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Hawaii's Bee Sisters & American Idol Auditions East Rutherford NJ

Born and raised in Oahu Hawaii, Esther Lani Bee and Carol Momi come from a musical family. They gained their musical chops from touring with their Aunt the legendary Hawaiian singer Aunty Genoa Keawe, and by playing in Don Ho's restaurant in the early days. When they were 17 and 13 they recorded The Hukilau song as part of the 49th street recording, rec...orded by Johnny Almeada the Dean of Hawaiian music in the Islands. Now 79 and 83 respectively, these ladies are still performing 4 times a week. "Music keeps us going", affirms Esther Lani Bee.

On Sunday August 1st I woke up at 5 am and took the subway to the path train to Hoboken and from Hoboken caught a train to Seacaucus Junction where I squeezed into a taxi with seven other American Idol auditionees and their guardians. I stood on line for 3 hours in the muggy heat outside the Izod Center at the Meadowlands with thousands of other teenagers and young adults ranging from the age of 15-28. As I waited to collect my red wrist band and audition seat ticket, so I could return at 5 am on Tuesday morning to then actually audition for the show, I kept wondering why we were all there. I interviewed a handful of hopeful contestants asking them why they came out and what their definition of an American Idol was.

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ACK!!  I Am sorry for the poor technical sound quality on the last narratives...I NEED A PRODUCER...Here is the text for my American Idol Adventures...if you want to know what happened

thanks for listening!

xjo

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This year I turned 28. It's my last chance to audition to be the next American Idol. So, On Sunday August 1st I woke up at 5 am and took the subway to the path train to Hoboken Station.  From Hoboken I caught the New Jersey train to Seacaucus Junction where I squeezed into a taxi with seven other American Idol auditionees and their guardians. I stood on line for 3 hours in the muggy heat outside the Izod Center at the Meadowlands with thousands of other teenagers and young adults ranging from the age of 15-28. As I waited to collect my red wrist band and audition seat ticket, so I could return at 5 am on Tuesday morning to then actually audition for the show, I kept wondering why we were all there. I interviewed a handful of hopeful contestants asking them why they came out and what their definition of an American Idol is.

[Interview with Jose Alvarez 21.]  (Whitney Houston- "I will Always Love You")

[Interview with Bianca 19.] (Musiq SoulChild- "Love")

[Interview with Wilton 21]  "Keep your Dreams"

[Partial Interview with Ryan 27]

It was then that I ran out of memory on my memory card... But Ryan continued to tell me that he was a singer songwriter who'd been living in Brooklyn for several years making music. He actually lived right down the street from me!  We immediately shared a kinship and spent the remaining two and a half hours standing in line swapping stories and discussing music.

"What's your guilty pleasure?" he asked me.

" What do you mean?" I responded.

"Oh you know everyone has a favorite artist they like to indulge in but are afraid to admit to their friends that they like."

I sat thinking for a moment. "You know," I confessed, "I really love Celine Dion."

(Celine Dion-"My Heart Will Go On")

Every so often a camera man would walk by and the crowd would burst into cheers. Sometimes a zealous singer would bust out a song and everyone would listen until they finished and give a supporting whoop and clap of encouragement. The crowd was excited.

At around 9:50 am we were ushered into the Izod Center. We showed two badges of identification and then received a red wrist band which we were told we had to wear until Tuesday morning. We were also given an event ticket with a seat number to sit in while we waited to audition and an information packet telling us what to bring and what time to return on Tuesday morning. Ryan offered to pick me up at 4 am on Tuesday morning so we'd be there right at 5 am.

[American Idol the Second Day. Conversation with Ryan at 4:46 am in the morning.]

(Bon Iver-"Skinny Love")

Parking cost fifteen dollars.  We grabbed our things, left the car and postulations and went and sat down in the line with everybody else, which already wrapped 3/4 around the IZOD center. Ryan got out his guitar and started playing around with it and I started interviewing other participants...

