Exclusive Interview with Yoji “Pop” Asano, contestant on Season 10 of American Idol(2)

Road to “American Idol:” Initial Judging


Q. What motivated you to audition for American Idol? Was it your first time auditioning?

A. This was my first time auditioning. I was encouraged by a friend to audition. I’d been really focused on practicing singing for the last year and I felt confident, so I decided to apply.


Q. Tell us about the application process, from application to judging.

A. It all took a total of four days. August 1st was the first stage, registration at the Izod Center. Then, on August 3rd, 16,000 applicants gathered again at the Izod Center for preliminary judging. Twelve booths had been set up in the stadium, with two American Idol producers in each booth. Applicants would enter booths in groups of four, and each applicant had about twenty seconds to audition for the producers. Out of these 16,000 hopefuls, the show’s producers had to whittle it down to five hundred.

At this stage, I did my audition without dancing. I sang Christina Aguilera’s “Beautiful” and Michael Jackson’s “Man in the Mirror.” It was a big confidence boost for me when I was chosen out of a bunch of other singers to advance to the next stage. Rather than being excited at the chance to be on television, I was more excited at the fact that I’d gotten appreciated for my singing.


Q. So were the big crowds in the stadium the 16,000 applicants from the second day of judging?

A. Yeah, they were. There was a two hour wait before judging, so they took footage of everyone getting excited and having fun. Past Idol finalists also showed up and sang a capella.




Preliminary Judging: Mandatory audition song


Q. Tell us about the second stage of judging.

A. The third day of judging on August 5th took place at Pier 23, in Manhattan. Once I arrived, staff passed out copies of lyrics to Miley Cyrus’s “Party in the USA.” They explained that we could sing a song of our choosing in the first judging room, but in the second room we would have to sing “Party in the USA.” I misunderstood, and thought that all of us would sing the song together after the judging. I also hated that song, so I completely ignored the handout.


Q. So you went to the preliminary judging without having practiced the set piece at all. Tell us what happened.

A. In the first room, I sang Michael Jackson’s “Man in the Mirror”for a female assistant producer. That was OK. Then, I was suddenly asked to sing “Party in the USA.” I had mistakenly thought the song was just for everyone to sing at the end of the day, so I told the producer that I hated the song and didn’t want to do it. She looked stunned when I said that, and it was then I realized that “Party in the USA” was a set piece for the judging. Realizing I would have to sing it, I just sang the parts that I knew (“The Jay-Z song was on,”) and instinctively combined some dance moves along with it, to make more of an impression.

At this point, the producer started to get into it and was impressed with my dancing. I had also written in my profile that I could dance like Michael Jackson, so when she asked why I wouldn’t dance, I told her that this was a singing competition, so I didn’t want to dance. She told me that I would have to sing “Party in the USA” in the next room, so I should practice while waiting. I somehow passed this stage of judging and moved on to the next stage.

I waited about forty minutes. The person sitting next to me let me use their iPod to practice the song, and while I concentrated on remembering the lyrics, I started to like it.


Q. So you only had forty minutes to prepare. What happened in the next room?

In the next room, an American Idol executive producer was sitting, surrounded by assistant producers and cameras. First, I sang “Man in the Mirror.” The producer said, “Well, it has a bit of an MJ feel to it. But the movements are a bit different, and it’s not strong.” It wasn’t looking good for me. Then he said, “Do a dance number or something.” I was reluctant about it, but I danced while singing “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin’.” The judge was impressed and asked me to sing “Party in the USA.”

I wanted to be able to get by on my singing, so I asked them to let me sing Christina Aguilera’s “Beautiful.” Because I had danced like crazy while singing “Wanna Be Startin’ Somethin,’” my throat was dry and my voice caught in my throat. The producer wasn’t that impressed, and told me to just sing “Party in the USA” like I was supposed to. So I did. Even though I breezed through the lyrics, singing “da da da” for parts I didn’t know, they really seemed to enjoy it. I also had a fun time singing and started to enjoy myself. The producer told me that I was much better when I danced and sang at the same time, and that my voice was strong. He then passed me on to the next stage.

It was then I started to worry that the producers planned to use me as comic relief, to make a joke out of my audition. After studying a lot about the entertainment industry, I could sort of understand how they were thinking and how they would use me. I started to really worry about it.


Q. So, all these events in preliminary judging led to you performing a Michael Jackson- inspired “Party in the USA” during your televised judging?

A. That’s right.

NEXT:(3)Fateful Final Audition >>

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