National singing competition “American Idol” will host open-call auditions at the Brooklyn Expo Center in Greenpoint on July 23.
The opportunity to score a record deal through ABC’s hit reality show is expected to draw thousands of would-be superstars to the Nobel Street event center, where they can expect to brave long lines and even longer odds of success.
Early season contest winners Kelly Clarkson, Fantasia, and Carrie Underwood have all won Grammy awards for top-selling records. However, winners from later seasons have struggled, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, where pop music critic Kevin C. Johnson wrote that Season 14 winner Nick Fraidiani’s disappointing music career “underscores the fact that ‘Idol’s’ days of producing hit-making artists are over.”
But those slim chances are unlikely to deter hundreds of Kings County crooners from queueing up hours in advance of the day’s inaugural audition, as contestants seek to impress a preliminary panel of no-name judges, according to spokeswoman Georgina Stevens, who noted that showrunners have yet to announce this year’s celebrity critics.
Season 1 runner-up Justin Guarini will make an appearance at the Brooklyn auditions, the organizers said.
While the chances of achieving idol-dom may be slim, that doesn’t mean contestants have to actually to win “American Idol” to achieve fame and fortune. After Season 3 judge Simon Cowell lambasted singer William Hung for his truly awful rendition of “She Bangs,” the hapless contestant developed a cult following that fueled a nearly decade-spanning music career.
The plucky pop star would later remark in a 2012 interview with Time Magazine, “I showed that even the Average Joe could succeed.”
Audition for your chance to be America’s next “Idol” at Brooklyn Expo Center [72 Nobel St. between West and Franklin streets in Greenpoint, (718) 775-3315, brook
