GRANDVILLE, Mich.– Melissa Bush, 27, of Grandville has some experience with “American Idol” auditions.
“I audition every summer,” she explains.
This time around, she made it past the first round for the first time, surviving several rounds of singing and interviews for Season 12 of the hit show.
“They have you do different things, people take you out for interviews and then finally you get to audition for the judges,” she explains.
The Chicago auditions were months ago and Bush said she had no idea she would actually be featured in the show until days before Thursday’ night’s episode.
“I didn’t know until I saw the commercial,” she said.
The 27-year-old massage therapist appeared in front of millions wearing a skin-tight Elvis-style jump suit . In the episode, she gave host Ryan Secrest a quick massage and sang in front of Mariah Carey, Nicki Minaj, Randy Jackson, and Keith Urban.
“I was super nervous,” she recalls.
Bush says she was prepared to sing a slower song, but the Idol producers wanted her to also do something more upbeat to impress the judges.
“I said, well, I can do Downtown.”
Her version of the retro hit “Downtown” fell flat for the judges.
“It was sad there’s nothing you can do about it but try again and go back next year,” said Bush, who plans to hire a vocal coach.
Although she didn’t make it to Hollywood this time, she did get her 15 seconds of fame and a pretty good celebrity photo op with the judges.
“It’s your dream and if you don’t go for your dreams then you never know. You would always wonder what would have happened if I would have tried.”
