Music

ARLINGTON – It's a marriage made in heaven: The new Cowboys Stadium looks like a giant aquarium, and American Idol is the biggest whale in pop culture.

The power of that synergy was on display in the pre-dawn darkness Friday as about 10,000 Idol hopefuls waited outside the stadium for their chance to audition for the show. The auditions concluded at 6 p.m.

“It’s way bigger than we expected, and I think that has a lot to do with being here and the excitement over the new stadium,” said Patrick Lynn, Idol’s supervising producer.

There's a long history devoted to the pursuit of the American dream, but judging from the scene in and around the stadium, that history is being rewritten now as the American Idol dream.

Millions may watch the TV show, be entertained and inspired by it, but this day was all about the people who believe in it so much they were willing to drive hundreds of miles and wait in line for hours, just for a chance to make it come true.

At the very front of the line were two young women who had arrived at 3:30 a.m. – Brittany Moore of Irving and Korteney Garrett of Houston. Both are 19, both have been singing, as Garrett put it, "since I was in diapers."

Moore was trying to keep her dream reasonable. "I would just like to make it to Simon," she said, referring to Simon Cowell, one of the show's four celebrity judges who weren't here for this preliminary round. They will fly in for later auditions for those who make Friday's cut.

But Garrett didn't come this far to practice restraint now. "I want to get to Hollywood, have the whole American Idol experience, get famous, be a star."

Singers get about 30 seconds to make an impression, Lynn said. “It’s not long, but it’s long enough to know if someone’s got what we’re looking for.”

Sometimes these first-round judges don’t even need that long.

“They let me sing for maybe 10 or 15 seconds,” said Amanda Cake, 24, of Fort Worth, who barely got to the chorus of LeAnn Rimes’ “How Do I Live.” “They just told my group [auditions were conducted in groups of four] that ‘the voice wasn’t there’ and we were done.”

Beyond voice, Lynn said, “We’re also trying to put together a really good show. So we want passion. Sometimes it’s good, sometimes it’s bad, but that’s what we’re looking for.”

That passion took many forms on Friday, from two women decked out as Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders to a young man wearing a chicken suit. Some were obviously intent on playing the novelty card.

That strategy didn’t work for the young man dressed in drag (blue sequined dress, blond wig) who didn’t care to reflect on his Idol moment as he hurried out the exit reserved for the “nonwinners,” which is to say almost everybody who auditioned. But it did for Heather Elmer, 27, who was decked out as Dorothy for her performance of “Over the Rainbow.”

Elmer is an old hand at the Idol audition game. This was the seventh time she’s auditioned and the fifth time she’s been called back.

“I’ve made it as far as the producers’ round, but I’ve never made it in front of the celebrity judges,” the last hurdle to clear before getting the green light to go to Hollywood.

But most were serious about their bid for the American Idol dream. Adam Philyaw, a 22-year-old from Greenville, voiced the common belief bonding all these pre-fame stars: “I deserve this,” he said. “We all do. But my determination is going to take me there.”

Such wide-eyed hope and make-a-dream ambitions had a particular resonance on the day after the death of Michael Jackson, perhaps the ultimate American Idol.

"Michael Jackson is a huge influence on the show and all the people who try out," said Lynn. "I'd say one out of three people in auditions sings a Michael Jackson song."

Back at the end of the line, 19-year-old Tiavnea Butts from Carrollton was hoping for her Michael Jackson moment, even though she planned to sing a Stevie Wonder song – "My Cherie Amour."

"I was talking to Michael as I drove here, asking him to pass on some inspiration," she said.