It only took us a quarter of a clock to arrive at The Fontana Studios - Mardale Drive. We saw groups of female teenagers boarding a shuttle bus. Maybe they were done for the day and it's our turn now.
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Fontana Studios - Mardale Drive is subdivided into five different studios. The two studios on the left wing are used respectively by Daytime UK and The Report UK. The other three are used for live shows with larger volume of audience. Surprisingly, the dressing rooms are located right in the middle of the Fontana Studios.
We were led to Studio 4 which I think could house at least 800 people. It's massive for a studio.
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It has four chairs for the judges and a massive stage. Now, nerves are shooting down my spine.
Before I get into stage fright or anything alike, my eyes caught a girl sitting in the middle of the seventh row. She's jotting something on her big pink notebook and scrolling through her iPad. Loose strands of hair falling across her face. She took a moment to tuck it behind her ear to reveal that she's munching on something. Mr. Shane sits beside her and whispered something and she immediately shoved her unfinished food back to the Tupperware.
They headed down to the stage and instructed us to sit on the edge. We are informed that we will have a performance on Friday evening and that the dance and vocal coaches will evaluate our strengths and weaknesses and work on them for the next couple of weeks before we get trimmed down for the live shows.
We were further instructed that there are four vocal coaches that will train us today.
I think I've got an edge as I attended voice lessons back home.
But for now, we have to sing a snippet of our pieces.
Andrew got in first and sang the chorus part of Boyz II Men's On Bended Knees.
Ms. Zarene stood up as she parks her pen.
"Andrew Irving, right?"
And Andrew nods in agreement.
"How old were you when Boyz II Men released that song?", Ms. Zarene asks in a calm tone.
"Maybe five or six or something like that. I don't know.", he replies under his teeth.
"Have you had your heart badly broken?", Ms. Zarene asks nosily.
"What? No, no. Haven't yet." Andrew answers, slightly annoyed by a very private question.
"Then why do you almost cry while singing?", Ms. Zarene challenges.
"I don't know, maybe because I'm forming a mental image of me while the girl whom I loved the most closes the door to head a life without me."
"That's it! You need to let the song take a part of yourself in order to perform it better." And the crowd nods in unison.
A few more hopefuls were called before I had my turn. My knees are shaking, sweat beads are forming on my forehead and I'm ready to screw it up. I took a deep breath and started singing All I Have to Give.
She waved her hand and asked me to stop. Vocal coaches start to communicate in a whisper.
"Henry Walford, am I right?", she asked but I wasn't able to even give her a nod due to my nerves.
"Alright, never mind. How old was Nicholas Gene Carter when they recorded that song?"
"I dunno. I don't give a damn." This girl is shooting spikes my way.
"You have no slightest idea that he was probably around your age when they recorded that! He maybe too young but he proved to himself and to the record buyers that he could actually sing and stand out in a five-piece boy band . He was more than just a pretty face with a pretty blond hair. Don't take my comments personally because you have a great voice but you can't stand out. . . Not this time yet."
By the time she is finished, the spikes are already tearing my soul.
"He was more than just a pretty face"
"Does she try to insinuate that I'll only sell records because of my pretty face with a mop of curls?" This morning, I really considered her sweet gesture for making my breakfast but by the afternoon, she's as bitter as a tiffy who forgot to add milk.
I felt a tap on my shoulder and my green eyes met those hazel brown eyes again.
"I'm sorry if my comments turned out to be vexatious. That song simply brought me a bad memory when I was a sophomore. My classmates got bored because of a cancelled class and decided to stage a mini concert. Whoever declined would receive a week of bullying. I was booted third and sang that song. I know I'm not vocally gifted but still I stood there and sang it. The entire class laughed and I remained their clown for a couple of weeks."
I knit my eyebrows in wonderment. "Why are you here if you can't sing a note or two on key?"
"I am here and doing this job because I'm a perfectionist. Mr. Lynch hired me for that simple reason. He knows I can do good because I go into details and I am simply compassionate. I used to hate my recorded voice. Well not really used to because I could slam a recorder with my voice in it up to this time." She giggles fixing her gaze on the floor.
"Henry, Ms. Zarene won't go on a date with you, so kindly join our little dance team now," Andrew teases us.
My eyes immediately shooting daggers to his direction.
