Lauren took a deep steadying breath. She was backstage at an audition. She was all alone backstage except for the crew of the talent show. She was going to be in front of millions, performing before them live. Nerves were getting the best of her.
"Inhale. Exhale. Inhale. Exhale. I can do this," she tried reassuring herself.
She heard the buzzer go off for the next contestant.
"It's now or never," she said to herself.
...
"Hi there. What's your name and where are you from?" The first judge asked Lauren. He was the head judge of the show. A full set of hair and always dressed in v- necks. Hardly applauds the contestants on the show and hardly ever smiles, for that matter. He was the one judge that most contestants aim to please and was most intimidated by.
"Hi. I'm Lauren and I'm from Belfast, Ireland," she said sheepishly. She was in awe at the mere size of the auditorium and the amount of love she was receiving from the audience; the moment she mentioned her hometown.
"Right. Okay. So we can see you have a guitar in your hand," the woman judge siting in between the two male judges said. She was a redhead. A little dainty in size but had a powerful singing voice. She was one of the current bestselling female vocalists in the whole of Europe; her current single on top of the Top 100 chart.
"What are ya going to sing for us, little darlin' ?"
"Um..."
"Wait. Wait." The third judge said, interrupting her. He was a big man in his late fifties. A very well-known record producer, having produced records for some of the top selling artists in the world.
"How old are ya, lass?" his thick Scottish accent coming out.
"I'm 18. Turned 18 last week."
"Well, happy birthday to ya, lass. Hope everything goes well for ya today," the man said to which the crowd cheered.
"Thank you," she meekly replied.
"Now, what was it that you were going to sing for us?" he leaned back into his chair, hands clasped together.
"Umm.. It's one of my own."
"What's it called, love?" The woman judge asked her.
"No name."
"I'm sorry. Did you say No Name or does the song have no name?" The first judge asked, his eyebrow raised.
"It's called No Name." Lauren was getting anxious and started fidgeting with her guitar.
"Ahh. Okay. What inspired you to write it?" he continued. He almost seemed genuinely interested.
"It's about me mate. I've known her for 5 years now and while she's my best friend in the whole wide world, she's also become something more to me," Lauren answered shyly to which the crowd went "awwww."
The lady judge placed her right hand over her heart and smiled lovingly.
"And does she know how you feel about her? Are you two a couple now?" The first judge asked. Now he was really interested.
"No. She has yet to hear the song," She answered timidly.
"Really now? So this is the first time that she'll be hearing it then?"
"Yes."
The cameras zoomed in on the audience and some were clearly touched by the revelation, with some girls mouthing "awww" and others almost in tears.
"What's her name? Her full name?" The third judge asked her. Some audience members were laughing at his interest.
"Umm.. I can't tell you that. Sorry." She looks down at her feet.
"Just the first letter of her first name then," the first judge pleaded. He was getting on board with the other male judge's interest in finding out who the mysterious girl was.
Lauren looked back up and contemplated her answer, then shook her head no.
"Sorry." She gave an apologetic smile. The audience laughed.
"Is she here then? Who did you come with?" The lady judge asked; no doubt asking the question everyone in the auditorium wanted an answer to.
"No. I came alone today." The crowd gave a sound of dejection.
"Well, if this doesn't work, nothing will." The first judge commented and raised his hands in the air.
Lauren smiled sheepishly.
"Right. Let's get on it with then. Best of luck to you dear," he continued as he nodded towards Lauren and her guitar.
Lauren adjusted her guitar strap comfortably and began to play.
She was finger picking the chords.
Every now and then I see a part of you I've never seen
(The crowd gasped and cheered in amazement at how Lauren's voice sounded almost angelic. It was one of those silky smooth voices. The kind that soothes your soul the moment you hear it.)
Birds can swim and fish can fly, the road is long I wonder why
One of these days you'll realise what you mean to me, oh
Every now and then I see a part of you I've never seen
(The camera zooms in on the lady judge who was smiling so warmly at Lauren.)
