A Tiger once a Spartan went and auditioned for the well-known show, American Idol.

Junior Jasmine Chun Fat transfered from Maryknoll High School this year. Soon after arriving at McKinley High School, she took a few days off to fly to San Fransico, California, for the Idol audition.

Her hanai aunty, Jennifer Gould, wanted her to go just to see what would happen. And so it was Chun Fat’s hanai family that funded her entire trip.

The first day was dedicated to getting the ticket and wristband so they could audition. The second day was the audition.

Chun Fat was nervous.

“After waiting that long, it’s scary because you could get denied in less then 10 seconds,” Chun Fat explained.

There are three stages to the auditioning. First you sing to a panel of judges. If these judges like you, then you advance to the second stage. This is where you sing in front of the Executive Producer. If he approves of the contestant, you are allowed to perform for the celebrity judges.

Chun Fat being a singer was no surprise to her family. When Chun Fat was a baby, she would literally hum herself to sleep. Despite this natural talent, Chun Fat had never sang alone in public before she has been involved in music. While at Maryknoll, she was back up vocals in a music ministry group. In fact, she did not perform in public until the American Idol auditions. She auditioned mostly to please her aunty.

On audition day, of course, Chun Fat had stage fright. She quickly got over that obstacle as she stood in front of the first panel of judges singing “How to Touch a Girl” by Jo-Jo. She chose all her songs according to how much range each had.

Originally Chun Fat was to sing only 20 seconds of the song. Instead, the judges asked her to sing all the way through. After she finished the song without faltering, they asked another song of her, and so she picked “Slow Motion” by Kareena. Again, Chun Fat was asked to sing the whole song. Chun Fat was eliminated after stage two.

A 23-year-old who, like Chun Fat, sang two songs, each 20 seconds long, advanced in the competition when Chun Fat did not. Although the show’s minimum age requirement is fifteen, 16-year-old Chun Fat believes the show carefully considers the responsibility they take on with younger contestants. A judge had suggested that she audition again when she is 18.

She doesn’t think she’ll do it.

“It’s such a hassle,” she said.

Besides, her future goals lie more in theater