The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

28 Artscene Oakville Beaver · WEDNESDAY, MAY 3, 2006 there was a lot of singing, dancing and sleeping, and every hallway and bathroom was a practice ground. "Everyone is really outgoing and likes to display their talent, even before they audition," said McCaffrey, smiling. "Not me." Adding to the action at the Elgin Friday was an appearance by last year's Canadian Idol, Melissa O'Neil and runner up, Rex Goudie. The pair recently wrapped up their Let it Go tour and were checking out the scene in Toronto. "The best advice I could give to people today is just to have as much fun as you possibly can," Goudie told The Oakville Beaver. "It's going to be a long day, but it's going to be a lot of fun. When you get in front of the judges, just be yourself and have fun." After an hour of hearing numbers announced, McCaffrey was still more than 600 away from her audition. "It's very nerve-wracking. The longer I have to wait, the more nervous I get," she said. "I wish I could just go and sing now, that would be so easy." The wait was so long that she had time to eat lunch and shop at the nearby Eaton's Centre, which was full of Idol hopefuls with numbers pinned to their chests. When she returned at 4 p.m., she was still hours away from her audition. After a nap on the floor in a hallway outside the theatre, the numbers had just cracked the 20,000 mark. At 5 p.m., McCaffrey had 246 to go. "I'm starting to get more nervous and realize that I actually have to do this," she said. "I'm really excited at the same time." After more waiting and practicing Faith Hill's There You'll Be, which she would sing for her audition, McCaffrey's number was called at 6:30 p.m. She got into a line-up with 20 Lots of idle time for Idol hopefuls By Krissie Rutherford OAKVILLE BEAVER STAFF The Canadian Idol auditioning process is edited into one-hour episodes that show ridiculous, funny and talented Idol hopefuls in each city ­ that's what viewers see. As The Oakville Beaver discovered Friday while following T.A. Blakelock's Eryl McCaffrey through her audition in Toronto, it's a long and gruelling process to earn that golden ticket to Hollywood -- well in the Canadian version, Toronto. The 17-year-old arrived at Yonge Street's Elgin and Winter Garden Theatre at 12:30 p.m. for Toronto's first of two audition days and was shocked to find no line-up outside the theatre. "I was expecting a line around the block, people sleeping in sleeping bags," said McCaffrey, who is the lead singer of a local band called Front and Center. "It's a relief ­ that takes the pressure off." But just because people weren't lining up doesn't mean they weren't waiting. More than 1,300 people showed up to audition Friday, but instead of waiting in a line, contestants were given numbers. For most, that meant waiting all day to hear that number called. If it wasn't called by 9 p.m., contestants were told to come back on Saturday. McCaffrey was 20,246 ­ that's the number of singers Canadian Idol had seen across the country up until that point. "My chances are good," she said, rolling her eyes. McCaffrey was expecting a lot of people would try out, and she was expecting to wait all day to audition. Aside from that, she didn't know how the day would go. "Oh no, do you audition in front of everyone?" she asked as she walked into the Elgin Theatre, which was TARA WALTON / SPECIAL TO THE OAKVILLE BEAVER LUCKY NUMBER 20246: T. A. Blakelock student Eryl McCaffrey shows her Canadian Idol audition ticket number at the Elgin and Winter Garden Theatre last Friday. The ticket number indicates she is the 20,246 person to audition for the popular CTV television show this year. packed with contestants and was showing Canadian Idol re-runs behind a stage full of people wearing `Are you the One?' T-shirts. "Oh my God I'm going to pass out." It turned out people were called in groups of five to audition for two judges in a room behind the stage. Judges would decide if they made it to a second audition that same day to try to earn a blue ticket. That ticket meant they'd return either Monday or Tuesday to audition in front of celebrity judges and cameras ­ the process they show on TV ­ for that infamous golden ticket. But first they had to wait. McCaffrey had to wait for 765 contestants to audition before she would be heard. Among those ahead of her were Holy Trinity students Stephanie Santamaria and Kristen Ellerson, who left their homes Friday at 6:30 a.m. to try to beat the crowd and cut down their waiting time. Hundreds of other contestants had the same idea ­ people started lining up outside the Elgin Theatre at 5 a.m. and weren't given numbers or allowed inside until 8 a.m. "We knew we would have to line up, but the time has gone by really fast," said Santamaria, whose leg was nervously shaking as she waited for 19,558 to be called. "At first it seemed like the line-up was so long, but then we started moving and it didn't take too long," added Ellerson. "Everyone in the line was singing and having a good time." At 16, the girls are the minimum age Canadian Idol will accept to audition. "Since we're old enough now, it's an experience ­ something to say we did later on in life," said Santamaria, who sings in a local choir. "We're really excited." So, did the girls think they have what it takes to be the next Canadian Idol? "We have qualities and aspects, I think," said Ellerson, laughing. "We'll try our best and that's really all we can do." By 1 p.m. ­ after a six-hour wait ­ the girls' numbers were called. "Oh my God I'm so nervous," said Santamaria. "Nervous and excited." At that point, McCaffrey's wait had just begun. She was settling into the atmosphere at the Elgin Theatre ­ See Better page 30 Our Best Sale EVER! 905-842-2821 Incredible Savings on COMPLETE PACKAGES include Selected frames Thin lenses Anti-reflective Anti-scratch 125 Cross Ave. (across from Home Depot) Oakville all Lenses Single Vision from Call for details INCREDIBLE DEALS ON ALL BIFOCALS Our experts can show you hundreds of options Doctor's appointments arranged SPACE OPTICAL $ 193 Limited time offer based on availability