Every now and then I try to tell you just how I feel
The heavens talk, the rain begins, the sky turns black
Nobody wins
(Lauren shuts her eyes close and continues to sing into the mike while playing her guitar. She had "her" in mind as she smiled while she sang.)
Well I try to talk but I can't
My soul has turned to steel
This happens every now and then
When I try to tell you just how I feel
(The camera zooms in again on the audience purposely targeting young girls who were either wiping a tear from their cheeks or had a hand covering their mouths in awe and admiration)
So if you ever love somebody
You gotta keep them close
When you lose grip of their body
You'll be falling
'Cause I'm falling
Deeper in love, in love
Deeper in love, in love
Deeper in love, in love
Deeper in love, in love
In love
Lauren finishes and hangs her head low for a moment. She breathes a sigh of relief that she got through the entire song without embarrassing herself too much.
The auditorium erupts into cheers and applauds. The judges were all smiling at her and clapping along with the audience.
"Well done, lass. That was beautiful both lyrically and musically." The grey haired judge commented.
"Yes. I second that." The lady judge interjected.
"Thank you." Lauren said bashfully as she looked up. She could feel the heat in her cheeks starting to rise.
"No. Thank you for singing that song today. That, by far is the best voice that I've heard throughout the entire competition this season." The first judge remarked to which the room grew even louder with cheers and applauded enthusiastically.
Lauren blushed even more. She's never sung in front of anyone except her best friend and her parents. They told her she had a great singing voice but she just thought that they were being polite to her. Now, to receive a standing ovation and to hear this huge of a compliment from three of the best known producers and singers in Britain and the world; she couldn't believe her ears.
And to see the faces and hear the cheers coming from this huge audience, she was more than surprised. She was baffled.
"Don't look so surprised, sweetheart." The lady judge said noticing the look on Lauren's face.
"Hasn't anyone ever told you how good you are?" She added.
"Well, my parents and my best friend. The one I wrote this song for."
"Awww.. She's just so adorable!" The lady judge nearly squeals to her co-judges.
"Well, darling. You better get used to it because I believe we're going to see a lot more of you in this competition. Keep singing like that and we will see you in the finals." The first judge said with a genuine smile in his face. A very rare occurrence.
"I..."
"Let's vote," he cut her off turning to look at the other two judges.
"I think we're all in an agreement here. So on the count of three... One, two..."
"THREE!" The judges said in unison and pushed their buttons simultaneously. The screen behind Lauren showed three Xs which meant she was through to the next round. The audience cheered loudly.
Lauren mouthed a "thank you" as she couldn't say it out loud. Tears were streaming down her face. The hosts came out from backstage running; one with a tissue in his hands.
When they reached her, he handed over the tissue while the shorter one gently placed his hands on her shoulders trying to console her.
"There. There, Lauren. You did well. All this-" he gestured towards the room and still cheering crowd. "Is for you, young lady. That's how good you really are. That's how much you've touched their hearts. Even Mr Simon himself," he said nodding his head towards Simon. Simon only winked and smiled at Lauren.
"I just can't believe it," the young girl said, tears finally coming to a halt and her voice making its appearance once again.
"Well, you better. Now off you go. Go home and find your mate. We will want an update of how this goes, you know. The whole nation will want an update after this," he chuckled.
Lauren nodded as she wiped her face clean then waved goodbye at the audience as she made her way off the stage.
"Now for the scary part." she thought to herself.
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-The End -
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A/n: So if you haven't figured it out yet, it's from Britain's Got Talent. The song is "No Name" by Ryan O'Shaughnessy. I immediately fell in love with the song after I watched his audition on YouTube. Lol. I'm a romantic fool, I know I know. So do let me know how I did with this one shot in the reviews. Short or long, good or bad; I welcome all reviews. Be honest if it was bad or boring or yada yada yada. You get the picture, right? Thanks and see you guys soon! Cheers!
