The Road So Far (2/?)
Title: The Road So Far (2/?)
Author: Disneymagics
Rating: T (for boy kissing/cuddling and language)
Characters: Jared/Jensen, Christian, Osric, Aldis, Misha, Chad, Jeffrey Dean, Kim Rhodes
Genre: RPF, AU Boy Band, Hurt/Comfort
Disclaimer: None of these people belong to me, mores the pity
Summary: Jeffrey Dean Morgan, CEO of Star Struck Records, decides the time is right for a new boy band. They hold auditions and select the band members they believe will meet their formula for success. This is the story of the trial and tribulations they encounter along the way to super stardom.
A/N: Hello! I'm not sure how many Supernatural fans are still around, but I have an idea for a new story and I need your help. Since I'm having trouble ironing out all parts of the story, I thought it might be fun to ask the readers to give suggestions as we go along.
Chapter 1
In the wake of such predecessors as the Backstreet Boys and O-Town, not to mention the current success of K-POP legends, BTS, Star Struck Records felt the time was right for the next big American boy band. Boy Bands were notoriously flakey and difficult to manage, but the executives at Star Struck had studied the phenomenon and they were sure they had the formula down pat, knew just what the contract needed to stipulate, knew how to apply the right leverage, and knew just how far most talent would go to get discovered. Beyond that, they also knew how to market a band, could pull strings to get the right venues, and had a training program all figured out. They even had just the man to manage the band. And so, they tasked their PR team with crafting an announcement.
News traveled fast in the entertainment world, and within two hours of Star Struck label’s musician casting call hitting social media, every boy band wannabe from LA to NYC was making plans to travel to Austin for the audition.
Choosing the right talent for the band was a crucial first step, and the Star Struck executives had a blueprint they planned to follow to the letter.
1)The band must consist of five members; not four, not six, but precisely five. This allowed for diversity among the members without becoming logistically too difficult to manage.
2)The boys must all be between the ages of eighteen and twenty-four.
3)They must each be talented enough that they could be shaped and formed into a singing and dancing powerhouse without being so talented that their egos would become problematic.
4)They must also have the following characteristics: a. charisma b. personality c. be objectively handsome (at least on some level) d. be wholesome and e. be sexy enough to make a fourteen-year-old girl lose her ever-living mind, but not in a dangerous way that would be off-putting to the fourteen-year-old girl’s parents (see d. above).
5)And finally, they should come from very different backgrounds, giving the band as a whole a wider range of appeal.
A score card would be filled out on each contestant, ranking their abilities and merits in categories based on the blueprint. These highly confidential score cards - the contestants would never know on what they were being judged - could then be used to rank them and chose the ten finalists.
Thus, in Spring of 2022, with the blueprint firmly ingrained in their minds, the forty-six judges hand picked by Star Struck Records CEO, Jeffery Dean Morgan himself, descended on the high school where auditions would be held. Forty-six judges seemed like a lot, but if they were to get through all the auditions in the three days allowed by the high school, they would need every single one. And that didn’t include all the PAs and other faculty required to shepherd the contestants from one audition station to the next.
The high school was perfect for their purpose, a sprawling complex of buildings that could be sectioned off and used to house all four parts of the audition; the interview, the dance routine, the a cappella vocal portion, and the instrumental-accompanied vocal portion. An entire wing was even designated as the contestant’s waiting area.
A grand total of three thousand and fifty-two hopefuls registered on-line. Even though they all had pre-assigned numbers written on the name tags emailed to them in advance along with the audition schedule and instructions, a good number decided to camp out at the school over night such that pre-dawn on the first day found the school grounds veritably crawling with excited young men.
The name tag of one of these young men read: Jake Abel #63. Jake considered himself an actor/singer and even had a few television commercial roles under his belt to substantiate his claim. His musical ability was all self-taught, and his dancing ability was non-existent. That wasn’t going to stop him though. Head shot and resume in hand, Jake strolled casually beside the PA who was taking him to the interview room, his longer legs easily keeping up with her much shorter ones. He figured the interview would be a piece of cake. Although he had no idea what questions would be asked or on what he would be judged, he could pour on the charm when needed and knew his classic good looks would serve him well. They usually did. He was confident in his singing ability, so that part of the audition shouldn’t pose a problem. That just left the dance portion. Well, dancing wasn’t that difficult, he thought. He could wing it. And besides, no one could be good at everything. Looks were probably the biggest factor being judged here anyway. Glancing around, he smirked to himself. He was much better looking than most of the other guys here. He was a shoe in.