[Interview with Timothy Phillips 25] (Trey Songz-"Jupiter Love")

[Interview with Rodney Phillips 28]  ( Dru Hill- "5 Steps)

Not played [Interview with Bianca Spinal 17]

At around 7 am they opened the Izod Center and we walked up the ramps showed our tickets and wrist bands, opened our bags for brief inspection and walked through the halls filled with excited hopefuls, dunkin donut coffee vendors and shampoo vanity advertisements.

"Here's the room where we get famous",  said Ryan.

It seemed to be on everyone's mind we walked down to our seats.

[Special Cohost Ryan Mikolos-Conversation on Idolatry versus Model]

The producers greeted us warmly, passed out release forms and gave us Idol pep talk.  Something about leaving our anxiety in our seats and singing our hearts out in front of the judges.  The catch catch phrase, "All it takes is a moment to change your life forever." They then filmed a few crowd shots of us standing and rooting for New Jersey... brought out former American Idol contestant Constantine to pomp us up with his version of Queen's Bohemian Rhapsody and then the auditioning began.

The system was simple 10 black curtains and posts and twelve tables placed between them where the judges were sit. We would be divided up in groups of four and sent to one of the stations. The person on the farthest left facing the judges would step forward and sing for 30 seconds and then step back.  If they were good they might be asked to sing more. After everyone had sung the judges called people forward.  If your group didn't cut it you were brought up as a group and sent home.  If you advanced you were given a golden ticket and ushered to another room to continue your journey.

 [Interview with Angel 15] (Aleshia Keys- "Superman")

The auditioning began around 9 am. Sections were emptied out and contestants flooded the floor--people costumed, girls in dresses, girls in jeans, girls scantily clad, boys in suits, boys in flannel shirts. 

"They aren't are giving alot of golden tickets out" Ryan commented.

My neighbors passed the time by singing their songs for each other and being coached by each others mothers.  I slept. Ryan paced and practiced.  One girl went to puke.  One boy kept leaving to pee.   My bottom started breathing, as my neighbor politely put it.  We were all dealing with nerves as best we knew how.  Hours passed and sections emptied.  At around 1:30 our section was prepared to go down to the audition floor.

"Ryan what should I sing?" I asked panicked now aware the moment of performance was almost
upon us.  "I can't believe you", he kept saying.   We walked downstairs onto the arena.   I had been so certain last night, until Ryan suggested I sing a Joni Mitchell song earlier that morning.  Now I had no idea what to sing  We were placed in rows of four.   We moved slowly to the front of the line and were directed to section 6.

"This guy next to me is really good",  Ryan said.  "He has a smooth R& B voice he is going to get in."

"You are good too Ryan" I countered.  We were walking to the judges table and I still couldn't decide what to sing it felt like time stretched.  The R& B singer was stepping forward.   Ryan was stepping forward.  Now I was I swallowed and feebly smiled and opened my mouth...

(Joni Mitchell-"California")

Panic was squeezing my belly.  The man stared at me blankly barely hiding his feelings underneath his baseball cap.  I set my focus on the pretty woman judge. Honestly, she couldn't have been more than my own age.  I could barely hear myself.  My voice was a whisper.  My thoughts a twirl.  "Why is she listening to me?"  Suddenly my brain was screaming at her, "Tell me to stop.  When are you going to ask me to stop?" 

She got the message.  "That's enough, thank you." 

I hung my head and stepped back into the line.  I know I didn't advance.

The last girl went and we waited as the judges conferred, brought us all forward and the pretty lady judge said

"Thank you, some very nice singing today but not good enough to be the next American Idol."

They clipped our wrist bands and threw them out. Ryan and I walked to the car.

"That R&B guy was really good he should have advanced" he said.  "I don't get it."

I didn't either we rode home back to our real lives leaving the giddy halls of pop stardom for the lucky few who advanced.

 (Pop song singalong in the halls of the Izod Center)

By Associations airs every first Saturday of the month from 8-10 pm music, guests and portraits of interesting people please email byassociations@gmail.com for more information.