You may still be prepping for your chance to see American Idol winner Caleb Johnson during the Idols: Live! Tour, but it's already time to start thinking about American Idol's Season 14 auditions. As of Wednesday, June 18, the search will officially be underway for the next American Idol. And sure, you have the entire month of June to gather up the courage to audition online or via the Social Audition process, but if you want to belt your way into a room with Keith Urban, Jennifer Lopez, and Harry Connick, Jr. you're going to have muster some bravery ASAP.
Of course, it's not easy to know whether or not Idol is a fit for you. The series has changed a lot in recent years — even if it does still seem easier to win when you're a dude — and artists with original songs and talent for playing instruments are becoming the series' most successful contestants. After all, Phillip Phillips is quickly becoming a household name, despite all the times he was chastised for not playing the Idol-sanctioned fame game during Season 12. It may take a little more thought to determine whether or not it's your time to withstand Harry Connick, Jr.'s pokerface or Jennifer Lopez's adoration-filled stink eye.
Step 1: Do You Have the Voice of Angel?
Do you totally kill "Since You've Been Gone" every time you sing it in the shower? Are you one of those folks who say "everyone" tells them they need to audition for Idol? So what if your friends and family love you unconditionally and might just be saying that because they love you? You'll never know until Connick tells you.
Step 2: Do You Have a Story?
The mark of every good Idol contestant is some sort of hook. For Phillips it was working in his father's pawn shop (or maybe it was the double name thing, or the handsome guy with a guitar thing, but you get my drift). For Jena Irene, it was her journey from shy girl to mega performer. For Caleb Johnson, it was his unrelenting perseverance — after all, he'd been denied by Idol judges once before.
Step 3: Do You Have a Song In Mind?
The absolute worst thing that can happen during an Idol audition is to forget the words to your song, or worse, forget what song you're singing. So before you wait for hours in a line winding around some major sports complex, make sure you've got every single word to "Make You Feel My Love" memorized. Or, you know, tattooed on the inside of your skull.
Step 4: Can You Take Criticism?
Look, you are probably a lovely singer. Your friends tell you, your family tells you, and your dog doesn't run away whenever you start singing along to a Spotify playlist. Still, that doesn't mean you're cut out for Idol. Even the folks that went on to become full-fledged contestants on the show had to endure pointer, criticism, and skepticism from the judges before they made it to Los Angeles, and that's when the Twitter haters come out. Before you vie for that golden ticket, make sure you can take the heat.
Step 5: Do You Want To Do It?
Honestly, none of these other steps even matter if, deep down inside, you really truly want to give this thing a shot. The worst that can happen is that you'll have a great story to tell at parties, and we all know what the best thing that can happen is:
Images: Fox; Giphy (5)