Osric Chau #801 originally hailed from Canada. A child prodigy, at the age of four he had been versatile in a range of instruments, including piano, violin, and flute. By the time he turned eight, his parents had him enrolled in vocal and ballet lessons. They moved to New York in time for him to start high school and attend the NY Conservatory of Music. Osric lived to perform, never happier than when he was on stage in one capacity or another, be it singing or dancing or playing an instrument, he didn’t care. He loved it all. Talking to people, on the other hand, was the bane of his existence. Words never seemed to come out right, and interviews always made him feel awkward and self-conscious. Give him the stage any day of the week and twice on weekends. On the stage he could lose himself completely in the performance, devoting himself entirely to the way his body moved in time with the music, the way his hands held the violin bow, or the way his fingers felt against the piano keys. The audience gave him energy, fueled his mind and body, whereas, speaking in front of people always seemed to suck the life out of him. The interview was conducted in a classroom. A chalkboard took up one wall, a row of windows overlooking the football field took up another wall, and a large periodic chart took up a third wall. Chemistry then. Four judges -three women and one man - sat in chairs facing an empty fifth chair. Osric sat when the PA chaperoning him motioned to the empty chair with a small smile and a hurried, “Good luck,” as she dashed out the door, most likely to find auditionee #802. He handed over his head shot and resume when prompted by a lady judge who had short, dark hair and glasses that reminded him a lot of his mom’s. Steeling his nerves for the first question, he reminded himself that once the interview was over it was on to the fun stuff, and hoped that thoughts of performing would get him through the interview portion of the audition without coming off as an idiot who couldn’t string a coherent sentence together.
Country/Rock musicians Steve Carlson #1333 and Christian Kane #1334 bumped their fists together in quiet celebration as they left the interview room, happy with their responses to the questions and the rapport they felt they’d developed with their interviewers. Although the judges had urged them to interview separately, they insisted on going through the audition process as a team. Either both of them got selected or neither. They would have it no other way. It had been Steve’s idea to try out for the boy band just like it had been his idea to take their two man show on the road and his idea to record their first album, all of which had gone reasonably well so far. Their tour bookings usually consisted of good ‘ole honky tonk bars and county fairs, and the album had only been downloaded a modest number of times. Still, it was something to build on, and this could be their big break. They both felt the highlight of the interview was the story Christian told about their latest gig at the Oklahoma State Fair. The part about the goat that somehow escaped from its 4-H pen and wandered on stage while they were performing brought all four judges to tears, laughing so hard that the dude had almost fallen off his plastic chair ass-first onto the floor. When the next PA came to show them to the a cappella vocal audition room, they were leaning against the white cinderblock wall, rehashing the interview highlights and chuckling over the wink one of the lady judges had thrown them on their way out of the room.
Rap artist Kim Rhodes, aka Taboo #1439 tugged her ballcap in place over her short-cropped hair as she took her place on the stage in front of the a cappella vocal judges. Sure, she knew this was an audition for a boy band, but fuck that. How many really successful girl bands were there? Not many. How many really successful girl rap artists were there? Again, not many. So, if she had to strap her boobs down and pretend to be a boy, then that’s just what she would goddamn do, and screw anyone who tried to stop her. Her parents thought she was just going through some strange phase, that eventually she would snap out of it and follow her sisters examples by marrying a fucking boring asshole, popping out a couple brats, and living some fucking sweet life of PTA meetings and country club luncheons. Yeah, right. They would never understand how passionate she was about her music. To them, it just sounded like noise. To her, music was the answer to every question ever asked. It brought both the light of dawn and the darkness of an all-encompassing night. It was everything. At the judges prompt to begin whenever she was ready, she centered herself, opened her mouth, and sang like her very soul depended on it. She belted out her rendition of Industry Baby pitch perfect. At the conclusion, she dropped her head, eyes closed, and simply breathed. She’d fucking nailed it. Interview and a cappella down, instrument assisted singing and dancing yet to go. She was halfway there.
A woman in a navy blue pantsuit stopped pacing in front of her son, Jensen Ackles #2022, straightening the collar on the white button down shirt she’d picked out for him while giving his hairstyle another critical assessment. It was the second day of the auditions and she couldn’t help but worry over the number of other boys here. There were just so many. Not everything was riding on this, but it would be quite a feather in her cap if her son was a member of the next big boy band. And she was certain that if her son was a member, they would be big. No scratch that, they would be huge! Her son had the voice of an angel and the face to go with it. Heck, she’d started getting him modeling gigs as soon as he was out of diapers. Jensen’s father had left her before he’d even been born and she hadn’t seen the point in dating anyone else, much less getting married after that. She had devoted herself fully to her only child, managing his modeling career, and all that devotion could come to fruition if he was selected for this band. A rumbling noise caught her attention as her son looked away, an embarrassed expression on his face. Ah yes, he was hungry. They’d rehearsed all morning in the spare classroom she’d found, and subsequently missed lunch. But that was okay, they could eat once he was done auditioning. A little hunger was an easy sacrifice for her to make. The PA came to collect them, leading them to one of the instrument accompanied vocal audition rooms. She tried to enter the room with him, but was told - just like she was told when she tried to enter the interview and a cappella rooms - that she was not allowed to be in there with him while he auditioned which was bullshit, but whatever. Her son clutched his guitar to his chest, gave her a stilted nod, and entered the room, determination shining in his eyes. His determination gave her a boost of confidence. He could do this. His age might be an issue; he was younger than the required eighteen years stipulated in the paperwork she’d filled out, but the judges would be fools not to select her son, regardless of their silly rules.
