Dream on: Portland hosts ‘American Idol’ auditions
The dream of becoming a winner on “American Idol” starts with a song. You have one shot to take the walk from the long line, to potential stardom. You get one song. But which one?
It’s a choice Salvador Gadoy of Portland has had to make many times before. This is his fourth time auditioning for “American Idol.” We caught up with him at the start of the line, and he was still figuring out what he was going to sing to the judges.
“‘People Are Strange’ by The Doors, ‘A Change is Gonna Come’ by Sam Cook, and I forgot the other one,” he said.
He’s not the only one to come back and try to win “Idol” after being rejected.
Six years ago, Nathan Botsford of Portland auditioned in Seattle and was shot down four seconds into his first song. On this day, the part-time wedding singer moved on to the next round, set to take place in August.
“Today was just a different experience,” Botsford said. “I felt confident coming in here, sang my songs, and made it through.”
Still struggling to find the right tune, we checked back in with Gadoy after another half-hour in line.
“I think I’m going to go with ’16 Tons’ by Tennessee Ford,” he said. “It’s within my range, and I feel a little bit more comfortable with it.”
That comfort clearly didn’t last long, because as we spoke with Gadoy right before his audition, the song didn’t remain the same.
“I started singing the song, and my voice started cracking at the end of it,” he said. “I guess trying to pick a song got to me. I’m going with ‘People are Strange’ by The Doors.”
Unfortunately, the verdict was once again no good. But in the face of failure, Gadoy said he’d be back to do it all again.
“I may not be at that level right now, but there’s always that chance where you can train throughout the year and be at that level, work on skills, riffs, and come back next year,” he said.
In the face of failure, never give up. That’s the American dream inside of “American Idol.”
But for all of the men and women who audition, it’s a new journey, a new chance. And it starts with a song.
“American Idol’s” fourteenth season begins in January on Fox.
