Choosing America's Next Superstar Read Online Free Page B

“Very well, go ahead,” Reuben said. He crossed his arms obstinately, waiting for Corey to start.
    Corey was very relieved they didn’t ask him about the story of his nonexistent, fatally ill brother. He took a quick breath, straightened his posture, and began to sing. As he belted out the notes, his entire body was infused with confidence. Right from the first bar, he knew he’d nailed it, and the melody flowed out of him with intense emotion.
    All four judges sat there, staring at him. Corey made it all the way through the first verse and chorus before Tyler raised his hand and indicated for him to stop. “Holy fuck!” the aging rock star exclaimed. “Boy, you can sing !”
    Corey smiled, proud yet a little self-conscious. “Thank you, sir,” he said meekly.
    “You gave me goosies!” Krystal squealed, holding her arms out to show her goose pimples.
    Reuben nodded, a very serious expression on his face. “Very well, shall we vote? I say yes.”
    “Yes,” Raymond quickly added.
    “Definitely yes,” Tyler said.
    “Corey, you’re going to New York!” Krystal exclaimed. She held out a sheet of orange-colored paper. “Here’s your golden ticket.”
    “Yes!” Corey shouted, pumping his fist in the air. “Oh… oh… oh! I can’t believe it!” He stepped down from the stage to take the paper from Krystal. “Thank you. Thank you so much!”
    As he turned, he saw the man with the headset waving frantically, motioning for him to exit through a different door. Apparently winners had to go out the opposite side of the room than the losers did. He thought it would be like on television, that he’d be dashing outside to wave around his ticket to Dylan and Meg, but instead he was led down the hallway to an office area.
    “Congratulations,” a slender middle-aged female said as she greeted him. “Have a seat.” She introduced herself as Ms. Warren. After sitting behind a desk herself, she pointed to one of the empty chairs, which Corey slid into as per her instruction.
    Ms. Warren then proceeded to ask him a series of questions including his name, address, and phone numbers, and if he had any health issues. She explained that he would be mailed an airline ticket to New York, be provided transportation and hotel accommodations, and a return flight in the unfortunate event that he was voted off during the competition. This was all for the pretaping. The elimination process would all be conducted during the first two weeks of September. They would begin with approximately four hundred contestants, but only about forty of them would make it through all the elimination rounds. If he did happen to be one of those lucky forty, he’d then have to fly to Hollywood in January and would stay there for the duration of the live broadcasts.
    Had he been under the age of eighteen, he would have been allowed the accompaniment of one parent or guardian. Being that he was eighteen, this did not apply. He would be completely on his own.
    “Do you have any questions for me?” she asked.
    “Uh… yes, ma’am,” he said.
    She smiled sweetly. “Okay, go ahead.”
    “Well, it’s not really a question. It’s more like a confession….”
    “Oh?” she said, leaning forward in her chair.
    “My friend who’s with me—Megan—she told the producer some things about me that weren’t true.”
    “What kind of things?” she asked, still smiling.
    “She gave them a sob story, saying my brother was dying. I don’t even have a brother, though.”
    Ms. Warren started laughing. “Aren’t you the sweetest little thing? Honey, don’t worry. Everyone has a sob story. It’s all part of the game. You should thank your friend for her creativity. Did you look out there and see the tens of thousands of kids all tryin’ to get on this show? If they didn’t have some kind of story to tell, they’d never make it.”
    “But what about my audition? I mean, they filmed me and asked for pictures of my brother….”
    “When you