Elementary and junior high classrooms might have been a little emptier than usual yesterday as hundreds of kids under the age of 15 showed up for auditions to be YTV’s Next Star.
Rose Epp brought her three daughters and infant child to the Mayfield Inn and Suites yesterday at 5:15 a.m.
Epp said the early morning audition is a small price to pay for her daughters, two of them aged 12 and the other 15, to do what they love best.
“The girls really wanted to be here so we made the sacrifice and drove out here really early,” said the mother holding her infant child.
“We have one in musical theatre so we’re hoping for them to make it. They just love to sing.”
So does Deonna Setzko, whose talents were tuned enough to get her to the second round of auditions yesterday.
“I was kind of worried there — the girls were all really good. They were amazing,” said the 15-year-old. “But apparently I did it really well.”
Setzko auditioned for the YTV show last year and made it to the second round.
This year she’s hoping to improve on that showing by singing Lay It On The Line by Divine Brown and I’ll Stand By You by the Pretenders.
“It was still nerve-wracking but I knew what to expect and I tried to give the other girls some advice on what to expect,” she said.
Setzko and her mom made the five-and-a-half hour drive from Anzac, Alta., to make it to the auditions and her day was just getting started.
Her next step was to sing and be interviewed by the show’s producers at which point she’ll find out if she makes the cut.
“I got the call back last year,” she said. “I’m hoping for top 16 this year at least.”
