The Autism News | English
Seth Rollins, 29, of Lakeland, a former American Idol contestant, sings and plays guitar with his church group during a worship service at TLC Family Church in Lakeland Sunday morning. February 14, 2010. (photo by Michael Wilson | The Ledger)
By Rachel Pleasant | The Ledger
Seth Rollins’ voice will not go unheard.
The 29-year-old Lakeland resident was eliminated from Season 9 of “American Idol” last week after making it to the second round of competition dubbed Hollywood Week. The competition continues without him tonight and Wednesday on Fox.
While he has suffered what he admits was a “heartbreaking” disappointment, Rollins says he is only getting started.
“There’s a reason I’m not there. I don’t have any regrets,” said Rollins, an insurance adjuster for Progressive.
While “American Idol” is the most recent – and most high-profile – chapter of Rollins’ singing career, it is hardly the beginning.
Rollins, a Maryland native who said his family is full of talented singers, discovered his voice when he was 16 on a trip to Kings Dominion, a theme park in Virginia.
“They had a karaoke booth. It was one of those things where you record a song and it’s like $5. I sang ‘Water Runs Dry’ by Boyz II Men,” Rollins said.
When his family heard the recording, they were blown away. Rollins’ talent was discovered.
The next several years were filled with love and change. He met his wife, Stephanie, – who won $50,000 on “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire” in 2008 – during a mission trip to Mexico in 1999. In 2001, he moved to Lakeland to marry Stephanie and that same year they joined Lakeland’s Tree of Life Church. Soon they had their son, Samuel, 5, whose autism was frequently referenced during “American Idol,” and 15 months ago the couple had their daughter, Faith.
Rollins took the helm of his church’s youth worship singing team in 2001. Four years later he began leading the church’s adult group.
“(He’s) very versatile and diverse. He can put forth a hymn as quickly as he can put together a more contemporary style of worship,” said the executive pastor, Loretta Lawrence-Harmon, who helps oversee the worship and music ministry.
Church was his only singing outlet until he decided to make a go at “American Idol.”
His first “American Idol” try was during Season 6 auditions in Birmingham, Ala. To jog your memory, it was during Season 6 that Sanjaya Malakar’s hair received so much attention and Jordin Sparks was named the winner.
Rollins, meanwhile, didn’t make it past the first round of tryouts in Birmingham.
As Rollins explained, despite TV editing that makes it appear as if tens of thousands of contestants are all seen and judged in the matter of a couple of days, in reality it is a process that takes weeks.
It begins when contestants get only a few seconds to sing before about a dozen production assistants. Successful contestants go on to perform in front of producers and then the executive producer. If they’re still in the running, they get their shot in front of the show’s big-name judges, including the infamously critical Simon Cowell.
Undaunted by his lack of progress during Season 6, Rollins headed to Charleston, S.C., for Season 7 auditions. If you’ll remember, David Cook came out the winner that year.
Charleston proved somewhat more kind for Rollins, in part because of what he had learned from the previous season.
“People with gimmicks were the ones getting pulled aside,” said Stephanie Rollins.
So, for Season 7, Rollins and his brother wore T-shirts featuring son Samuel proclaiming, “Please pick my Daddy. My Daddy can sing.”
The ploy worked and Rollins made it to the producer round, though that was the end of the line for him.
He didn’t audition during Season 8 because of his wife’s impending delivery of Faith.
“I was kind of over it, too,” he added.
After that year off, however, Rollins knew he had to try again in Season 9, in part because it would be his last chance. American Idol hopefuls must be 28 or younger, meaning this was Rollins’ final opportunity. He turned 29 during the process of auditioning.
He headed to Orlando, along with his family and a big sign with a picture of his kids that said, “Don’t make our daddy cry.”
Assistant producer round: check. Producer round: made it. Executive producer round: yep. And so, five weeks after his initial Orlando tryout, he was finally singing in front of Randy Jackson, Kara Dioguardi, Cowell and guest judge Kristin Chenoweth. Out of those thousands who had initially tried in Orlando, he said, it came down to about 70 who made it to the TV judges.
He sang “Someone to Watch Over Me.”
They loved it.
“Kristin said she liked how I rearranged the song. Kara was nice, too. Simon said it was boring but they didn’t show that on TV. They all gave me a yes,” Rollins said.
He was in.
“It was awesome. It was the beginning of something new in my life,” he said.
That was Aug. 28. Hollywood Week didn’t start until Jan. 10, giving Rollins and his family several nerve-wracking months during which they had to keep the secret from their friends and loved ones.
He took voice lessons, the first in his life, and counted the days.
His first day of singing before the judges in Hollywood, this time without Chenoweth but with new cast member Ellen DeGeneres, was a Tuesday. In the solo round he sang, “A Song for You” by Donny Hathaway.
“Ellen said I sang good, but I didn’t do a lot on stage,” Rollins said. Stephanie is quick to add that is to be expected.
“He’s a worship leader. The goal is not for people to look at him but for people to look at God,” she said.
Overall, Rollins said, his reviews during the solo round weren’t great, but they were enough to send him on to the group performance round.
He and three other men, including Michael “Big Mike” Lynch, whom Rollins had first met in Orlando, formed a group. Two of the members made it through, including Lynch and Tim Urban. Rollins did not.
The elimination was a hard blow for Rollins, obvious by his reddening, watery eyes as he talks about the outcome. But that’s not to say the auditions weren’t worth it.
“Confidence,” Rollins replied when asked what he’ll take away from the experience. “Having been cut twice before, I was one of 181 to make it to Hollywood and one of 96 to make it to the group round.”
Rollins is now working on his first single, “Speak a Word,” a song he describes as “inspirational.” It’s being recorded with the help of a cousin, one of those musically talented family members. He’s also writing an album that he hopes will be finished by the end of the year. Also, he’s planning a concert at his church for March that will benefit an autism organization. More information can be found at sethrollinsmusic.com.
Watching Rollins practice with five other members of his church’s worship team, it is hard not to wonder if this disappointment was profound enough to shake his faith.
The answer, he said without wavering, is no.
“The journey is what’s important. The journey is what matters. I did everything I could to keep going,” he said.
Source: http://www.theledger.com/article/20100215/NEWS/2155049/1326?Title=Seth-Rollins-Was-Cut-on-American-Idol-But-Keep-Listening
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