Girl Band

Chapter Eleven.

"The Music Angels! Please report to the makeup area!" the man yelled.
A folk band was before us. They were amazing! My dad agreed, and so did everyone else. Then, everyone applauded for them. The time had come for us to perform.
"Okay guys, this is it," I said. "The moment we have all been waiting for. It's going to be forever, or it's going to go down in flames!"
"You got that from 'Blank Space', didn't you?" Kayla asked.
"Are we ready for this?"
"Hayley!"
"Kayla!"
"Meghan!"
"Taylor!"
"And Madison! We are the Music Angels!"
I watched the host walk on the stage.
"This next band is from a small town in Northern California, and they instantly got many hits after their video was posted," the host said. "This band of five amazing and talented girls have inspired many other girls to follow their dreams. Without further ado, here are the Music Angels!"
The lights turned on, and I was looking Taylor Swift straight in the eye. Then, my heart began to race.
Say: "What's up Los Angeles?!", I thought.
The crowds began to cheer. I yelled,"What's up Los Angeles?!". Kayla gave Taylor (the drummer) a thumbs up, and then she started counting.
"One! Two!" Taylor shouted. "One! Two! Three! Four!"
I did this cool riff at the beginning. Then, I started singing.
"I see your face," I sang. "and I don't know what to do. You're so popular, oh, I just want to be like you!"
I continued singing solo, then the whole band started singing.
"Listen up, boy! You're totally perfect! Every time I see you, I have to say more than just hello! You're too cool, so impossible to forget! You always act like it's something you don't know!"
After the second verse and the second appearance of the refrain, I did this awesome guitar solo. Then, everyone went crazy. I saw Taylor Swift talking to Hunter Hayes, but I couldn't make out what she was saying. I assumed she said, She's good. When the song was over, we received a standing ovation. Blake Shelton began to speak.
"You girls blew my mind!" he exclaimed. "I can't say anything bad about you girls!"
Then, Ariana Grande spoke.
"You girls are so cool!" she said with enthusiasm. "
Then, Hunter spoke.
"You girls rock! The girl who did that awesome guitar riff is extremely good! I have never seen a band where the lead singer is the lead guitar player!"
When Taylor Swift started talking, my heart raced.
"You could be my favorite band that I have seen!" she exclaimed. "I did read your bio, and I found out you girls are huge fans of mine."
"It's true," Taylor said. "The rest of the band calls me 'Taylor Swift'!"
"I'm honored! You girls blew my mind. What else can I say? You are so amazing!"
Everyone applauded and cheered. We left the stage.
~*~
A.J.'s band was next. They showed up on stage, and they started singing (actually it was screaming!). Everyone was booing and hissing. I couldn't understand a word he was saying! I watched Dad's face redden.
"My son is an idiot!" he shouted.
I watched the irritated crowd. The judges were frustrated, but Taylor Swift was extremely irritated. She has her face buried in her arms on the table. Then, Dad got his revenge. He sang the song A.J. was singing, but he was making fun of him, and he was dancing. Then, everyone started laughing. I laughed, too.
"You realize your sister is a better singer and guitar player than you are?" Dad asked.
"Oh my gosh!" A.J. yelled as he dropped his guitar. "I hate you, Dad!"
He stormed out of the bright lights. Then, the rest of his band left.
"That's what you get for making your sister famous!" Iggy yelled and laughed.
~*~
THE PERFORMANCES AFTER THE BROKEN SKULLS WERE ABSOLUTELY TERRIBLE!!!! The first half of the contest had amazing bands and musicians. Now, they are amateurs doing it for the attention! Fifth Direction was up. They started dancing and singing.
"If you can take my pulse right now, it would feel like a sledgehammer!" they sang. Then they mixed a One Direction song into that song. The judges weren't impressed. A Chinese boy was playing the violin. The bow slid out of his hand, and it hit a person who was in the crowd. A teenage girl wouldn't stop winking at the audience, and she was pretending to play a guitar. Everyone knew it was a recording. Two girls were dancing and singing like Sophia Grace and Rosie (and the wore tutus and tiaras! What the heck?!) A girl band was singing "Chandelier", and the main singer lost her voice and was screaming on the high notes! This is making me sick! When is this over?!
~*~
When the reign of terror was over, the host allowed the judges to think about who should win. I waited in the dressing room with the rest of my band.
