"Contestant James Jones III." Larry Jackson grabbed his mic and called out Jamie's name as he was prepared to sing.
"Yes, sir?" the honey-like country accent sounded out as the blond boy turned from the shrieking audience to face the judge's table while adjusting the mic on his acoustic guitar.
As Jamie tucked his shoulder-length blond hair behind his ears, the screams reached a fever pitch that seemed like it could shatter glass.
Long Blonde hair + blue eyes + tall, muscular body + cute face + amazing voice + guitar = crazed female fans.
As the female audience members stared at Jamie, enjoying the unique new taste of the contestant that had appeared on stage, they looked like they wanted to devour him with their eyes.
As the fans continued shrieking, Larry Jackson looked at the youngest son of a music industry buddy and began speaking as he remembered the favor that this friend had called in.
James Jones II wanted his son to fail today.
Although he didn't understand why his friend wanted to squander such an opportunity for his son, he didn't care to delve into anybody's family business.
"Do you remember the conversation we had at your audition. You said that you would create your own song for this round and completely remove the country sound from your composing and performance, to show that you're versatile and can grow." Larry Jackson started off in a gentle tone.
"That's right."
"Well, I've decided to add another condition, and the crowd and my fellow judges can be the evaluators first so I don't come off biased, but if your song has the barest hint of a country sound, I want you to take a long hard look at if you belong in the program and consider if you should drop out on your own."
GASP-
Selena and the audience gasped dramatically while Bing Yongsun stared at Larry Jackson with a curious expression, wondering what he planned to do here.
"Now, I'm not saying this because I don't value your talent or because I want you to drop out. It's because I want you to keep your word and I want you to focus on making music that's a right fit for you, which this program and possibly the group might not be. You've expressed being unsure of your musical path, and I want to make sure you're not doing anything that hinders your growth."
Larry made the words sound vague, but in essence, he was telling Jamie to drop out.
As Jamie began to frown, Larry Jackson quickly continued, "Of course it's completely your choice, but you were the one to make that grand statement, so I want to see if you're a man of your word. Could it be that you weren't able to accomplish the goal you set? If so, you can step down now. Nobody will judge you."
"Larry! He's a kid!" Selena smacked his arm, but Larry shoved it off while staring at Jamie intensely.
He was mentally pressuring him to quit.
Jamie glanced at Larry Jackson before turning toward the crowd and then back to the judge's panel.
His eyes focused, and he smiled his classic sweet smile that could melt the heart of anybody who saw it.
"I won't be stepping down, and I'll continue with my performance, because as one of my fellow contestants said, I believe in myself and believe that I'm the best because I've worked hard to grow and develop my skills. And I believe in the music that I created."
"Is that right? Then go ahead. Let's see this grand self-composed performance."
Larry Jackson put his mic down and leaned back with a confident smile.
Although he knew Jamie was quite talented, the boy was so country in everything that he did.
Even now, with a posh school uniform, he wore a cowboy hat and cowboy boots, and even brought his guitar, which was the very essence of country music.
He had no doubts that whatever Jamie sang, would have his classic country thread through it, and he would be able to complete the favor that he owed James Jones II, Jamie's father.
With the judge's approval, Jamie turned to the crowd and began speaking while adjusting his guitar.
"Once again, I'm James Jones the Third, but you can call me Jamie. This is a song I wrote with the help of a friend and fellow contestant while battling myself. It's not in my usual style, but it demonstrates my growth as an artist, and I hope that some of you can relate to the music."
As the audience quieted down, Jamie began to strum his guitar.
Badum dmm badum dmm
Badum dmm badum dmm
Boom boom boom boom
As the drums sounded, he began to sing in a low voice, heart-wrenching lyrics that he truly felt.
I wanna follow where this goes
I dream about this, and you know it
I wanna finally take control
Because you always try to control me mmm
The music pulls me in and keeps me guessing mmmm
And maybe I should finally start addressing
Addressing you yeah
There was a lull in the music, and suddenly, as the beat picked up, Jamie slung his guitar behind him, grabbed the mic while glaring at the audience, and the camera pointed at the stage with a fierce expression.
With his finger pointing forward and a fierce expression in the usually soft blue eyes, he began signing to the upbeat pop-rock beat that sounded out.
