Choosing Good Audition Songs for American Idol

It's that time of year again - the time of year when the American Idol judges are touring the country seeking out the people who might be able to become America's next singing sensation. With thousands of people auditioning in each location, there's a good chance that you might be considering an audition. And if you are, you're trying to figure out how to make yourself stand apart from the rest of that massive crowd. The most important thing that you can do for yourself when planning for an American Idol audition is to spend a lot of time making sure that you have chosen the right song.

In order to choose the right song for an American Idol audition, the first thing that you will need to do is to assess your singing ability. This is the difficult part where you take a long hard look at how well you can sing and be honest with yourself about the style and range of your voice. You should get a second opinion here - preferably a professional opinion from someone who understands the nuances of the voice (someone like a vocal coach). That's because you have to choose a song that suits your range and style or you're going to have the wrong song and fail to make a good impression at the audition.

Once you know the style and range of your voice, you can narrow down the list of songs that you are considering using for the audition. If you have an amazing vocal range then you want to choose a song that is going to show off that range. If your range is limited, you want to take care not to choose a song with a wide range because your limitations will be highlighted. Consider your vocal strengths and weakness - for example, if you can hit some amazing low notes but don't sing high notes well then you want to choose a song that can be performed well in the low range. You may have to listen to a large number of songs from different eras to find a good selection for your range.

Once you have identified those songs that are in your range, you can take some additional important factors into consideration to make sure that you choose the right song:

• Popularity of the song. You want to select a song that people know but that isn't currently super-popular. In other words, be creative with your choice but don't be wacky about it.
• Ease of learning the song. Ideally, this will be a song that you already know by heart so that you don't have to worry about forgetting the lyrics. If not, you should make sure that it's one you're fairly certain that you can learn easily.
• Adaptability of the song. You want to be able to sing the song in a way that reflects your own style. Is this a song that's going to be easy to adapt a little bit to your own voice?

After choosing the right song, you will want to make sure that you seal the deal by completing the whole package. You want to choose an appropriately trendy outfit for the audition. You also want to create a series of dance moves - or at least get comfortable moving a little while you sing. And then you want to practice, practice, practice!