"Do you think we are going to win," Meghan asked.
"There is a very good chance that we may," I said.
"NOT!!!!" Hayley shouted. "You saw Fifth Direction! Everyone was cheering for them! They even got a standing ovation!"
"But so did we!" Kayla and Taylor protested. "The cheering continued after we left the stage! The crowd wouldn't stop cheering!"
"You two are way too positive! Did you see Fifth Direction's outfits and makeup? People love the over-the-top amateurs, not the simple talented musicians!"
Dad knocked on the dressing room door.
"You girls were good!" he said. "Even if you don't win, you are still talented! People don't understand. They don't get talent. I think you girls and Averie and the Maze Runners should be the winners. Fifth Direction shouldn't even exist!!"
A man walked into the dressing room. He motioned us to the stage. All the bands and musicians were standing on stage.
"Many musicians and bands have participated in this competition," the host said. "but only ten of you have placed. Let's get this started. Tenth place is Grace Harrison!"
Everyone clapped.
"Ninth place is Daisy and the Roses!"
That band was okay.
"Eight place is Paris and the Perfect Princesses!"
That band was the one that performed "Chandelier". Ugh!
"Seventh place is Blake Johnson!"
He was okay.
"Sixth place is Lost Time!"
That band did pretty well.
"Fifth place is Sophia and the First!"
They did an excellent job!
"Fourth place is Vintage Perfection!"
That was the folk band that performed before me! They were good!
"Third place is Seven Feet of Love!"
They were awesome!
"Second place is Averie and the Maze Runners!"
What? I thought they would win! They were better than us! They did a fantastic job performing.
"And the winner of the YouTube-Discovered Musicians and Bands Contest is..."
My heart was pounding through my chest. I was so excited! This was it! This could be the moment that changes our lives forever!
"Fifth Direction!"
My heart stopped. That's it?! Amateurs as winners? I wanted to cry. The judges didn't like those girls! Why did they pick them? Was this contest based off of popularity?
"Let me say what the judges said about Fifth Direction. They said F.D. was so arrogant, annoying, over-the-top, stupid, and most of all, ugly! You wanted the attention. Everyone cheered for you! There's your attention! Are you happy? Get off this stage!"
"But I..." one of the singers complained. She and the rest of her band left.
"And the true, real winner of the YouTube Discovered Musicians and Bands Contest is..."
The anticipation and my pounding heartbeat returned.
"The Music Angels!"
OH MY GOSH!!! WE WON!!!!!!!!! I went crazy. Actually, we all went crazy! Even Averie and the Maze Runners and Seven Feet of Love went crazy! The host presented us a hundred-thousand dollar check and a trophy. All the other Top Ten winners received trophies and ten-thousand dollar checks. Then, the most extraordinary thing happened. Taylor Swift ran up to the stage and started hugging me! Suddenly, A.J. walked up to me.
"Good job, little sis," he said, punching me playfully in the arm. "I always thought you were stupid!"
I blushed.
~*~
The night wasn't over yet! As my band and I was packing up, a person walked up to us. It was none other that Taylor Swift!
"Are you girls the Music Angels?" she asked.
"Uh...yes?" I was nervous to speak.
"Big Time Taylor Swift Fan-Girl doesn't know how to speak to a famous person!" Meghan joked.
"Shut up, Meghan!" I muttered.
Taylor Swift just laughed.
"What's the main singer's name? I only know the drummer's name."
"Madison. Madison 'World's Biggest Taylor Swift Fan' Carson!"
"Shut up, Meghan!"
As everyone was leaving, we were having an awesome conversation with Taylor Swift. Fifth Direction must've left before they announced the winner (US!!!!!). I couldn't find them anywhere. Suddenly, Dad marched right up to us.
"We better get going!" he said. "The night doesn't last forever!"
We gathered up our things, until a thought occurred to me. I didn't get I a picture with Taylor Swift yet!
"Hold on, guys!" I shouted. "I forgot something. Dad, you need to take a picture with Taylor Swift, my band, and me!"
"Why?"
"Just do it!"
Dad held up my phone, while the rest of us posed for a picture. After that, we loaded up the RV. We drove all night. When we got home, I hopped onto my bed, without falling asleep. Hayley, Kayla, Meghan, and Taylor (not Taylor Swift!) spent the night at my house.