“American Idol”
auditions at ESPN Wide World of Sports drew a pretty good turnout, show producers say.
“American Idol” looked back at last season’s surprise romance as the ABC singing contest officially kicked off auditions Saturday for a second year in a row at Walt Disney World Resort.
Contestants sweltered outside last year at Disney Springs, but this year they performed inside the Arena at ESPN Wide World of Sports Complex in Kissimmee.
“It’s such a nice venue. It’s much cooler than it was last year,” said Patrick Lynn, the show’s senior supervising producer. “Acoustics in this building are by far some of the best we’ve ever had,” he added, noting the floor had been covered with carpet.
Francess Louis, 20, a hopeful from Orlando, knew the audition routine. “The Voice” told her she wasn’t ready, she said, and “America’s Got Talent” rejected her. But she was ready to give “Idol” a try with “Something’s Got a Hold on Me.”
Afterward, she said, “I think I did great, but it was a no from them.”
Alfredo Pacheco, 24, showed up in his Quest Diagnostics uniform to audition. He’s a doctor in Venezuela and had to start over when he moved to Orlando two years ago. And he sings, too?
“I believe so,” he said. “It’s a hobby.”
He was inspired last season by contestant Michelle Sussett, who is also from Venezuela. He planned to sing “New York, New York.”
Later, he said he nervously screwed up the song, but he was happy to try and might do so again next year.
ABC, which is owned by Disney, wasn’t saying how many auditioned or made it through, but Lynn said turnout had been pretty good. Saturday’s auditions are for next season, which starts airing next year.
“You’ve got so many people that are performers here,” Lynn said. “We always get good talent here.”
Season 16 winner Maddie Poppe and runner-up Caleb Lee Hutchinson visited the audition site. They surprised fans in the May finale by announcing they are dating.
“We didn’t try to keep it a secret or anything,” said Hutchinson of Dallas, Ga. “But I think with us telling folks when we did, nobody can say that Maddie won for any reason other that she’s talented and people like her.”
Hutchinson said he didn’t think it would have been as good for him if he had won. “I wanted to do my best and I would have been honored to win, but at the same time I was like so rooting for her and in her corner,” he said. “It felt like a victory to me.”
Poppe, a songwriter from Clarksville, Iowa, replied: “He’s so sweet and supportive, and always here for me, and I’m a mess 75 percent of the time, and I’m very difficult to deal with, and he deals with me.”
She said her life had totally changed, from performing in coffee shops a year ago to being on the “Idol” tour with the Top 7 finalists. “The exposure was insane,” she said of “Idol.”
Catie Turner, a finalist last season from Langhorne, Pa., auditioned last year in Orlando. She recalled she fell on the grass and cried afterward. Being back, she said, “just gives me an appreciation for everybody who just gives it a shot and tries. It’s so nerveracking, but it’s so rewarding.”