The crowd is roaring quietly in the background...chants, fist-ups, flashes are all coming from the front view of the scene as Haley stands center stage, guitar in hand, feat on the ground, and pride jammed down her throat. She's nervous; even a bit sweaty; but she's calm, quiet, peaceful.

"This is my moment. Everything I've worked for, everything I believe in, anything that's ever mattered to me; it all comes down to this single second in time. The single most important moment of my life."

She strokes the guitar, slowly, but surely, and the start of the final round of the competition begins…

Backstage, Haley's now nervously speed-walking down the busy hallway leading to her dressing room, where a cute-but-geeky dirty-blond haired guy follows her.

"That's it! My career's over before it even began. Do you hear how I messed up that quarter note in the second measure...I can't believe you talked me into this Brandon!"

"Haley...Haley, c'mon now, you did fine! Do you remember when you had your first piano residual when we were eight, and the second you finished, you told me and your Dad that you'd never preform again after that because you thought that kid Mike Tyson played Moats Art slightly more progressive then you? A year later he was kicked out of the academy, and what was it that you told him, oh yeah that's right, to never give up! Everyone had already thought you were better than he was. But even when you were an eight-year-old you refused to except your own talent. You've always been that way. You did fine."

"But Brandon, I didn't do fine, and even if I did, fine doesn't cut it here. We're not jamming in your Mom's half-finished basement with our 1960s anymore, you know. I'm on national television. I'm a finalist on Instant Star, and I just blew it."

Haley slams her dressing room door open in frustration; Brandon follows close behind. A pretty, well-dressed, young brunette stands waiting holding flowers.

"Haley, your cover of 24 Hours was fantastic, I'm so proud of you girl."

"Now's not the time Sam, Haley's stressing because she missed one minor cord."

"Oh jeez, not this again. Haley, you're fantastic...do you remember when we were eight and you had your first piano residual...?"

"Already tried that one. Didn't work."

"Shoot. Hun...I love you, but you're no pop-diva-gone-wrong Karma yet, you know you're fantastic and we all know you did great. You were meant for this. Kristen Taylor and Doug Haynes don't know what hit them."

Hayley calms down, leaning in front of her mirror.

"Thanks for the support guys...but I just don't know. Little Tommy Q is one of the most hard-ass judges Instant Star has ever seen. I could tell by the way he was looking at me that I didn't go over well with him."

"I watched it from backstage, you did great."

"I agree. Stop stressing. As your official Haley Martin best-friend-groupie-pick-me-up club, we can honestly say you were smokin'!"

Brandon walks over to Haley and covers her with his arms.

"Brandon, you're such an ass sometimes." She kids.

"Guys...look at the TV."

Sam points to the small TV that's been quietly playing in the background. It's covering the Instant Star competition. An attractive young woman, around Haley's age, is talking on stage. Haley turns up the volume as she tries to evaluate the television.

"This one goes out to a special inspiration of mine, a miss Jude Harrison, who is back in town specifically to judge our little here contest. Preforming it with me is another special guy, another one of our very own judges, Tommy Q, my favorite bad-boy with a big heart. It's a Jude Harrison classic. This is; 'Here We Go Again.'"

"That b*tch is totally taking my idea of doing a Jude classic. And she's even picking the number one Jommy song ever written! And preforming with Tommy Q? Is she even allowed to do that? Oh, I'm gonna..."

Haley storms out of her dressing room.