Constructive criticism.

James got up from the chair, glanced at the people sitting at his back, men...it was a long queue. Some were even giving him the look of 'Go in, what are you waiting for? James' nervousness had increased, he could even feel his heartbeat. He strolled over to the door, opened it, and stepped into it. And truly, the judges were famous musicians, he almost screamed the moment he set eyes on them...but none of them were among his favorite artistes.

All three of them were well-experienced musicians, they had been in the music industry for years now. One of the male artistes had been in the music industry for about 10 years now. The other had been in the music industry for about 9 years. While the female artiste had been in the music industry for 12 good years...he respected them all. He stood in front of them, they were all sitting on black chairs with a table in front of them, and some papers in their front.

Though James was nervous, he still managed to keep a smile on his face, he didn't want the nervousness to show. The female artiste smiled at James and voiced out,

"How are you, young boy?".

"Am good". James responded.

"Are you nervous?".

"No". Oh yeah, he was nervous.

Then she glanced at one of the male judges and said,

"I think, this is the youngest person that has entered here to audition, right?".

"Yeah, I think so, but we don't know how old he is, we can't determine his age based on his appearance". He expressed.

"Oh! that's true". Then she focused her gaze back on James and inquired, "How old are you?".

"I am 15 years old". James replied, that's his age according to the person's body he transmigrated into.

She focused her gaze back on the male judge and uttered, "You see, he's young, he's the youngest person that has entered here to audition".

One of the male judges that had been keeping quiet all this while suddenly inquired of James,

"Do you reside with your parents?".

"Yeah, I do". A fat lie.

"Do they know that you are partaking in this audition?".

"Yeah, they do, I've got their full approval".

The male judge was done with his questions, the female judge took over from there.

"What made you come for this audition?"

"That's 'cause I love music". James retorted.

"How much do you love music?".

"Very much".

"How good is your singing? How sure are you that you would make it past this audition?".

That question left James speechless for some seconds, the truth of the matter was that he wasn't sure of his singing. His singing wasn't good, that's just the fact. Though he did some little voice training yesterday, he wasn't still sure of his singing. The fact that Simon even told him that he wasn't prepared for the audition shows that his singing wasn't that good.

His parents even mocked his singing before they got killed that day. Now, he had been thrown the question, 'How good is your singing?' by famous and well-experienced artistes. Well, he'll just have to tell them what he had been telling others.

"All I can say is that I'll try my best".

"OK then, what song are you gonna be singing?".

"Am gonna be singing 'In an instant' by Leonard, he's one of my favorite artistes. I love his songs a lot".

"OK then, carry on".

James breathed in and out, closed his eyes for about three seconds before opening them. He could feel the throbbing of his heartbeat more than before. The nervousness he was trying to hide was already evident on his face. And that caused a reaction from one of the male judges.

"You don't need to be nervous, just give us your best".

James nodded his head a little before he began singing. Since he knew the lyrics of the song really well, he sang them perfectly without making mistakes. But his vocals weren't good enough, he closed his eyes while singing, so he couldn't even see the reactions of the judges. The judges had already decided in their hearts that he wouldn't make it past this audition, his vocals weren't good enough for the contest.

But they didn't plan on bringing him down with their words, they plan on giving him constructive criticism on how he could improve his singing. They could feel the passion he has for music, they knew that he wasn't lying when he said that he loved music. And since he was just 15 years old, he still had a lot of time ahead of him to improve his vocals and become a better singer.

They allowed James sing the song from the beginning to its climax. Though his vocals weren't that good, they still wanted to hear him sing the song to its very end. James finished singing, then he opened his eyes, nervousness still evident on his face. He could tell that the judges weren't impressed with his singing by the look on their faces. The female judge glanced directly into his eyes and said,

"Young boy, we can feel the passion you have for music. You sang that song from the beginning to its end without making a single mistake. But the truth of the matter is that your vocals weren't that good. The voice you used in singing the song wasn't good enough. You know, even if you make it to the main contest, you wouldn't even be able to compete against the other contestants. We've seen lots of mad talents, ones that amused me to the brim. Sorry, you wouldn't be able to make it past this audition,

My suggestion is that you should go to a music school, tell your parents that you want to go to a music school. I believe that once you go to a music school, your singing and vocals would improve greatly. You are still a young boy, you still have a lot of time ahead of you to improve your craft".

One of the male judges added with his statement, "Yeah, all she said is true, go to a music school and improve your vocals. As she said, we can feel the passion you have for music, so with some little professional training, you'll become perfect. I'll love to mentor you, but I don't have the time".

The other male judge added with his statement also about improving his vocals and all that. All they said was true, James acknowledged it, he going to a music school and all that. Going to a music school would have been easier if Uncle James hadn't murdered his parents. He was sad that he wouldn't be able to participate in the main contest. But he was happy that at least, they didn't mock him or look down on him, they gave him constructive criticism on how he could improve his singing skills.

The nervousness on James' face disappeared turning into a little smile,

"I thank you guys for the constructive criticism. I know that my vocals weren't good enough before coming for this audition, I just wanted to try out my luck. And I have plans of going to a music school, my parents support it".

The female judge smiled and said, "I'm happy to hear that. After improving your singing skills and vocals in a music school, you can take part in another music contest. Bye".

James smiled and uttered 'Bye' before walking out of the compartment. The moment he came out of the compartment, almost everyone in the queue glanced at him. They couldn't even comprehend if he got accepted or not, there was either a gloomy or elated expression on his face. But some had already discerned that he didn't get a 'Yes' from the judges, there was no golden ticket in his hand.

All the participants that got accepted made sure to hold their golden tickets in their hands when coming out of the compartment, they wanted people to see that they got accepted. Even the ones that were carrying bags still held the golden ticket in their hands. So James shouldn't be any different, even though he was carrying a backpack, if he got accepted, he would hold the golden ticket in his hand instead of putting it in his backpack.

The next person that was to audition didn't waste time to stand up from the chair he was sitting on and stroll into the compartment. James glanced at no one as he kept on sauntering until he arrived at the spot where the man that offered a form to him was standing. The man asked him in a low tone of voice,

"Did you get accepted?".

James just shook his head in reply to the man's question, and the man understood right away, so he patted James on the shoulder before James walked away. He walked out of the edifice, the queue outside had reduced a bit, it wasn't as long as before. He kept on strolling until he couldn't even sight the edifice anymore.