MILWAUKEE -- There was electricity in the air Wednesday in Milwaukee as hundreds of people took a crack at their chance to make it to Hollywood.
Fox TV was holding auditions for its "American Idol" show, and some Northland residents were among those trying out at the Bradley Center. Fox 21 News caught up with three of them as they waited for their chance -- and as they learned their results.
Seventeen-year-old Brooke Metropolus of Hayward said she was ready for the audition, practicing with her guitar ahead of time.
"I know that I can sing, I know that I can play guitar, I know that is what I love to do and I was born to do, so I'm just going to do my best," she said.
She was up against hundreds of others registering all day Monday and Tuesday. Not everyone who registers gets an audition, so Metropolus had a plan to make sure she was noticed.
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"If they run out of time, they'll have a producer pick out people, so I'm going to be sitting playing my guitar so I stand out," Metropolus said before the auditions. "You've got to stand out from everyone -- that's how you get noticed."
And she said she was ready for rejection.
"I've thought about that because you never know what's going to happen," Metropolus said. "For all I know, they may not like me at all, so I mentally prepared myself to have them say no, so I'd walk out and I still have so much going for me. I still have the rest of my life."
Sixteen-year-old Abbey Paulseth of Duluth got to the Bradley Center early and with confidence.
"It's my dream," Paulseth said. "I want to sing. I'm excited."
And 25-year-old Aurora Conley of the Bad River Reservation warmed up on the three songs she prepared to sing for the producers.
"I want to do good things for my people and my family," Conley said.
Contestants got a special treat when Danny Gokey, a Milwaukee hometown hero, appeared with Matt Giraud from Michigan, a success story from "Idol" Season Eight.
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"There's so much talent here," Gokey said. "And we hit it and we're going to start seeing those gems come out. It's really neat."
Gokey got his shot last year driving to Kansas City to audition. He came in third place overall and just released an album.
Metropolus, Paulseth and Conley weren't as fortunate. All three were cut during their initial auditions.
Metropolus said the judges in her audition cut her within 20 seconds.
"I wish I would've prepared myself," she said. "I wish I would've known what song I was singing a long time before I actually did it."
Conley said it was worth the effort.
"It was a good experience, I think, just to be able to come down and go through it," she said. "It was really intense."
Paulseth said she was glad she made the seven-hour drive, too. And she's not giving up yet.
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"It was a great experience," she said. "Now I know for next year what to work on, and hopefully I'll make it next year."
