Reaching Out to the Stars (17 page)
Voting for an American Idol contestant is also that of personal preference more than who is actually the best… or maybe people just differ on the idea of what the best is? A lot of fans will cast a vote for their favorites fully knowing that they are not necessarily the best vocalist, but because they prefer a certain type of music and, for example, would not vote for a rocker or an R&B artist no matter how good they are because they would not buy their CD
.
So should they ban contestants from playing musical instruments on the show?
In reality, I don’t think it would make a difference. Our society is so distracted by, “lookism”, personality (or lack of), and of course the “gay factor”, why not add instruments to the mix too….but it is a singing competition….right Simon?
Unfortunately, most of these papers already have writers that cover the entertainment field.
Shortly after the big stir up, I decided to become a fan of more pages on Facebook other than Jason Castro. My pages included Clay Aiken, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, American Idol, Smallville, The Office and of course Fenway Park…Go Sox!
The only other post I ever sent Jason Castro was on March 25th which simply stated “Happy Birthday Jason. Take a step back today and relax with family and friends. Surround yourself with the people who matter the most.”
Updates on my favorite television shows and celebrities are better than nothing.
Chapter 16
If You’re Not a Celebrity…Who Cares?
As I once sought after stardom in the past, brought back alive through American Idol and its contestants, I began to write about my dreams and passions of singing and relating to these rising stars from this reality show. I figured I am a talented writer, how hard can it be to get a book published if you have both the talent for writing and a great idea?
I began submitting query letters to agents, a couple at a time, in November of 2008. Eight months later, I was lucky to get a lot of positive feedback, but still nobody quite believing in my idea enough to sign me on.
Ironically, one agent had given me hope through an inspiring rejection letter. She had gone on to say that even though that she was passing on my promising work, that persistence leads to success and that every no is closer to a yes. Even though at that point I was discouraged over the number of rejection letters filling my “rejection” folder, luckily, persistence is one of my finer qualities, most of the time. It gave me enough motivation to keep going with it. Soon after that,
I got another rejection letter advising me to be more proactive and instead of a proposal stating what I would like to do, to start putting those words into actions. It was at that time that I decided to write another letter to Ellen.
I went to her online site, as I did the first time I sent a letter. Somehow after I had composed what I had wanted to say, it would not let me send it through. I then stumbled onto a website called Verotal Solutions. This was a website with addresses for writing fan letters to your favorite celebrities. I looked up Ellen DeGeneres, Clay Aiken and Paula Abdul in hopes that through letters, one of these stars would hear my voice. As for Jason, I still decided not to send him a fan letter based on my previous Clay heartbreak. My letters read as follows:
Dear Ellen
,
I wrote to you in June of 2008 with great hope for a response. Unfortunately, I did not have great luck in connecting with you. Through my letter I was seeking answers to unknown questions regarding celebrity status and fandom and looking to fulfill and keep my dreams alive. I did not find success in a hopeful response but my letter to you and the excitement of awaiting a response led me to follow through with fulfilling another dream, finishing a book that I began writing in 2003
.
In my book, Reaching Out to the Stars: American Idol Dreams, I grapple with the reality of the relationship between celebrities and their fans. This book focuses on my own personal experience of being a fan, many times as a child and now as an adult, my present obsession with the hit reality television show American Idol and its popular contestants
.
My book features my personal fan letters to my “idol obsession” along with my past letter to you in search for reason to why we as fans get so caught up in celebrities of choice, for example, my own guilty pleasure of the American Idol experience
.
As I am excited about my work and happy to say that my manuscript is being reviewed by a literary agency, I am hoping that you would support my project as well upon representation and possible publication
.
As I have always admired you as my favorite television host, you have also been an inspiration to me, in making the dreams of ordinary people come alive
.
Dear Clay
,
Although I refuse to call myself a Claymate, I have been a huge fan of yours since 2003. I have sent you three fan letters, this being my fourth. As I never asked for a response, thinking it to be somewhat irrational, a little piece of me was sad when I did not get one
.
