Idol auditions a shot at stardom for London
teen
By Jennett Mays
jmays@uwo.ca
The slight blond girl sits in an armchair that
seems to dwarf her. Her hands are clasped in her lap, although
she raises them from time to time to gesture, emphasizing her
words.
These excited hand movements match the excitement sparkling in
her eyes.
She's the secretary of her school's student council, loves playing
guitar, and getting out into the country.
She also wants to be the next Canadian
Idol.
 |
| Photo by Kim Wexler |
| Kim Wexler has performed at school but
is looking forward to getting the opinion of a professional. |
Kim Wexler is a Grade 11 student at Sir Frederick Banting Secondary
School in London who wants to be a star and believes Canadian
Idol is the best way to get there.
And she's far from alone.
Sue Brophey, senior producer with InsightTV, the production company
behind Canadian Idol, says there are many young people anxious
to turn 16, the minimum age to audition.
"I think we get a lot of 16-year-olds who try out,"
she said. "People are champing at the bit."
That certainly applies to Wexler. And while she's been told she's
a good singer, she scoffs at the compliments.
"A lot of people, especially in high school, a lot of people
will say 'you're really good' even if they think you're terrible.
They're just your friends."
She's been singing since long before high school though. Her
mother was also into music, so for Wexler, singing just made sense.
"I was really young," she said. "I just started
to sing. It was kind of a calling."
Wexler's been preparing for stardom almost as long as she's been
listening to music. She started singing in grade school, and that's
when the compliments started rolling in.
"Lots of people started telling me, 'I like your voice.'
And that's when I knew I could sing," she said.
Wexler even used her talents to propel her onto her school's
student council. While all her classmates were writing speeches,
Wexler rewrote the lyrics of the popular song, Hands Down,
to fit her campaign message.
'I know that got a lot of people to vote for me; it just wasn't
enough to get voted in."
It certainly garnered some attention, and when she tried the
same tactic with another song the next year, it worked.
Since then, Wexler has been doing all she can to bring attention
to her singing and more recently, her guitar playing and songwriting.
Like most up-and-coming young artists, Wexler has a MySpace page
featuring clips of her singing.
But the inspiration for her page is a little unorthodox.
"To be honest — Ellen," she said, referring to
daytime talk show host Ellen DeGeneres, with only a hint of embarrassment
in her voice.
She explains that DeGeneres will often invite her favourite MySpace
artists to perform on the show, and Wexler is hoping she'll be
one of them.
Brophey said that sort of attitude isn't uncommon among young
contestants.
"I think we live in a society where young people see famous
people and think 'I can do that!' "
But Brophey believes that while young contestants like Wexler
have just as good a shot at winning the Idol title as older contestants,
their age might put them at a slight disadvantage.
"A 16-year-old maybe hasn't had their heart broken, or travelled
or had that life experience."
According to Brophey, these life experiences can help a contestant
to interpret the songs, and sing them with real emotion.
But Wexler easily dismisses this theory.
"I think sometimes adults forget what it's like to be 16,"
she explained. "There's a lot of high school drama and teenage
angst."
Part of being a 16-year-old contestant on Canadian Idol means
Wexler needs to OK her plans with her parents. At the very least,
Wexler won't be travelling to Toronto and auditioning alone.
 |
| Photo by CTV |
| Toronto auditions tend to draw the biggest
crowds, like these during the 2007 Canadian Idol auditions,
says Sue Brophey. |
"They're fine with it as long as I call them and tell them
I'm safe, because my friend is driving me and she's 17."
Lee Parkin, a 23-year-old music student in Toronto, tried out
for Canadian Idol twice along with friends. He said that even
if only one person makes it through, there's still a role for
the others.
At his first audition, Parkin didn't make it through to the celebrity
judges, but two friends he tried out with did.
"That was kind of fun to sit outside the room when they
went in. One of them got a gold ticket and got to go to Toronto.
I was on TV for not even five seconds jumping around, hugging
my friends," he recalled.
Parkin explained that there are two levels of producers a contestant
has to go through before getting to sing in front of the celebrity
judges.
Brophey confirms this but said many potential contestants are
unaware that they might not be singing in front of the judges
they've seen on TV.
Wexler isn't pinning all her hopes on getting a coveted gold
ticket, but as the April Toronto auditions draw closer, the nerves
and excitement are evident when she talks about the process.
Her whole face lights up as she talks about auditioning. Her
words come quickly, more confident.
"A lot of my friends auditioned last year," she explained.
"They said it's a good experience, even if you don't get
accepted, because you get to hear someone else's opinion who doesn't
know you."
Parkin certainly agrees.
"It was good. It was fun," he confirmed. "If you
go with friends it's much better because if you get shot down,
and they get shot down too, it's not as sad."
Brophey wants potential contestants to be at ease.
"It's really fun," she insists. "We're all really
nice people."
Parkin, who didn't make it through to the celebrity judges either
year, agrees.
"He was nice about it," Parkin said of the producer.
"He said to me, 'I like your voice, but I think you need
a few more years of practice.' He let me down gently," Parkin
said.
And Wexler has a simple plan for how to deal with the rejection,
if it comes.
"Suck it up. Go home," she says with a laugh.
