ChapterEight-Callbacks

November 5th, 2004

  It's now November, and it was time for the callback auditions for New England's Teen Superstar. The callbacks were at a theatre in Boston. UTurn arrived early to get their seat in the theatre. (As for the status on the Alyson/Justin couple, they broke up.)

  Once all 150 contestants (of those contestants include 10 pop groups) sat down, the 3 judges (who are prominent music producers in all of New England) got onstage. They were well-known Boston-based, Russian nightclub DJ Vladimir Karl, music producer George Acosta, and music scout Anna Reynolds. 

  Anna announced, "Congratulations to all of you making through the auditions."

  The contestants applauded and cheered. Then she continued, "So get up stage now because today half of you will be eliminated."

  As UTurn got up, Andrew stopped the members. He whispered to them,"I see some of the Beacon Hill High students."

  Bailey asked, "So?"

  "So? Our reputations are at stake!"

  Alyson said, "I know how you feel, Andrew. I see my clique here, too. I heard they're a girl band. But this competition could change our lives. If we win, we could get out of school."

  Andrew smiled, and the band went onstage. After about 10 contestants (all soloists) sang, it was UTurn's turn. They sang Quit Playing Games (With My Heart) by the Backstreet Boys. 

  After about 2 hours of singing, the judges started deliberating. An hour later, 150 contestants turned to 75 contestants. The ten pop bands and the Beacon Hill High contestants avoided being eliminated. 

  Then the remaining contestants were put in groups. UTurn were in this one group that had girl band Pretty4Uz (Libby, Stacie, Melissa, and Kat), 4 soloists from BHHS (Beacon Hill High School) who were performing arts students (Jeremy, Sara, Jaclyn, and Andres), and a guy from Hartford, Connecticut (Craig).

  Pretty4Uz and the four Boston soloists were surprised to see that the pop band in their group had the four most popular people from their school. UTurn, on the other hand, were nervous to work with people they know. 

  Libby said in a snobby, "Alyson, I saw your group singing. You all are good, but Pretty4Uz is better. Bailey, you may sing like Kelly Clarkson, but I sing like Mariah Carey."

  Bailey said, "We sound the same, Libby."

  Jeremy taunted, "Justin, Andrew, who knew you two can sing? Especially you, Andrew."

  Andres also taunted, "I guess you're one of us now, huh Andrew?"

  Andrew and Justin were fuming, but Andrew was the most mad. He was holding Alyson's hand, and he squeezed her hand hard.

  Alyson told Andrew, "Andrew, you're hurting me."

  He let go of Alyson's hand.

  Jaclyn taunted, "So Alyson and Bailey are also performing arts students? So now your popular status is gone?"

   Alyson was fuming, but Bailey was cold.

  Stacie said in an irritated, "Me, Libby, Mel, and Kat are a girl band. Are we 'losers' just cuz we wanna be the next Play? The whole school knows about us, and we're still popular. So why should...Aly, what's the name of your group?"

   Alyson replied, "UTurn."

  "UTurn, why should you be ashamed of your band? It's not like your popularity will go away."

  Bailey said, annoyed,  "That's what I've been trying to say to them, but they won't listen!"

  Alyson exclaimed, "It's a difficult situation for us?"

  "Why? Is it cuz you and Andrew are always acting like mean bitches?"

  Andrew said, "I'm not a bitch."

  Bailey exclaimed, "Well, you act like one!"

  Sara taunted, "Like, OMG, is UTrash splitting up?"

  Alyson said firmly, "UTurn is not splitting up, right?"

  Bailey said, also firmly, "I'm not leaving."

  Both Justin and Andrew said, "We're staying."

 Stacie said, "Good, now that we got that shit settled, can we please work together so we can all make the final round of the auditions?"

 Everyone reluctantly agreed. As for Craig, he's just clueless to what's going on.

 After an hour of waiting and practicing, they were up second. They sang I Must Not Chase The Boys by Play. Play is a popular Swedish girl band. Everyone just sang, while UTurn had some choreography. When they were done, the judges deliberated for a few minutes.

 Vladimir announced in his Russian accent, "All of you have made it through the final round of auditions."

 Everyone cheered as they left the stage. Soon, there were 50 contestants. 8 groups and the BHHS students avoided elimination. The contestants had to now perform with a backing track. UTurn chose All Or Nothing by O-Town, a boy band. The judges gave the contestants no response. 

 It's now the next day. The contestants met with the judge onstage at the theatre. The judges cut the contestants in half. One half was eliminated, while the other made it through the live semi-finals. Then judges added more contestants from the eliminated group and turned them into three different groups.

 This is the list of the Top 25 Semi-Finalists:

1. UTurn (Alyson Bauer/Andrew Hawthorne/Bailey Richardson/Justin Harrison)

2. Pretty4Uz (Libby Middleton/Stacie Morales/Melissa Shum/Katryn Martinez)

3. Jeremy Lee

4. Sarah Hudson

5. Andres Jimenez

6. Jaclyn Dean

7. John Bryan

8. Karen Carson

9. Craig Stone

10. Edward Efron

11. ClubLights (Anne Perry/Greg Scott/Lyndsay Purdy/Zachery Johnson) (NETS band)

12. BoysNow! (Jeffery Bryan/Nathan Harold/Daniel Penn) (NETS band)

13. The Administrators (Ashton Underwood/Andrew Underwood/Aaron Underwood)

14. P.I.N.K. (Carrie Thompson/Eliza Aiken/Hannah McCormick/Adele Clarkson) (NETS band)

15. Lizzie Santiago 

16. Matthew Tompkins

17. Taylor Sweeney

18. Philip Goldstein

19. Amanda Reed

20. Liam Henderson

21. Lacey Kevin

22. Randall Larson

23. Demi Gonzalez

24. Chris Renfree

25. Alana Gerald

 The live, televised semi-finals begin in February. By then, the TV viewers would vote for their favourite contestant.