A job would have only gotten in the way of her dream, so she quit.
And like many an aspiring entertainer before her, Alyssa Mellinger of Silverdale flew down to San Francisco to audition for “American Idol” in August.
She committed in May, deciding she would go through with the audition. Next was practice. Practice. More practice.
Hours and hours a week, she sang in the car, in her room, everywhere. She has been singing for most of her life — she just celebrated her 22nd birthday last weekend — and knew since she was a little girl that she wanted to be a singer.
She wasn’t the only one.
“I’ve never seen so many people in my life,” Mellinger said of the line that greeted her.
But at least she was prepared.
Her voice instructor made her practice her two songs for the audition repeatedly.
“She would make me stop. And do it again. And do it again,” said Mellinger. Nerves were not a problem for the 2006 Central Kitsap High School grad, she was excited to audition.
Unlike some of her friends, Mellinger does not religiously watch the show seeking the next Kelly Clarkson. Auditioning was something people encouraged her to do, but she always brushed the notion aside. Her grandmother was the driving force behind her change of heart.
Mellinger’s grandmother, Audrey Whiteley, stricken by multiple sclerosis, has been in a wheel chair for 30 years.
“Her dream is for me to live mine,” Mellinger said of her grandmother. “Every time she sees me she says she can’t wait to hear me sing again. She wants to see me on TV some day.”
Before she could make an appearance, if she would, Mellinger had to wait. Hours and hours of waiting. She was kept company by her mother, Senta Mellinger, who traveled with her to the Bay for the season 10 auditions. Two days before the Aug. 19 audition date, they waited three and a half hours in cold and wind, waiting just for wristbands.
Having a wristband did not automatically secure a spot in front of the judges. The morning of the audition, Alyssa Mellinger and Senta Mellinger waited outside AT&T Park beginning at 4 a.m. They waited about nine hours total. More than once they felt like cattle being herded around.
“There were a lot of weird people there,” Alyssa Mellinger said, adding that preliminary judges let a man with no shirt and a curly cue mustache go through. He did technically qualify, contestants are required to be between the ages of 15 and 28.
Alyssa Mellinger was dismissed by two producers shortly after she was able to get out one verse and part of the chorus of “Last Name” by Carrie Underwood. With a loud voice and a natural twang, Mellinger is a fan of country music because it “has a lot of heart.”
Despite the slim chances of making her way through the process, being dismissed still hurt.
“It was heartbreaking for me to see what she had to go through emotionally,” Senta Mellinger said. “I don’t want her to give up.”
Alyssa Mellinger said she plans to perform at Sounds of the Season Talent Show at Admiral Theatre in Bremerton in December, something she’s enjoyed doing in the past. There will be an upcoming Seattle audition for “America’s Got Talent,” which she might consider doing though acknowledged it would be another stressful experience similar to “American Idol.”
“I was disappointed but it didn’t hit my confidence at all,” Alyssa Mellinger said. “I don’t really see it as a rejection. I’ll find other ways.”
