Lake County’s Got Talent…The Waiting Game
Written by Blair Townley; Photo by Anthony Rao
They came. They sang. Now, they wait for that phone call from NBC to know where fate will take them next.
Patrick Poole of Fruitland Park and Aaron Becerril of Summerfield let their singing talents shine at the recent America’s Got Talent auditions in Orlando. The duo, named “The Classical Escape,” sang 90 seconds of an original song they co-wrote for producers of the NBC reality show, winning them rave reviews from producers and auditioners alike.
“Everyone said we did great. One contestant, who had a group concept similar to ours, jokingly asked if we could drop out of the competition because there was no way they were going to win while competing with us,” says Patrick with a laugh.
Braving the early morning cold on February 13th at Universal’s Loews Royal Pacific Resort, Patrick and Aaron prayed and tried to stay warm as they waited in line with hundreds of other potential contestants. The duo had also moral support with Patrick’s mom accompanying them to the auditions.
Patrick was able to get a little screen time with America’s Got Talent’s host, Nick Cannon, when he was called over by Nick to dance or “bust out a break-dance,” as Patrick recalls him saying.
“It was really exciting and there were cameras everywhere. Thank God I could dance and we did three retakes with the two of us dancing around so cameras could shoot at different angles. It was like we were actually on television,” Patrick states.
“I was very proud of Aaron because he was in pain [sleep-deprived headache from 2:30 am wake-up], but in the audition he went in there and covered up his pain very well.”
While waiting for their 90-second shot at fame, Patrick and Aaron were able to see hula hoop tricks, hear people singing opera and watch a few dancers practice as well.
“People came out to the auditions and they were good at what they did. I didn’t see any bad talent there,” Patrick recalls.
After arriving to the auditions at 4:30 am, the weary twosome didn’t leave until 5 pm that day. They were told to wait from now until mid-April for a possible call to let them know they had made it to the next round, meaning more cameras and the chance to perform in front of celebrities like Sharon Osborne and new judge Howie Mandel.
“It was a long day and we got a lot of positive feedback from our audition,” Patrick concludes. “Now we have to sit and wait.”
Let the countdown begin….
Loading ...
