The American Idol bus auditions kicked off in New Orleans on Friday (July 20). After a successful first season on ABC, the show is looking for fresh new talent to feature when the show returns to television mid season 2019.
Notably, the bus only had one stop. The tour doesn’t begin in earnest until the August 22 stop in Miami Florida. Then, beginning August 28 in Chattanooga, Tennessee and Scottsdale, Arizona, two busses will travel the east and west coasts auditioning singers through mid-September. Check out the full schedule HERE.
WGNO reports that hundreds of singers were lined up outside the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center waiting their chance to audition for American Idol producers.
As always, executive producer Patrick Lynn was on hand with advice for the hopefuls.
“First of all, pick a good song,” Lynn said. “Pick something you know, something you like. Secondly, perform it well, not just singing it; but performing it well. You know, stand there open your eyes, look engaged. What would Usher do on stage? What would Beyonce do on stage? You should be doing the same thing.”
And no Idol feature is complete without highlighting a sad backstory.
“I grew up not without a momma,” Richard Schoefield from California said. “My momma is still alive, I just don’t know who she is right now. My dad, he was around, he was only around to put me in check. He was always in gangs on the streets. It would mean the world for me to win to prove I can do it.”
A WGNO television personality spoke with a couple of very tenacious moms in the holding room. One revealed that it was her daughter’s third shot auditioning for a spot on the show. Another shares how she and her daughter have done tons of competitions. “We’ve done America’s Got Talent four times. We just came from The Voice where she made it to the second round…if she doesn’t make it here, we know American Idol is going to be in Houston on September the 4th. And if that doesn’t work, we’ll be back in Louisiana on September 9. We’re not stopping.” That’s one busy moma!
The station spoke with one of the hopefuls after her audition. She sang a bit for the cameras.
Judges auditions took place at the Mardi Gras museum in NOLA last season. Will Katy Perry, Lionel Richie and Luke Bryan be making a return to the city once the judges rounds begin? According to WGNO, the judges round of auditions begin “early next year” but with the season beginning probably in February or March, that can that be correct? The Hollywood round happened in January last year, with judges round auditions taking place earlier in the fall. I suspect the schedule will be similar this season.
Check out a photo gallery HERE. And even more photos and contestant profiles HERE.
