‘Idol’ hopefuls swarm Georgia Dome for shot at stardom
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
When the three members of Atlanta-based singing group Unisyn arrived at the Georgia Dome at 2 a.m. Tuesday morning for “American Idol” registration, they thought they would be among the first to show up.
They were wrong.
John Spink/jspink@ajc.com
Although the actual auditions don’t start until Thursday, ‘American Idol’ hopefuls were allowed to start registering Tuesday. Hundreds showed up at the Georgia Dome.
John Spink/jspink@ajc.com
Natalie Ashford, 19, belts out ‘Standing Still’ by Jewel Tuesday outside the Georgia Dome while waiting to register for ‘American Idol’ auditions.
“Idol” hopefuls began lining up at Gate D of the Georgia Dome at 9 p.m. Monday night for audition registration, which began Tuesday at 7 a.m.
The Unisyn singers, Devon Barkley, 18, Tremaine Johnson, 17 and Edward Ponton, 16, spent their five hours in line singing R and B, pop and gospel songs and listening to others sing.
First-round auditions for the ninth season of the hit TV show begin at 8 a.m. Thursday at the Georgia Dome.
Clemson University senior Paige Campbell and recent Clemson alumna Chelsea Hayes began their two-hour drive from Clemson at midnight Tuesday.
“We were glad we got here when we did,” Campbell said.
Campbell said it was quiet but crowded when they first arrived at 2 a.m., but that people in line started singing at around 3 a.m. She described the 3 a.m. hour as a mixture of exhaustion and giddiness and said the line started wrapping around the building at about 4 a.m.
At the audition Thursday, Hayes will sing “I told You So” by Carrie Underwood, winner of the fourth season of “Idol.” Campbell is still deciding between Journey’s “Faithfully” and the Dixie Chicks’ “Heartbreak Town.”
“I don’t expect to get very far,” Campbell said. “I don’t think my parents would be too thrilled if I dropped out my last year of college.”
This season marks the fifth time Atlanta has been used as an audition site.
In the first three seasons of the show, “Idol” singers Tamyra Gray, from Norcross, Clay Aiken, from North Carolina and third-season winner Fantasia, from North Carolina, all auditioned in Atlanta.
For Medina Terry, Thursday will mark much more than just her first “Idol” audition.
Terry, 27, spent the last 10 years in a wheelchair due to seizures and nervous tremors. Her illness forced her to drop out of Clayton State, where she attended on a music scholarship, after three years of school.
After eight seasons of watching the show from bed, Terry is now able to try out.
“It’s a miracle that I can be standing here registering,” Terry said. “It’s a miracle from God.”
Terry and her mother Gaynell arrived at the Georgia Dome at 3:30 a.m. Tuesday with a suitcase full of snacks and drinks – the same suitcase, Gaynell said, that Terry used to roll her books behind her as she walked to classes at Clayton State with a cane.
Terry, an Atlanta native, said she plays the organ and keyboard and plans to perform Michael Jackson’s “Who’s Loving You” in her audition Thursday.
“I’m unmarried at 27 and have no kids,” Terry said. “Before I venture off into motherhood and marriage, this is something I want to do – accomplish my goals.”
“She’s ready to get out and fly,” Gaynell said.