Just a small town boy from Tennessee, Colin Ford #2376 was nervous. He’d never done anything like this before. Singing and dancing came naturally to him and even performing in front of people was no big deal, but auditioning for something as big as this…nope, this was new territory. His salt-of-the-earth parents had given him quizzical looks when he’d told them he was flying to Austin, Texas to audition for a part in a boy band. A boy band for fuck’s sake! He couldn’t blame them for their skepticism. He wondered himself what the hell he was doing here. A zombie apocalypse seemed more likely than him getting selected for a boy band. And yet, when his buddies from the musical theatre group he belonged to said they were going to audition, he’d agreed to come along…for moral support. Somehow, he’d ended up with a name tag and a number for himself and here he was, handing the sheet music for the song he’d selected to the pianist who was going to accompany his vocal audition. The room appeared to be the schools’s chorus room. Music stands of various heights haphazardly lined the walls, obviously pushed out of the way for the three judges seated off to the left of a piano that had seen better days. The introductory notes from his musical choice sounded through the room, and Colin took in a deep breath straight down to his diaphragm as his vocal instructors always preached. The familiar action calmed his nerves somewhat. When the right time came, he opened his mouth and let the stirring lyrics of Music of the Night from the Phantom of the Opera carry him away.
Matt Cohen #2511 rubbed at his gritty eyes, hoping like hell they didn’t look as dry and red as they felt. He’d gotten maybe three hours of sleep last night and barely made his flight from Miami to Austin this morning. It was lucky he made it all, really. The Carnival cruise ship to which he was contracted as a performer just happened to be scheduled for some downtime and pulled into dock the day before the last day of Star Struck Records boy band auditions. Call it fate or karma or whatever you wanted, it seemed as though he was destined to be here. If he believed in destiny, which he emphatically did, he would have to say there was a reason for the fortuitous timing of the ship’s scheduled downtime. This idea of his future stardom destiny buoyed him. As he collected his sheet music from the pianist, he remembered to thank her. She had done a great job accompanying him for his vocal audition, and supporting cast members rarely got the thanks they deserved. He should know. He’d worked the cruise ship circuit as a chorus line member performing in various shows for the last eighteen months. Although exciting at first, the tiny, windowless space he was allocated on the ship, the long rehearsals, next to no time off to visit the ports of call, and two shows every night had quickly lost their charm. He needed a change of pace, and apparently fate agreed with him.
Street dancer Aldis Hodge #2845 was beyond pumped to have finally made it to the dance part of the audition. Street dancing took a level of athleticism and strength that most people simply didn’t appreciate. He had started off taking acrobatic lessons at the community center back home in Philly, when he was a kid. From there, he had trained with some of the best street performers around, danced on some of the most famous streets in America. Hell, his tick tock videos got thousands of views, and not only because he danced shirtless. And why shouldn’t he? He worked hard for his six pack abs, might as well share the eye candy. He was generous that way. The dance auditions were being held in the school’s auditorium which had been separated into four sections so multiple auditions could be going on at the same time. It was chaotic. Music from other candidates’ routines competed for dominance in the large space. The acoustics were terrible. Aldis was thrilled. He thrived in chaotic environments like this, was used to performing with horns honking, people pushing past him, music blaring from passing cars. Unlike his competition, who had probably only performed in quiet studios or on stage in front of hushed audiences, he was completely at home amongst the hectic atmosphere. Flashing the judges a blinding white smile, he handed his CD to the PA and prepared to dance with everything he had, albeit fully clothed.
A moment was all Jared Padalecki #3049 needed to catch his breath after his dance routine before he was back to hamming it up in front of the judges, blowing kisses, making a giant heart symbol by putting the fingers of both hands on the top of his head, and shouting ‘Love you guys!’ as loudly as he could. What could he say; he’d watched his fair share of BTS videos recently. Only in preparation for the audition, obviously. No, really. He finished his shenanigans by throwing an over-the-top wink at the camera mounted on the wall behind the judges. There had been cameras in all the audition rooms, in the halls, and around the school grounds. There had even been a few photographers roaming around doing spontaneous, informal interviews throughout the audition process. Now the waiver that all applicants had to sign before being given their name tag and number made sense. Apparently, Star Struck Records wanted to use the footage as publicity to drum up hype on their new band. Smart thinking on their part. If he had learned only one thing from his two summers in the Disney College Program it was that big hype paid off. Disney was all about hype and look at how successful that company was. During his time with Disney, he had performed in many an after hours stage show, and they were always sold out, night, after night, after night. He would happily continue working for the Mouse, except that he’d graduated last year and so was no longer eligible for the DCP. He’d yet to find a job with his bachelor’s in communications that really appealed to him. So, when he’d seen the instagram post about the boy band auditions, he’d thought why not give it a go.
A/N: Do you have an idea for what should happen next? Why not let me know so I can incorporate it into the story? Otherwise, I'd love to hear what you think so far. Please leave me some feedback. Thanks for reading!