Wednesday, June 4, 2003
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Wednesday, June 4, 2003 |
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Local girl auditions for 'American Juniors' By MICHAEL
BOYLAN The car ride from Fayetteville to Chattanooga is not extraordinarily long in the scheme of things two-and-a-half hours tops but it can feel even longer when you are trying to make it in time to get one of 500 spots to audition for "American Juniors." Fayetteville resident Ashley Berry got an audition spot for the next day, thanks to her mother, Aimee, and family friend Susan Powell leaving at 2 a.m. After getting one of the wristbands guaranteeing an audition spot for the next day, the three travelers drove back to Fayetteville for the documents they would need and some overnight gear and then drove back to Chattanooga so that Ashley would be ready for her 7:30 a.m. audition the next morning. Ashley is no stranger to singing. As a member of the Fayette Youth Chorale she performed in New York City this past April and sang with the National Middle School Choir at Lincoln Center. She also got a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to sing "Amazing Grace" with Amy Grant and Vince Gill at a concert at First Baptist Church in Jonesboro last year. After the show, she was invited to talk on J93.3 FM about her experience. For her audition, Ashley sang "A Moment Like This," the hit song by Kelly Clarkson, the first winner of "American Idol." She practiced for months on this song because she also sang it at a talent show at her school, East Fayette Elementary. The auditions for "American Juniors" are different from "American Idol" in that groups of five auditioned together, were asked to dance after singing, and there were no nasty comments from judges like Idol's Simon Cowell. Though Ashley gave it all she had, she was not chosen to make it to the next round. "The judges were actually very sweet," said Aimee. "They didn't critique, didn't say one word. I actually would have been interested to know what they thought, what they were looking for." Apparently, the judges are managers of the popular group S Club 7 and are looking to create a new group from the winners of "American Juniors." Ashley states that she will try out again if given the opportunity and, despite being disappointed, can't wait to watch the program and hopes to see a clip of her audition. She will enter the sixth grade at Fayette Middle School in the fall and plans to keep singing and reaching for the stars. "Whenever God closes a door, he opens a window," said Ashley on the drive back to Fayetteville. As long as she keeps a positive attitude, she is sure to find success someday. "American Juniors" airs Tuesdays at 8 p.m. on Fox.
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