A/N: Hi everyone! I obviously don't own anything/anyone in this story, nor do I own The Voice, as NBC has the rights to that…
I just recently went to a Maroon 5 concert, and despite all efforts to ignore my love for Adam; I apparently couldn't, since I'm obviously sitting here writing this story at 5 in the morning. . Read, review, enjoy, etc.
CHAPTER ONE: THE BLIND AUDITIONS
Star struck. The word itself was stupid, and didn't make much sense. Who would ever feel tongue tied just because of a celebrity? 3 months ago Arianna would have said that being "star struck" was a made up thing.
Well, it wasn't. And it was fucking bullshit. What's more attractive than making a complete ass of yourself in front of someone you idolized?
It all started in September, Arianna had been screwing around in her room singing to Maroon 5's latest Album, Overexposed, when her Mom heard her and came into the room.
"Is that you singing?" She had asked, looking awe-stricken.
Arianna looked around her room, "Errrr, yeah? Why?"
"You're really good, honey. How come I've never heard you sing before?"
"I dunno, 'cause I never really thought that I was any good."
"Well, I think you are. Maybe you should try singing at some gigs or something."
Arianna never thought much about it after that. She shrugged it off, thinking it was just her mom trying to butter her up or make her feel better because, let's face it, that's what pretty much all moms do.
However, a few months down the line, when she was screwing around at Karaoke night (albeit, half drunk), her best friend, Sierra, decided it would be a great idea to sign up for The Voice. And so, in a drunken stupor, Arianna was now forced to audition, since she had gotten a callback after Sierra sent in a demo.
And so here she was. In the Starbucks coffee lounge in Los Angeles, scared shitless about singing in front of four major pop-artists. Since it was Sierra's brilliant idea, Arianna had forced her to come along.
"This is all your fault, idiot. I really don't want to do this." Arianna snapped at her for the millionth time that day.
"Well it's too late now, isn't it? Besides, who cares? If you get in, excellent, if not, then it wasn't meant to be. It'll be a fun story to tell your grandkids later."
Arianna rolled her eyes. "Publicly humiliating myself on national television isn't something I want to brag to my future grandkids about."
It was Sierra's turn to roll her eyes, "Oh please. You're good and you know it. All four judges are going to turn around for you, I just know it."
Before Arianna had the time to respond sarcastically, Carson was in front of her. The Carson Daly. What the actual fuck.
"Hey, Arianna, right? I'm Carson. You're going to be going on in about thirty minutes, so we just want to get a little background story on you for when we air the show, is that ok?"
She nodded her head, "Yeah, of course."
"Alright then let's get started." Carson waited for the cameras to get situated, and then started popping the questions. He was a complete natural, and it made Arianna feel under prepared and overwhelmed. "So, Arianna, how long have you been singing?"
"Well, formally, not for that long. I've sung in the shower and stuff but nothing serious. I never even really thought about it as a career, actually. It was usually just something to do for fun."
"Then how did you end up here?"
"Well, er, I'm not sure if I'm allowed to say this on the show." Arianna started laughing, "But my best friend, Sierra," Arianna gestured to her, "and I were at a bar, and we were drinking and well, one thing lead to another and I was singing Kareoke, and Sierra kind of just decided that I should try out…"
"And so you just signed up- drunk?" Carson was laughing.
"Yeah, well, apparently, I mean I'm here now."
"That has to be a first here on The Voice. I'm impressed! Not many would follow through with that out of a drunken night gone wrong."
Arianna laughed and nodded her head, "Yeah, well, what have I got to lose, right?"
"That's true. So, who do you want to turn around the most for you?"
"I honestly would be shocked if any of them did, so I'll be happy with anyone!"
"Oh please, she's just being shy," Sierra butted in, "She wants Adam the most."
Oh my god, shut up. Arianna thought, inwardly rolling her eyes. So embarrassing. Though she would be lying if she said it wasn't true. He was the reason she even decided to go through with this crazy idea in the first place.
"Ah, Adam. The crowd's favorite. What song will you be singing?"
"It's kind of ballsy, but my absolute favorite band is Maroon 5. I know, I know it's a cliché, but I literally grew up listening to them. So I want to sing Daylight, because it's my favorite song from the album. It's made me laugh it's made me cry, it's a really special song to me."
"Well, I wish you luck, Arianna. And hopefully Adam is feeling very giving today."
The cameras were turned off and again Carson wished her luck. By now, there was only about 10 minutes before it was time for her to get on stage. Ari was beyond nervous, and could feel the butterflies in her stomach.
"I feel like I'm going to throw up." She mumbled, more to herself than to Sierra.
"You're going to do great, Ari." Sierra gave her a light squeeze, and then she was off to the back room. Arianna could hear another boy; she thought she heard that his name was Liam, finishing off his song. From the sounds of it, no one had turned for him. That made Arianna's stomach churn.
After what felt like an eternity, one of the backstage people told her it was her turn to go on. This was it.
She walked up onto the stage, her knees shaking slightly, and her palms getting sweaty. This was it.
"You can do it," she breathed to herself, closing her eyes as the song opened. All she needed to do was focus on the lyrics, focus on what the song meant to her and she would be fine.
