Chapter 34: Performance (3)
"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."