What ‘American Idol 2’ Hopefuls Need to Know

So you need to do something that will likely get you on the show. If you have a back story, tell it. If you have a unique personality (see above), flaunt it. Chat up the hosts before and after your audition. Hell, chat up the judges once you’ve made it. You need to make a good impression on the producers so you can make a similar one on the viewers. As with the unique look, being memorable alone isn’t going to get you into the Top 10 – you need talent as well. But there will be lots of people with talent, so you need to stand out from them.

5) No Karaoke!

How many times did we hear the term “karaoke” from the judges? They want to hear voices as good as Whitney’s. But they don’t want to hear Whitney – let alone your impersonation of her. You may be better off singing songs that viewers are familiar with (though Ryan Starr did a good job with her “Frim Fram Sauce” number), but you have to do it in a way that does not make it look like you are just imitating the original singer. It’s not easy to do – several times last season Simon seemed to contradict himself by criticizing somebody for trying to be a clone but then criticizing somebody else for essentially being too original – but if you don’t want to hear Simon call you a karaoke singer, you need to find a way to make it happen. That being said, don’t totally destroy a good song just to be original. Rodesia utterly ruined “Daydream Believer” and deservedly went nowhere.

6) No Matter What, Don’t Argue With Simon!

I cannot stress this enough. Simon can be nasty, he can be mean – but he’s usually right (though not always). He’s also a lot wittier than you are likely to be. I mean, Paula Abdul hired a comedy writer to try to hold her own with Simon and she still got whomped by him in verbal sparring pretty much every week. If he criticizes you, accept it and move on. If you argue with him, you will come off looking like an ass (and sometimes an egotistical one, at that). And when I say not to argue with him, this includes running back to the green room and trying to slam him to the hosts. For perfect examples of what not to do, look at Tenia and Alexandra from the second batch of ten in the final 30. They both came off looking silly, and neither made it any further.

Of course, do I really even need to remind people of what Justin did when he didn’t like what Simon had to say? He called on the audience and looked so egotistical that it affected votes against him for at least two weeks. Ryan, after an absolutely horrid performance of “You Really Got Me,” told Simon he just doesn’t like rock & roll. She was lucky to survive the week, though she was gone the next. Meanwhile, whenever Kelly or Tamyra had any criticism leveled at them (admittedly, it was rare), they nodded their heads and smiled as if eager to learn and do better. That is the way to accept criticism.

Conclusion

So, there you have it – the most important advice you will ever receive on your way to stardom. Well, okay, maybe almost the most important. You only have a few days to get ready for your big opportunity, so you’d better get hopping. Practice your singing, practice chatting with the hosts, and get ready to become the next American Idol!

Oh, and if you don’t make it this time, you can always buy the new American Idol computer game and practice your moves that way.

David Bloomberg is the Editor of RealityNewsOnline, and can be reached at rno@pobox.com.

Be sure to sign up for our e-mail update so you can stay informed about new articles on the site! For all our articles about this show, check out the American Idol page, and make sure to stop by the Foxes On Idol site! You can even buy reality show stuff at our Reality TV Store!

For more news about reality TV, be sure to check out RealityTVFans.com and SirLinksALot!