organisers decide what to do with you. It’s not exactly fun, although it’s been said that you make fast friends with the other contestants. It’s no fun at all if you don’t enjoy making friends in the first place. “Treat it as a real important job,” says Omar. “Being a star is a job, not a hobby. You have to be serious about it.” If — and that’s a BIG if — you get to the Finals, the demands on your time are going to be significant. You’ll be up and about by 7am, and may only get home late at night, only to do the same thing all over again the next day… and the next, and the next, and the next. You’d best make sure your other work or study commitments are minimal if you want to give it your all.
6. Build your confidence
Kylie Minogue may not be able to sing, but she can do a whole lot else!
You may think that you are a regular Christina Aguilera, judging by the the way you mesmerize your friends at birthday parties and karaoke afternoons. But so does every other girl who is going to be lining up at the auditions. Believe me, you will hear girls practicing in the lobby who sound much, much better than you. You can start to feel very insignificant. If you’re not careful you could carry that feeling straight into the audition room. “The judges will be very critical, so do the best you can,” advises Omar. “You only get that one chance.” A competition is always a confidence game, of course, but in a singing competition, that confidence is very nearly all you have. You would have spent all morning (and maybe even afternoon) listening to some amazing talent in the waiting hall, and may realise that, note for note, there’s no way you’ll ever beat some of the other contestants. This is where a confident step and tone can make all the difference. This could become the only trump card you have to pull against the others — at least in the audition stage — so get pumped!
7. Eat well, sleep well
If you do get through the auditions, then life is going to very suddenly move into high gear for you. You do not know exhaustion the way an Idol does until you’ve been one yourself. You will be working your voice hoarse with singing and your jaw will become tired from weeks of smiling. You must make sure you take care of your health. “Get lots of rest and sleep,” continues Omar. “This will help your voice reach its maximum potential. Make sure you wow the judges — if you’re mediocre or just ‘not bad’, you might not even get to see the judges.” Last year, there were several contestants who complained of being a little ill with sore throats and the sniffles. You can attribute both to lack of sleep and poor dieting in the days leading up to the Finals. No matter what, you must watch what you do. Late-night movies can wait, as can late-night chats with the girls. What is important is that you eat good food, drink lots of water and get all the rest your poor, battered body will need.
8. Dress well
There are two ways to look at this. On one hand, it seems that in order to make it big, you’ve got to be willing to shed some fabric… at least that’s the way MTV makes it look. On the other hand, slutty dressing could also mean that you have to compensate for your lack of talent with a willingness to show some skin. “You must nurture your charisma,” says Omar. “As in any entertainment field, charisma, when combined with talent, is a potent recipe for success. Don’t be shy. If you want to be a star, start having the aura of a star right now. (But don’t be a Prima Donna else you’ll never get the votes).” What we’d recommend is thinking local tastes for your local audience, at least to begin with. Sexy may be good, but sultry could be better. Think of something that shows less skin, but which accentuates your curves. Something that places less emphasis on the element of sex, and more on the element of woman. But above all, make sure it’s comfortable — you have to be able to sing in it, remember?
Audition checklist
All set for the auditions? Better make sure with this handy checklist:
- Make-up — bring everything you have, because you don’t know how long you could be waiting.
- Comfortable clothes — you don’t want to be sitting around in high-heels and pleats for three hours. Get changed into you Idol attire about three people before your turn.
- Snacks — the waiting makes even the strictest dieter hungry, so here’s a good excuse to get some chocolate!
- Mirror — a good-sized hand mirror for you to keep an eye out for stray hair wisps and lipstick smudges is a must.
- Money — like, duh….
- Portable music — like a CD Man, MP3 player or equivalent, so you can keep your spirits up and stay in the mood. Failing which, do get some ear plugs to block out the practice screeches of other contestants.
- Mobile phone — so you can call home to say you got through to the next round!
- Perfume — even though you may not have body odour, the guys around you might.
- Water — get plenty of this to drink so you don’t go in with a parched throat.
- Travel games/good book — even the most excited of contestants will find herself getting bored, so bring along a travel Scrabble or Mills and Boon to keep yourself occupied.
Practice makes perfect
The professionals recommend practicing hard to make sure you peak during the auditions. But neither should you overpractice. Some techniques that professionals use include…
- Ululating — try imitating the birds. It’s harder than you think.
- Vowelising — enunciate your vowels, A, E, I, O and U, in progressively higher pitches until your voice cracks.
- Consonatising — do the same with consonant sounds.
- Speaking aloud — before you can sing aloud, you must be able to speak aloud. Judge for yourself if you can make out every word distinctly.
- Do, Re, Mi — run through the scales back and forth in progressively higher pitches until your voice cracks.
- Yodeling — yes, yodeling. This is not very easy to do, either, but it does wonders for your pitching.
- Deep breathing — whatever sounds you produce in your voicebox need your lungs for power. Practice your breathing technique as often as you can.
- Vibrato — Whitney does this admirably, as does Fantasia. The vibrato quality of your voice depends on how well you vibrate a note with your diaphragm. It takes ages to master, and if you don’t know it already, well….
- Dynamics — being able to plunge from a high note to a low note and sing both with the same amount of power requires a lot of practice.
- Ssss and Rrrr — Rrrrolling your Rs and hissssing your Ss while singing is something many people overlook in the karaoke, especially if you’re singing English songs. But in American Idol, pronunciation is paramount.
