The Project || ag & jb

chapter one

"Contestant #33, you're up." The man tangled in cords with a headset on said as he handed me a microphone.

They say that you'll know when you're on the right path in life when you feel the vibrations of excitement beating in your heart so hard that it makes you want to puke. The cheers of the crowd were muffled in my head as the ringing in my ears over took my focus. My sweaty hands gripped the microphone so hard that I thought it was going to crumble before my eyes. I took long, deep breaths with every step I took up the stairs hoping to regain my focus, because in a few moments I was about to make all my dreams come to life.

In this moment, I knew I was exactly where I needed to be.

Project Platinum was a brand new singing competition that was founded by some of the biggest record labels in the music industry in order to find the new "It" vocalist. The project was said to be broadcasted all over the world, and the grand prize was a million dollar contract with the record label of your choice, or even who wanted to work with you the most. It wasn't anything like American Idol or The Voice where they get their 10 minutes of fame after winning and no one hears about them again.

No, this was much, much bigger.

The reveal of the project was premiered nearly a year ago, and word traveled so fast I didn't even have time to say the words "I'm auditioning" before people started pleading me to do it on hands and knees. I always dreamed of walking on stage, performing a song in front of a crowd and getting a good compliment from Simon Cowell since I was a kid. But this was far beyond something I could ever dream about.

The thing about this project is that it runs so much more differently than the typical singing competition. Instead of miles and miles of people waiting out the doors to audition, you had to send in a 3-minute video of your audition followed by what felt like a 20 page document to fill out of all your information to let them know you are a real person and all that stuff. If your audition got accepted, you were going to be on the official live audition, where the judges will pick the top 30. They weren't going to let people be clowns on live television just so they could get in their Internet fame. This was all extremely serious business and only the best of the best were noticed and accepted.

I remember putting in my audition a little over a year ago, singing my heart out, dreaming of the day I would be able to get my chance to prove myself to the world. It was a long, long, LONG 4 month wait until I heard back from the producer of the show. I still clearly remember the feeling I had when I got the phone call saying I made it to the live auditions. No matter how far I would make it in the competition, I knew in that moment that my life would change forever. It gave me so much more confidence and vengeance to go after what I wanted for my whole life. I needed to not only prove to the world, but to myself that I am meant to make music and sing for the rest of my life.

Thousands of people auditioned, but only 100 of the top vocalists from the audition tapes make it through to the official live auditions. Having this opportunity alone was incredible. The only terrifying thing about this all is that from the live auditions, only 30 people go through to the broadcasting of the real competition. Almost a third of these people get the words "welcome to the project" said to them, making their worlds turn upside forever.

My nerves were up the roof, full of anxiety from my head to my toes, and I thought for a second if I was good enough. But nothing was going to stop me from fulfilling my dreams; this moment was do or die.

I managed to walk across the stage with my head down, trying to calm my nerves while blocking out the cheering crowd in order to get my head into game mode. Spotting the red 'X' we were told to stand on, I lifted my head with a smile, and finally took in the scene. Hundreds of people gone silent the moment I took my spot, waiting for the judges to begin.