Here I am waiting; I'll have to leave soon
Why am I holding on?
We knew this day would come, we knew it all along
How did it come so fast?
This is our last night,
But it's late and I'm trying not to sleep
Cause I know, when I wake, I will have to slip away
The crowd was roaring, and although she was singing softly, she could feel the momentum in her entire body before she exploded into the chorus.
And when the daylight comes I'll have to go
But tonight I'm gonna hold you so close
Cause in the daylight we'll be on our own
But tonight I need to hold you so close
She heard one chair turn around and the audience roared with approval. She was too scared to see who it was.
Oh whoa, oh whoa, oh whoa
Oh whoa, oh whoa, oh whoa
It wasn't until the bridge of the song that she really felt herself getting into it, her eyes were closed and she was almost to her knees, as she felt every word pierce through her veins.
I never wanted to stop because I don't wanna start all over,
Start all over
I was afraid of the dark but now it's all that I want, all that I want, all that I want
And when the daylight comes I'll have to go
She heard two more chairs turn as members of the audience started going wild. Was this really happening to her?
But tonight I'm gonna hold you so close
Cause in the daylight we'll be on our own
But tonight I need to hold you so close
Oh woah, oh woah, oh woah
Oh woah, oh woah, oh woah
She finished the song with a huge grin on her face as the crowd went wild. She still hadn't opened her eyes- she was too scared to look. Had he turned his chair around? What if he was the only one that hadn't?
"Man, that takes balls singin' a song that's one of Adam's!" Arianna heard Blake Shelton's country twang belt out into the audience. She opened her eyes and looked straight at Blake, whose chair was lit up with the I WANT YOU light on. Arianna grinned.
"Well, sometimes you have to be a little ballsy to get what you want."
"Wow feisty- I like that." Arianna snapped her head at the voice, and saw Adam. The fucking Adam fucking Levine, in all his plaid glory- and Jesus Christ, the asshole had actually pushed his button for her.
"Ohmygodohmygodohmygod." Arianna blurted out, without really meaning to.
"Aw man, now this just ain't fair. She's star struck already!" Blake said, throwing his arms up in the air while Adam grinned like a schoolboy.
"Look, Blake, some people just have it all."
"Right, right. Now what's your name, darlin'?"
"Arianna Grayson."
"That's a beautiful name." Cee Lo commented, and Arianna smiled, seeing that his chair was lit up also.
"Thank you."
"Look, let's get down to business here. I want to have you on my team." The audience cheered loudly as Adam went on, and Arianna couldn't repress the huge grin on her face.
"Yeah well I need her on my team!" Blake countered, while Arianna started laughing.
"You're a country artist, Blake! I can do better things with her."
"I'm not just country! I can expand- might I point out that I have two champions while you have a measly one."
"Soon to be two if I get Arianna on my team here."
"Ooohhhhhhh!" Christina shouted, laughing amidst Blake and Adam's arguing.
"Can I say something?" Cee Lo asked to no one in particular, "Look, you've got this sweet, soultry, beautiful thing about you, and there was so much depth in your voice, I could really hear that those words meant a lot to you. It wasn't just another song you were singing, and that's important to me. So I would just love to have you on my team, I think there are a lot of good things that we could do together. Plus, I mean, you're beautiful."
Arianna opened her mouth in shock as Adam and Blake started laughing and clapping in agreement.
"Look ok all crap aside, you'd got a beautiful voice." Adam began, and Arianna's heart was pounding. "I mean, it takes a lot to make me turn around when you're singing a song that's my personal favorite and from my own record. But you did it with so much poise and elegance, and I mean like what Cee Lo said I believed every word that came out of your mouth, and that's incredible. And I did push my button for you first. So…."
"Hey! I pushed mine shortly after, too!" Blake shouted out,
"It was like a whole thirty seconds after I pushed mine!"
"Alright alright alright!" Christina interrupted, "So who's it going to be, Arianna?"
The crowd started screaming as Arianna started twirling a little back and forth, biting her lip.
"Look, I'm honored that even one of you turned around, the fact that three of you did for me is just- I'm blown away. Blake, what you've done in the Country business is astounding to me, and Cee Lo, it would be an honor to work with you. But…" She let herself trail off as she settled her eyes on Adam, who was looking up at her with hope and desperation. "I would be a fool to not choose my lifelong idol, Adam."
The crowd erupted into cheers as Adam fist pumped into the air. "YES!" He shouted, while Blake began cursing. Adam hopped out of his chair and ran to Arianna, who gave him a huge hug, (he even lifted her off the ground momentarily).
"Great job, I'll see you for the battle rounds." Adam said quietly in her ear, and all Arianna could do was thank him before exiting off the stage.
"Goddamnit, Levine! This is not over!" Arianna heard Blake shouting, while Adam laughed in his face.
"A-ha! Man, she's going to be so fucking good."
Cee Lo nodded in agreement with Adam. "She has a good pair of vocal chords. For sure."
Man, this was it. She was in. Arianna was actually a contestant on The Voice. Oh. My. God.