Hey Disney trying to find a good replacement for your American Idol attraction?
Well, have no fear, because I have the solution!
I shall call it: Hollywood Studios Live!
In my dream concept, we would create an attraction with multiple shows per day that involves guests, professionals, and even cast members performing Disney songs (potentially a few non-Disney songs as well) in front of a live audience complete with costumes, with background/backdrop images, and special surprises left and right (maybe some character cameos!). This would expand the American Idol participation audience tenfold and with no prize promised in the end, it allows for anyone with the courage to audition, and ultimately perform. This new attraction would combine the concept of music, television, and stage and wrap it up in an unpredictable package where no two shows are the same! You can sing it, or even lipsync it if you have the talent to match them. Not a Jimmy Fallon fan, but he definitely displayed the potential in awesome lipsyncers performing in front of a live audience.
Without the Idol restrictions, we can have the oldest of the old and even preteens and teenagers have the chance to sing their favorite song live on stage. In my attraction what you do is go to the audition center and sing the Disney song that you would like to sing on stage in front of everybody. If the judges feel like you are serious and can indeed do the song without issue, then you earn a selected time to return to start practicing and fit your costume as you prepare to perform in the big show.
Example: you are 15 and your favorite song is “Part of Your World” from The Little Mermaid. In the morning you go to the building, sing the song beautifully, and they give you a ticket to return to the area at around 2:30 to get ready for the 3:00 show. You show up on time, and the costuming crew finds you a dress or a getup that resembles area while the proper makeup is applied to you. Then you line up with 4-7 other performers and when it’s your turn, the backgrounds in the building change colors to the ocean blue, while images of Little Mermaid prop up left and right around you. The host announces who you are, where you are from, and what you are about to sing.
Your performance gets recorded and also gets uploaded to the Hollywood Studios Live YouTube page for the world to see. At the end of it all, you go on stage once again with everyone else that performed for one last bow. You get an exclusive pin commemorating your role in the show, and you go about enjoying the rest of your day.
Or…..........you can watch the next show and see what songs will be performed next.
Here’s the thing. Disney has hundreds upon hundreds of songs in its extensive repertoire. Over 50 official Disney animated movies, dozens of sequels, spin-offs, knock-offs, and mysterious ones not even in the official list (A Goofy Movie being my favorite example). This brings the amazing possibility of going through one or even two straight days before coming across a song being sung twice. And you can even make it so that not all the performances have to be solo: you can do duets, by threes, and once in a while maybe a group. Here can be a sample 3:00 Hollywood Studios Live show:
Arnold, age 25: Jack the Pumpkin King (Nightmare Before Christmas)
Ashley, age 43: Feed the Birds (Mary Poppins)
Joe and Samantha, ages 22 and 23: A Whole New World (Aladdin)
Suzanne, age 19: Love (Robin Hood)
Freedom High School Acapella Group, various ages: That’s What Friends Are For (Jungle Book)
Frank, Joan, Samantha, Julian, ages 22, 24, 29, 21: Be Our Guest (Beauty and the Beast)
That’s not all. We can do special events throughout the year. If its Elvis’ birthday, we are going to see a bunch of Elvises on stage and we can see this lineup for the 7:00 show:
Joe, age 45: Heartbreak Hotel
Shawn, age 33: Are You Lonesome Tonight?
Kilian, age 29: Love Me Tender
Sal, age 44: Viva Las Vegas
Elvis, age 39: Hound Dog
Frank Sinatra, Elton John, Selena, Michael Jackson, Madonna, Queen can be other examples of singers/groups that can have a few sets or maybe even the entire day dedicated to them. You can announce the auditions well in advance and can even audition for the set date. Can you imagine the hounding of Elvis impersonators attempting their shot to play at the big stage in Disney?
With Hollywood Studios Live, there is no competition, it’s just a great time and a chance to become the performer or character for those precious five minutes. You can sing it, lipsync it, embed yourself in the musical art and stage and elevate the experience of Hollywood Studios for yourself and everyone around you. An advanced version of a random karaoke bar with a Disney twist, Hollywood Studios Live will be more fun, more inclusive, more random, and more unpredictable then American Idol could have ever imagined.
Hollywood Studios Live! Will debut in Fall 2015.
Well, if Disney lets me.
Disney, this idea is free. You can have it. But I would love to see Hollywood Studios improve as a park and I can see an attraction like this being a prime example in taking the right step forward.
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