00:00And when we heard that Janet Jackson was leaving the show, and they were going to have an open call audition to replace her, it was like, okay, that means anybody in the world can try, which was really cool.
00:12But as I mentioned earlier, everyone on fame seemed to be at least a dancer's size, even if they weren't a dancer. So I'm thinking, if there's no way on earth, I'll have a chance to do something like that.
00:22But I had a car, and a lot of the dancers wanted to go and audition. I'm like, well, I'll take you down there, because I just wanted to be a part of all that energy.
00:30And then when we get down there, I heard Debbie Allen's on the soundstage, and I want to meet her.
00:35So it's like, the guard, when we got around to the front, there was like 6,000 girls all the way around the soundstage auditioning that day. It was huge.
00:43We were out there from like 6 o'clock in the morning until I don't know when it ended.
00:46And then by the time we got up to the front door, they were saying, we have to have a number to get into the soundstage, because we're all in the people who are auditioning in.
00:55So I was like, yeah, give me a number, because I'm going to be paid.
00:57So then I get on the stage, and then after I get in, we find out Debbie Allen had left, and she might not even have been there that day.
01:04So I was like, okay, well, since I've been here, I'll just see what it's like.
01:08And the first part of the audition turned out to be singing.
01:11And I'm like, okay, I can sing.
01:13I know I can sing.
01:14And so you walk into the soundstage.
01:17There's this huge, long table, and it's a big room, high walls.
01:21And I remember it screamed for some reason.
01:23And there's producers and directors all lined up and all looking at you like, next.
01:31Next.
01:32I mean, it was that dry.
01:34And then they brought in 10 girls at a time, and we're all lined up in chairs.
01:39And then there's a microphone in front of the table, and there's a little girl up in the end with a bell.
01:43And she gives you five seconds.
01:45You've got five seconds to show them what you can do, and then they're moving on.
01:48Because they're trying to get all those people through for the day.
01:51And so, luckily, I was number 10 in my group.
01:55So I got to see what everybody else was doing ahead of me.
01:57And they would get up there, and they would start the song.
02:00And it's like, before they can get into the meet, the girl would go, bang.
02:03And they would say, next.
02:04And then it's moved on.
02:06I'm like, shoot, how do you know what she can sing?
02:08She didn't get to the meat of the song yet.
02:10And so, when it was my turn, I'm like, I'm going to start the middle.
02:14Because they're going to hear something I can do before, you know, they get the beat on me.
02:17So I started a little song that I think I did for your eyes over me.
02:22And then I was just about to sing a high note, and the little girl said, bang.
02:26And I went, wait, let me do the high note.
02:29And they would fit me in.
02:30And the person said, okay, go ahead.
02:31And I went, ah!
02:34And I went, oh.
02:38I guess that was it.
02:39So I started to sing.
02:40And then I hear this little girl running all the way around the soundstage, and she has papers.
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