Music Dream

“Round Two will be a singing round. How exciting is that!? Anyway, each of you will sing a song. Unlike the auditions, it doesn’t matter how you sound when you are singing. We are looking for how much you interact with the song and how you connect with the audience. Since we are so short on time, we are eliminating two people in this round. Good luck everyone,” Stacey said excitedly. Alexi had no problem interacting with the song but she didn’t quite know how to connect with the audience. She turned around to look at the rest of the competitors. Brianna didn’t look too nervous but even with courage masking her face; Alexi could see panic. She looked over at Adrianna who was brushing her hair with her fingers nervously. Alexi could see Karena desperately fiddling with her bracelet as if it could take her someplace else. The atmosphere in the music room was mostly relaxed but panic quickly filled the whole room. “Anyway, Brianna, you performance was the best in yesterday’s round so you have earned yourself an advantage for this round. Here is the song list. Your advantage is that you can choose the songs you and the other competitors will sing and the order of which they will sing,” Bill said trying to lift the atmosphere in the room. Brianna immediately brightened up and snatched the list out of Bill’s hand. A kind, fair smile broke out on Brianna’s face but Alexi saw through it. Brianna was using a kind, caring smile to disguise the evil smile within. “Yay! Adrianna, you’ll be singing ‘Fireworks’ by Katy Perry. Karena, you’ll be singing ‘Mr Know It All’ by Kelly Clarkson. Alexi, you’ll be singing ‘Enchanted’ by Taylor Swift. And I’m going to be singing ‘How Can I Get You to Fall for Me?’ by Stacey Avarai. We will be singing in this order: Karena, Adrianna, Alexi and finally, me!” Brianna said excitedly. The songs Brianna gave the other competitors weren’t easy songs to sing. Alexi knew that if she tried to sing ‘Enchanted’, she wouldn’t sound too good because there were lots of high and low notes and sudden changes between the notes. But the songs were easy to interact with and connect to the audience. The song Brianna chose for herself was an easy song to sing but difficult to interact with and connect to the audience. “She must’ve forgotten that. I hope she doesn’t remember because she could try to change the songs again,” Alexi thought to herself. She really hoped that Brianna wouldn’t remember but even if she did, Alexi was certain neither Bill nor Stacey wouldn’t let her change her decision. “Good choice Brianna. Each of you will have thirty minutes to rehearse before you sing. Also, the band from the auditions will be playing. All you have to do is sing. Good luck everyone!” Stacey called out excitedly. After she finished, everyone started to sing at once. Brianna and Karena practiced singing their songs straight away but Adrianna sang some scales before starting. Alexi decided to start with some scales to warm her voice up. After a few scales, she practiced her song. “Ok, that’s enough practice. Thirty minutes is over. Karena, you’re up first,” Bill called out after thirty minutes. Alexi would’ve liked a bit more practice because she wasn’t absolutely confident with what she achieved during her practice time. She was worried that she wouldn’t sing the chorus high enough or she would sing low notes where she should’ve sang high notes. She was also worried that she would sing the verses too loudly or strongly. She listened to Karena sing and picked up all of her flaws. She listened to Adrianna sing and focused on her mistakes. When Alexi’s turn came, her mind was so full of things that she should do and things she shouldn’t do, she forgot the first line of the song. She walked nervously to the center of the room. The lead guitarist smiled reassuringly at her but she gave him a look of panic. As Alexi waited for her queue to sing, she heard her mum’s voice again. “Alexi, dear, relax. Remember, Bill and Stacey are looking for how you interact with the song and how you connect with the audience. Don’t worry about how you sound,” Alexi heard her mum said. Just when her mum finished talking, the band played the last few notes before her queue. Alexi remembered the first line and started to relax. She didn’t care if she sang the first verse too strongly and she didn’t care if she didn’t sing the right high note when the notes changed. Alexi just focused on engaging with the song and connecting with the audience. When she finished singing the song, Alexi found tears running down her cheek. She didn’t know why she was crying but she just wiped her tears away. Alexi tried to catch the lead guitarist’s eye but he just turned away whenever she looked at him. “Well done Alexi! I’m sure you really connected with the audience, some more than others!” Bill called out happily from one side of the room. Alexi rushed back to the side of the room overjoyed. She felt so light and happy she could’ve flown to the side of the room. “Brianna, your turn now,” Stacey called. Brianna walked to the middle of the room full of confidence. As the music started Brianna smiled with confidence to herself. She sang her song without a single flaw. Brianna interacted with the song perfectly but she didn’t connect with the audience at all. When she finished singing, the results were announced. “We’ve heard you all sing the songs Brianna chose for you and we have decided which two will be eliminated. The first one to be eliminated is-” Bill said but he was interrupted.