Something very fun happened to me this past Tuesday. I had the honor of being a guest on the up-and-coming Idol Radio Show.
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HEY! Don't laugh. I really was a guest on the show. A featured guest at that. I can prove it too. Click the play button below and listen. (Note to my dad: If you click the play button below, it signifies your understanding that you are not allowed to critique me. I am well aware I said "you know" waaaaaaay too many times.)
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Mind boggling, ain't it?
So how did this come about? With some good fortune and a very busy Webmaster.
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This past Monday morning, Darryl, the host of Idol Radio Show, e-mailed Steff. He explained to her what the show was and how he was looking to invite guest commentators on to talk about American Idol. He said he had been browsing the TOSP Forum for a while now and liked what he saw. He then asked Steff if she or one of her staff members would like to be a guest on the show.
Luckily for me, Steff has a lot of coals in the fire right now. Steff immediately thought of my charm, wit, and charisma and forwarded the e-mail to me. (Steff my give you some tall story about only asking me because next to her I know more about TOSP then anyone else. Don't listen to her. This is my story, so what I say happened goes.)
I had never been on the radio before. Once, as a kid, I was on a local children's program (remind me to tell you about dropping one of Thomas Edison's first filament light bulb sometime). But that was years ago. And even then, all I really had to do was sit with the host on screen while he talked and introduced cartoons and talked to the adult guests. Would I be able to answer questions and talk about the subject without stumbling all over myself?
Eventually I agreed to do it. After talking to Darryl later that day, all I had to do was wait until Tuesday night at 10 PM.
Darryl wanted me to call the station about a minute before the show so he would know that I was ready to go. As I counted down the minutes to call, my heart began to race faster and faster. With about 4 minutes to go, I decided to go ahead and call in. After all, in case something went wrong I would have time to call back.
So I dialed the numbers in my phone. And I waited. No sound. I looked at my phone. Yeah, the numbers were on the screen. So I listened again. Still no sound. I hit "end" on my phone and dialed the numbers again. Still nothing. No ringing, no sound, no nothing. I was beginning to fret. I was going to miss my big radio debut.
I looked at the numbers on my phone again and stared at them for a while trying to figure out what was wrong. Then it hit me. I had forgotten to hit the "send" button on my cell phone after dialing the numbers. Twice.
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I took a deep breath and pressed send. I was connected to the show. All I had to do was wait to be introduced. With my heart beating as fast as it was, the seven minutes or so it took to be introduced seemed like an eternity. Then I heard it. He was introducing me, telling everyone listening who I was and welcoming me to the show. I replied, and we were off.
My part of the show was only suppose to last until the 40-minute program mark, but it didn't end until a little after the 50-minute mark. I was having so much fun, I didn't even realize how fast the time was passing. It was over before my brain had even had a chance to process that we had started. Listening back to the program now, there are parts I do not remember.
I enjoyed talking to Nicole and Leslie (both from TOSP) during the program. We tried to take another call, but whoever it was didn't respond. Darryl told me later that the phones had begun to light up after the segment ended. He felt bad that more people wanted to talk to me then got a chance to do so. I know Sally didn't get through until after my segment ended.
The good news is that I have been invited back for Wednesday, March 7. I had so much fun the first time, I can't wait to do it again. And who knows? Maybe this will lead to bigger and better things, like my own national radio program. Then maybe I can escape Steff and all the work she keeps piling on me.
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Dang it. Where does Steff keep getting all those whips at?
More about the program
Idol Radio Show not only talks about American Idol the show, but also about past Idols. So far, they have had several former Idols on as guests, including George Huff, Gedeon McKinney, Vonzell Solomon, and Paris Bennett just to name a few. In addition, the show has an inside connection with Oscar winner Jennifer Hudson (the people behind the show also run Jennifer's official Web site). They were with Jennifer before, during, and after she won her Oscar.
Tags: Taylor Hicks, American Idol, Birmingham, Alabama