As I started to grapple with the reality of the relationship between celebrities and their fans, I began to get frustrated. As my mind was filled with unanswered questions, my thoughts began to overflow onto paper. One page developed into a book called Reaching Out to the Stars: American Idol Dreams
.
As you were my inspiration for beginning to write this book, I was inspired to finish it after the close of American Idol (Season Seven) as I became a devoted fan of, yet, another Idol contestant
.
I am excited about this project and have been querying agents since November of ’08. As I am happy to say that my work is being reviewed by a literary agency, I am hoping that you would support my project as well upon representation and possible publication
.
As I have always admired you as my favorite American Idol, you have been an inspiration to me in more ways than one. I am hoping for your support in putting in a good word, as I know you understand what it is like for an ordinary person to fulfill a dream
.
Dear Paula
,
I have been a fan of yours since childhood and have also been a fan of American Idol since 2003
.
As I have been inspired by this show, I have also been inspired by some of its popular contestants
.
As a devoted fan of Clay Aiken, I began to grapple with the reality of the relationship between celebrities and their fans after three unanswered fan letters. As the frustration and mystery of it all consumed me, I began writing a book called Reaching Out to the Stars: American Idol Dreams. I was able to complete my book upon the close of Season Seven when I was won over by fourth place runner up Jason Castro
.
As I am excited about the completion of this project, I have been looking for representation since November of ’08. As I am happy to say that my work is being reviewed by a literary agency, I am hoping that you would support my project as well upon possible representation and publication
.
You have always inspired me to follow my dreams as you often inspire the contestants of American Idol. I was recently told by an agent that persistence leads to success. As I am anxious to fulfill and keep my dreams alive, still I keep reaching out to the stars
.
Again, in hopes for some kind of response, I am still waiting.
With frustration and great persistence, I began to type a new article that I thought I may submit to a local paper.
If You’re Not A Celebrity……Who Cares???
American Idol, Season Seven, Top 24, who am I? I am not a celebrity, but just a fan that experienced a romantic encounter with 4th place runner up Jason Castro…and then I woke up. Haven’t we all had that dream before about that one celebrity who makes us a little weak in the knees.
The truth is, we live in a different world. If you’re not a celebrity then who cares! As a child I always dreamed of being famous, as we all probably have at some time in our lives. As I grew older I wondered if that type of lifestyle that we long for was even a happy one. Just lately
I finished writing a personal memoir about being a fan and thought, I may not be a star or even want the life of one, but maybe I could be a published author and write about my dreams, my personal obsessions and my passions regarding music.
I then realized, are you kidding me? It is just as hard to become a published author as it is to become a well-known star. Why is it that nobody wants to hear the real life stories and experiences inside the world of fandom? After all, without the fan, there would be no star.
I have been querying agents since November. I have had a lot of positive feedback including two requests for my manuscript and still no action. I even had one agent respond to me that “Unless you are famous, memoirs are hard.” Now if that doesn’t prove my point, then what does?
Once again, I started to become discouraged. Although there were pieces of me that wanted to just give up on my dream, a bigger part of me felt that the more that my voice was not heard, the more persistent I would become on being able to reach for the stars, even though they just may be unreachable. It has never been in my character to give up. Hopefully, that will get me somewhere someday. If you’re reading my book, then my persistence paid off.
Chapter 17
A “King” Is Lost but Never Forgotten
Three months ago, Bryce and I sat watching American Idol during Michael Jackson week. As the show began and they showed a clip, our eyes were fixated on the television as we both got goose bumps up and down our spine. As soon as it ended, Bryce and I looked at each other and said, “Do you remember that?”
On June 25th we were celebrating Faith’s third birthday. We were sitting on the deck having a cookout with my mom and dad, David and the kids. The kids quickly left the table to play on the swings.