Auditioning for any of the IDOL shows? Here's some valuable advice.

Back in 2007 when we were watching the second last show of the American Idol auditions ... you know the ones that make you laugh and cry all at once ... when a talented young musician who's staying with us asked "What's wrong with her voice? Why is she choking or or doing something weird with her throat as if she has something stuck there?"

Her comments make a ton of sense. If you want to impress these judges, and remember, you might never get in front of the decision makers themselves as there are several rounds of other judges beforehand, then for heaven's sake, don't copy the gimmicky things a major artist uses. For that matter, don't copy a major artist at all!

If you want to sing a Christina Aguilera or Whitney Houston song, first off remember that it's impossible, even for judges, to not immediately compare your delivery to theirs. Big artists like this are probably best avoided unless you truly have the chops to pull it off.

But if you do decide to do something made famous by the famous, then MAKE IT YOUR OWN. Don't sing it just the way they do. If they do a run here, or a scat there, you do something different. If you can't think of what to do, if all you can do is copy them i.e. do a karaoke performance, then don't expect the judges to wax ecstatic over your delivery. The judges are looking for original singers, ones who know who they are and have enough talent to give any song an original spin. After all, if you do win Canadian Idol, American Idol, Australian Idol or whatever Idol you enter, you will be given original songs to perform and there won't be anyone to copy. It'll be up to you and your producers to deliver a song that people haven't heard in a way they want to hear it.

In short, YOU must be able to SELL an original song. A company is going to invest millions in marketing you. We already have a Britney, a Christina, a David Bowie, a Justin Timberlake etc etc. The world doesn't need a carbon copy of these. They've already been done! And the last thing the judges, or those who are going to turn you into the next big thing want is what the world's already seen and heard.

So final word: when you go into your audition, be original or don't audition. And being original is not about dressing up like a fool or gyrating around a pole or lying on the floor. That'll probably get you into the funny prelim show, but that's as far as you'll go. If that's all you want, then forget what you've just read. But if you really want a shot at becoming the next "IDOL", then make sure you stand apart from the rest with your original version of whatever you sing. Good luck!

© Viga Boland, 2007