Support the VCU men's basketball games this season...and come see me perform at half time

By Malorie Burkett

I first heard about the call for VCU Idol auditions through e-mail I received from a friend. The first line of the e-mail read, "Do you want to be the next American Idol, but don't want to go through the hassle of facing SIMON?" Simon Cowell that is, the well-known record executive and American Idol judge notorious for his often earth shattering, blunt and harsh critiques of American Idol and music hopefuls everywhere.

Well I was in luck, because the next line of the e-mail read "VCU Athletics is bringing the American Idol Competition to you." Of course, the competition in the tradition of the Fox television reality series would be changed around slightly, but the bottom line was there would be no Simon Cowell! I figured I had nothing to lose. Auditions would be open to all VCU students, faculty and staff, and I believed the experience would be fun if anything else.

In late October, I arrived at the Siegel Center for my nighttime audition. A group of students already were seated in chairs right outside of the arena. I immediately approached the VCU Idol information table, turned in my application form, received an adhesive number which I attached to my sweater and posed for a quick snapshot. Since I was number 10 that evening, I had time to sit among the students getting ready to be called. Many of them chatted about what they would be singing. Some would be performing a capella, some with regular CDs, and others with karaoke versions. I felt a lot of excitement and nerves --especially mine.

When my number was called, I readied myself, took a deep breath, said a prayer and walked into the ALLTEL Pavilion. Though it was a little intimidating at first, I somehow found my confidence right before I made what seemed like a long trek down the steps right to center court. I handed my CD to Kelli Lemon, coordinator of the VCU Idol competition and former director of student programs and events in VCU Athletics, who gave me some instructions. I stood before a panel of six judges as well as a handful of students in the stands. Luckily, they all had friendly faces, and even more luckily, none of them was Simon Cowell.

Then from the booming sound system, the intro to "Reflection" from Walt Disney's Mulan began to play. I sang my song with as much as I had in me, and I was happy to see smiles from some of the judges. They thanked me when my song ended, and Ms. Lemon said she would call those selected by Friday.

Friday arrived and I had no messages at work that morning. The clock seemed to be moving slowly that day and I thought to myself that those who made it would more than likely be notified by noon. Noon came, and then went, and I began to think "nice try, Malorie-better luck next year." Oh well, it was fun while it lasted.

Later that day, however, on my home voice mail, was a message from Kelli Lemon. She congratulated me for being one of the 16 contestants for VCU Idol and informed me that I would be performing in early December.

The next step was to notify my colleagues at University News Services about what I had gotten myself into, since they would be my sponsors for the event. They all seemed rather excited when I told them I was in, and we all knew we had some planning to do.

We brainstormed different ways to promote the games and my VCU Idol feat. The whole point of VCU Idol is to boost attendance at VCU men's basketball games, so we knew we had to start networking. The planning is coming along great and everyone is working together to make the experience as exciting as possible.

The other contestants and I have been assigned different games throughout the season in which to compete. The first round of competition will consist of two contestants per game. A total of eight winners from the first round of games will advance to the semi-finals in February. The grand finale, between the last two competitors, will take place Feb. 21 at 7 p.m.

All 16 of us VCU Idols have much to look forward to since we have a chance to win $2,000, 10 hours of studio recording time, a beauty makeover, a professional model portfolio and the title of VCU Idol. In addition, the winner's sponsor will receive $1,000, while the runner up and his sponsor will receive $1,000 and $500, respectively.

The competition isn't just based on stage presence, talent and the judges' score sheets, which account for 70 percent of the overall score. In addition, a contestant's supporter participation accounts for 20 percent, while audience noise accounts for 10 percent of the total score.

My performance is scheduled at the Stuart C. Siegel Center, 1200 W. Broad St. for Saturday, Dec. 6 at 7 p.m., when VCU will play William & Mary. Show your support by attending the VCU men's basketball game and cheering on the Rams, then stay on your feet as I hit the court and strut my stuff.

For more on VCU Idol, visit http://vcurams.vcu.edu/.