Free Choosing America's Next Superstar by Jeff Erno Page A

what am I?” Jeremy said. “Chopped liver?”
    “I’m Sam and this is my roommate Teri,” Sam said, providing an official introduction. “And you are anything but chopped liver.” She winked at the studly rocker.
    “It’s gotta be the tattoos,” Corey said sarcastically. “Sam, I can tell already you’re a bad girl.”
    “Bad to the bone,” she said.
    The girls pulled out chairs and joined the table, placing their trays in front of them.
    “You know Jimmy?” Corey asked. “He’s my roommate.”
    “Howdy,” Jimmy said, nodding obligingly.
    “I saw you back at the airport when you about got trampled,” Sam said. “You all right?”
    Corey noticed Jimmy’s face begin to flush. “Klutz, I guess,” Jimmy acknowledged.
    “And now you two are roommates,” Sam said. “Small world, huh?”
    “So you guys ready for tomorrow?” Jeremy asked. “Only half will make it.”
    The group let out a collective sigh. “And then it’s on to group round,” Teri said. “If we all make it through this first round, we should form a group together.”
    “That’s not a bad idea,” Jeremy said, “except you can’t officially start rehearsing until all of the solo round has been completed. There’s a room here in the hotel that has computers in it. They’ll give each group an iPod and then you go to the computer database and pick out a song. There are thousands of songs in there. You just choose the one you want, print out the lyrics, and start rehearsing.”
    “How do you know all this?” Sam asked.
    “I was a contestant two years ago,” Jeremy said. “Made it through the solo round but got booted during groups. This time I wanna make sure I’m in a serious group.”
    “Well, we can start practicing even before the solo round is finished… unofficially,” Corey suggested.
    “Long as we don’t put the cart before the horse,” Jimmy said. “Gotta make it through the solo round first.”
    Corey laughed at the outdated metaphor. “True, but the solo round is three days. If we get lucky and make it through in the first or second day, that’ll give us some lead time.”
    “But if one or more of us don’t make it,” Jeremy said, “that will change everything. We’ll have to find replacements… or relearn our parts.”
    “It’s just I’ve seen it on TV, right before group, there are always a bunch of people scrambling around trying to find a group to join,” Teri said. “I don’t wanna be one of those people.”
    “Well, this gives us a starting point, anyway,” Corey said. “Once we have the solo competition behind us, we’ll all know where to start looking….”
    “No offense, dude, but we’re all kinda different,” Jeremy said. “Not sure I can even do country.” He looked right at Jimmy.
    “I’m flexible,” Jimmy said. “I can sing about any kinda music.”
    “We were singing Cher together a few minutes ago,” Corey said to back up Jimmy’s statement.
    “Cool… well, let’s do it, then,” Jeremy said.
    “Do you guys mind if I sit here?” All eyes turned to the newcomer, a slender blond kid who Corey thought looked no older than twelve.
    “Sure,” Corey said, “more the merrier.”
    “Thanks,” he said with a smile. “I’m Tristan.”
    “Dude, how old are you?” Jeremy asked. “You look, like, ten.”
    He laughed and looked down at his plate. “I do look young, I guess, but then so does Justin Bieber.”
    “You do look like Justin Bieber,” Sam agreed. “Do you sing like him?”
    “God, I hope not,” Jeremy interjected.
    “Actually, I like him,” Tristan said, “and yeah, sometimes I sing his songs. That’s what Krystal said during my audition, that I reminded her of Bieber.”
    “Well, it’s nice to meet you, Tristan,” Corey said. “This is Sam, Teri, Jimmy, and Jeremy.”
    “Where are you guys from?”
    “Sam and I are from Michigan,” Corey answered. “Jeremy’s from Toledo, Ohio, and Jimmy’s from Kentucky. I don’t know where