Daniel Seavey wriggled in his seat while waiting for his “American Idol” audition to appear on the big screen Thursday night at Union High School’s auditorium. He was surrounded by a large — and loud — crowd of family, friends and local fans.
“Oh my gosh, I’m next,” he said.
When the 15-year-old Vancouver resident’s smiling face flashed on the screen, the room erupted into cheers. Daniel leapt out of his seat and ran around the school’s auditorium with his best friend, Cristian Velasquez, 15.
“Honestly, seeing so many people show up to see one person, that’s insane,” Velasquez said. “I’m just really excited for him … music is seriously his life.”
Daniel, a student at Union, auditioned for “American Idol” in San Francisco after missing out on the Portland auditions. He said he was from Portland, like many Vancouver residents who avoid the inevitable confusion with the “other” Vancouver when out of the area.
The judges said they were impressed by how many instruments he plays and poked fun at his age; he turned 15 just two months before the audition.
“He’s the youngest (contestant) to have progressed as far as he has,” said his mom, Keri Seavey.
For the audition, he sang “Hallelujah,” a ballad originally written by Leonard Cohen, and played the piano. And then, he did an acoustic version of Paula Abdul’s “Straight Up” while playing guitar.
Judge Keith Urban noted that his voice was breaking and he needed to work on that — but voted yes for him to move on to the next round in Hollywood, Calif.
“I think you’re a little bit nervous, but I think you have a really beautiful voice in there, I do,” said judge Jennifer Lopez. “And I saw it in just glimpses in this audition. Obviously you’re very musically talented. It’s just kind of the blossoming and coming out of the nerves and giving us an amazing performance. It wasn’t complete.”
Judge Harry Connick Jr. voted no, saying that he was too young and not ready yet for “American Idol.” The rapt audience at Union booed at that comment.
“You’re very talented and you’re adorable. I’m very on the fence about you,” Lopez said.
The show then cut to Daniel walking out of the judging room to meet his parents, where he slyly pulled the golden ticket to the next round from behind his guitar.
“I had a feeling he would do that,” Keri Seavey said during the viewing.
“I was thinking through my mind, ‘Is this really happening?’ ” Daniel Seavey said.
A selfie the judges took with Daniel has been making the rounds on social media. The teen has a growing legion of fans, including a Twitter account @danielseaveyfp — called Daniel’s Girls.
Going into the auditions, Daniel said, would just be a fun, memorable experience. He watched as contestants went in and out of the judging room every 20 minutes.
“When you’re on the set … it still feels like TV. It was such a cool experience,” he said.
Over the years, the teen has learned to play multiple instruments by ear and started singing around the fifth grade. He plays cello in Union’s orchestra.
“I’m hoping to play the cello on the show sometime,” he said.
While he doesn’t always feel challenged, Keri Seavey said, on the show, he’s surrounded by talented people who make him want to grow as a musician.
At Union High School Thursday night, he was surrounded by supportive community members.
“I feel like that’s one of my favorite parts of it — seeing how many people come out to support me,” he said.
