Sophomore Michael Perotto’s “American Idol” audition has caught quite a buzz around Emerson’s campus. Shown belching as loudly as he belted “Proud Mary,” Perotto was highlighted on Idol’s tenth cycle New Jersey auditions as one of the “bad-but-lovable” hopefuls.
“I really had fun, and the whole post-experience has been so great,” he says expressing no regrets when recounting his Idol experience. “Talking to the media, and to my friends and family—everyone has been so supportive.”
He even admits he’s Googled himself a few times just to see what others have been saying. “It wasn’t that bad! One blogger had something really nice to say, saying I hit 75 percent of the notes and that it was just the ones I didn’t hit that were tragic,” he says.
The culprit behind those tragic notes? Nerves. “I could hear myself going downhill, so I started to dance,” Perotto says. In a rush to save himself, however, he stopped dancing and tried out a second tune: “I’m Here” from Broadway’s The Color Purple. Recalling this hasty decision he says, “I mean, it’s fun, but don’t try that song outside of your shower unless you’re a fierce black woman.”
Perotto shares different choice words for Idol’s new panel of judges and their harsh critique of his talent. “I was told that I ate paint chips as a child,” Perotto says. “I feel like it wasn’t constructive criticism; it was attacking criticism.” And that appeared to be the trend throughout the day, according to Perotto, who notes that there rarely were useful critiques from the judges’ table but instead biting words for the sake of entertainment.
Perotto’s advice for aspiring American Idol participants? “Being honest is good,” Perotto says. “Really just be yourself. I made the mistake of thinking I couldn’t sing, like, a funny Broadway number to get myself through. I think I would have felt so much less nervous and so much more in my element if I just had fun with it.”
Keeping such advice in mind, here’s to hoping for a funner, more confident Michael Perotto in next year’s cycle.
“American Idol” airs Wednesdays and Thursdays at 8 p.m. on FOX.