America's Got Talent!

Yes, that's right! On Tuesday I received an invitation from America's Got Talent to audition for them in New York City! Suffice to say, I am really excited. I've been thinking about this for well over a year and sent them a video this past summer. They like me! :)

So off to the Big Apple I go. The weather is going to be fantastic; 80 plus degrees F (26 degrees C for my international friends reading this!) and I'm going to ride my motorcycle down there. Interestingly I took the same route last Spring when I went to NJ to visit relatives. So that was a great dry run. Well, it wasn't all that dry.

I digress.

This is the first-round of the 2012 competition. Get our wristbands and competitor number, stand around for hours, get our photos taken. TV taping crews interviewing us, munching snacks, drinking Smartwater, and generally enjoying the entire experience. Nervous? Nah! I love to perform. Give me a stage and I'm ready to go. And with all that time, and probably hundreds of others, at least, with the same dream, I get to meet a lot of interesting people and make a lot of new friends. What's not to love?!

Then, when the big moment comes, don't blink, because it really is just a moment. A 90-second a cappela audition. No frills. No audience. Just me and some judges. I love what I do, and I love this opportunity to show that to these folks. While it will pass in the blink of an eye, I'll drink it all in. It's my chance. Win or lose.

And if I get to go to the second round, then...stage, lights, cameras, celebrity judges, and audience. I've seen a little bit of the show on TV and YouTube. These folks know how to build a set! And light it! If I get there, what fun this will be.

On the Audition Info they send they ask me to tell a little bit about me. Music For Mankind is so important to me, and as many of you know, I usually can't stop talking about it. Probably ad naseum. Sorry! But I've been there talking with little children with the hungriest look in their eyes you have ever, or possibly never seen. It's heart-breaking. Some day I'll tell you the story of the tears I shed when I got home.

But I digress.

So I do hope, for the sake of the possibility of bringing Music For Mankind to a bigger stage in order to help in a bigger way, that I get to go at least to round two.

This is a really exciting moment for me, in what has been an incredible year, and there's still a couple of months to go. What's next? :o

This weekend is packed. Friday dance rehearsal for Dancing With The Rutland Stars, Saturday dance dress rehearsal, Saturday night dance performance, then Sunday jump on the bike and go sing in the the one-and-only New York City! Wow.


Wish me luck!