Oh, I've been shakin'
I hate it when you talk crazy
You always try to restrain me
My god, you're always holdin' me back
You hide me places
You ruin my concentration
Manipulate my decisions
But now, there's nothin' holdin' me back
As he sang the song that he had repeatedly deconstructed and remade with Ari's help during a 48-hour grind, Jamie poured every bit of frustration he had toward himself, toward his father, and toward life, reveling in being able to sing his song and free himself of shackles that had seemed to bind him forever.
He poured every bit of his emotions into the song and seemed to evolve into somebody else.
The vehement glare, the raw vocals, the pop-rock-like sound built on top of the guitar sounds, and the fierce attitude of the tall blonde boy wearing country boots sounded out in the auditorium.
Both the judges and the audience members were completely shocked at the fact that the song that was being sung was composed by the boy in front of them.
Their brains couldn't recognize seeing a country boy wearing a wrinkled grey uniform that slightly emphasized his muscular physique with his tie undone, and his cowboy hat and boots with a rock star who was belting out these lyrics while his long golden hair whipped around.
As Jamie took off his hat, he twirled it around his finger and continued to sing, fully exposing his handsome face, which had a gentle charm.
Several girls in the audience began screaming, wishing for a moment that they had managed to sneak their phones in so that they could take pictures.
Because the performance was that good.
It wasn't because the choreography was amazing (he was simply two-stepping), or because he was the most handsome contestant they had seen, but the power in his voice, the way his fingers plucked his guitar, the way that tall, muscular body moved…it just drove all of them crazy!
He had to make it to the next round! Top 100! No, definitely top 10!
A fire was lit in the audience's eyes, stoked by Larry's words to try to eliminate him and the fiery response from the contestant.
But now, there's nothin' holdin' me back
As Jamie sang the last line of his song, he bowed his head slightly while panting, before giving the audience and the judges a bright, refreshing smile.
When he put his cowboy hat back on, covering his face, the audience let out audible groans and despondent sighs.
That beautiful face and wonderful hair being covered up was a complete crime!
"Wow, I'm not sure if I should bother asking, but everybody liked the performance, right?"
- Yesssss!!!!!!!
- Wooooooooo!!!!!!!
- Jamie, I want to hold you back!!!!!! Call me!!!!!
As different sounds of agreements and even one strange comment rang out, Ryan Leary laughed before continuing to speak: "Then, everyone, please vote as your heart desires. And while that's being tallied, we'll turn to the judges. Since Larry said he didn't want to offer a biased opinion, let's start with the beautiful Selena."
"Jamie. Wow. You know you did a good job, right? You wrote this song?" Selena clapped her hands once more as she stared at Jamie with a proud expression.
"Thank you. And yes! It was an original composition by me, but I collaborated with one of the contestants to tidy it up!" Jamie answered brightly, not forgetting to include Ari's help even though the other boy didn't want to be included.
"Wow! Honestly, I want to kidnap you right now and pick your brain for a song for myself."
"Eughhhh…." Jamie took three steps back while making a strange sound.
At Jamie's frightened look, Selena laughed brightly, "Kidding. Maybe. Personally, I think you definitely make it into the top 100. Your performance was electrifying. I would have liked to see some choreography from you, but since we didn't ask you to do that. I can't really take away any points, and I have to say, it definitely doesn't sound country to me. I would definitely put you in the top 20. How about you, Mr. Bing Yongsun?"
Bing Yongsun thought momentarily before lifting his mic and speaking in a measured way.
"I think that vocally, instrumentally, and especially composition-wise, you are incredibly talented and definitely know how to work the stage once you lose your shyness. It's a pass for me, and I look forward to watching you grow as a musician. To echo what Miss Selena said, I could hear no country influence despite the use of the guitar and look forward to seeing what other songs you create in the future."
"Wow, thank you so much!" Jamie tilted his head politely before turning to Larry Jackson, who had a bitter expression on his face.
"Mr. Jackson? How did I do?" Jamie asked Larry Jackson with an expectant smile.
He knew he had completely killed it and just wanted this judge to admit it.
Ari had told him what his father had said, and from analyzing the judges, he realized that the one his father had contacted was probably Larry.
Although he had no plans of quitting, even if Larry Jackson said his song sounded like country, he wanted the man to open his mouth and admit that Jamie had succeeded.
That with the help of someone who would hopefully be a future colleague, he had taken a baby step toward one of his goals.
"Mr. Larry Jackson?" Jamie called his name with a slightly mischievous expression that resembled that of the person who had been teasing him for the past couple of weeks.
"How did I do?"