The Voice (Camren)

1. The Audition

The truth is Camila was nervous. Quite nervous, actually. After a long selection process she had made it to the Blind Auditions of The Voice US. She never thought she would get that far when she asked her parents to let her audition as her 17th birthday present. To be honest, she didn't even think they would allow her to do it, in the first place. But she asked them (she had nothing to lose, right?) and surprisingly, they agreed. Although they'd set up one condition: mommy had to accompany Camila wherever she went at all times. It's not like Camila disliked her mom's company, but she could be annoying sometimes. Besides, Camila was 17, she was old enough to do things without her parents. Anyhow, Sinu and Alejandro had been inflexible about it and she had to give in and acept their terms. And so, Sinu and Camila had flown all the way from Miami to LA to get to the TV studio. After waiting for a couple of hours in the family room, a member of the crew had asked Camila to go with her to shoot the short interview they would screen just before her audition. The interviewer was a boy in his early 20s, blonde, kind of handsome, Camila thought.

"Hi, my name is David. I'm gonna ask you a couple of questions. Is that ok?"

"Yes" Camila answered happily.

"What's your name?"

"Camila Cabello"

"Age?"

"17"

"What do you do in your free time?"

"I would like to say something interesting but all I do is sing karaoke and watch Fourth Harmony videos" Camila answered. God, why did she had to be so akward?, she thought.

"Cut. Ok. That's it, Camila. Thanks and good luck out there" David said smiling broadly.

"Thank you, David"

"Now, follow Marie. She will take you backstage. And, one more thing: didn't that band split up?" he questioned doubtfully.

"Sadly, yes. But, no doubt, they were the greatest girlband of the decade!" Camila screamed as she followed Marie into a long, and poorly lighted corridor.

He genuinely seems to be a good guy, Camila thought while she was leaving the interview room. After walking behind Marie for aproximately 10 minutes, they arrived at a medium sized room filled with black boxes with The Voice logo painted on them.

"You have to wait here until that door opens. All right?" Marie said pointing at a huge black door on the wall in front of them.

"Okey dokey"

Camila knew that door. Camila knew that place. She had watched on TV so many contestants in the very same room pacing, rehearsing, biting their nails, even praying. She had dreamt about being there for so long.

And finally, there she was, alone in that room, waiting before going on stage. Damit, why was she so nervous? It seemed as if her heart wanted to escape out of her chest. She could feel her blood pulsating in her veins, she could feel every cell of her body charge with a strange kind of energy, a electric rush that she couldn't quite describe. She was about to perform on The Voice. It was still unbelievable.

***

Ally Brooke waited patiently in the middle of the stage until the lights were turned on. Unlike many contestants, she wasn't nervous. Not even a tiny bit. Mainly because she wasn't one of them. It was the 4th time she hosted The Voice, and each year the ratings climbed up higher. The audience loved her, the people at home loved her and, of course, the judges loved her. She was in fact the most popular TV host at the moment. Unlike many of her colleagues, she wasn't full of herself and that's why people liked her so much. She tried to make everyone feel appreciated and to create a good atmosphere, rather than putting herself on the spotlight to gain the audience's attention. Her sole purpose was to do her job as best as she could, and that was what she was thinking about when the lights turned on and they went live.

"Good night, ladies and gentleman. My name is Ally Brooke. Welcome to the 15th edition of The Voice US!" Ally shouted cheerfully.

"Tonight, we will start with the Blind Auditions, but first let me introduce you to our four wonderful coaches. First of all, we have Shawn Mendes. Amazing singer and songwriter, who rumour has it will be dropping an album very soon. Isn't that right, Shawn?"

"Uhm, I can't say anything yet. Right now, I'm focused on being here and doing my best as a coach" he said avoiding the question. He flashed a smile at the camera, which made the audience go crazy.

"We also have here the most gorgeous human being I've ever seen. She's one of the best singers of our time and former member of Fourth Harmony, please say hi to Dinah Jane!"

"Hello Ally! I'm really grateful to be here. First time for me on The Voice, let's see how it goes"

"Now, let me introduce you to a real hottie. He hasn't really dropped anything new for some time now, but we're sure he's working on something good. A round of applause for Austin Mahone!"

"I'm here to win this!!!" Austin shouted while hitting his chest with his right fist.

"And, last but not least, we have the privilege to have here with us the person who has sold more records than anyone else in the world. Loved by the critics and adored by literally everyone, give it in for Lauren Jauregui!"

"Wonder if I'll find here the talent I'm looking for" she said cryptically. Lauren was a huge celebrity, her songs were really famous but, at the same time, she was a rather private person. She was always surrounded by an aura of secrecy and mystery. Although many people had tried to approach her inner circle and get to meet her, no one had really succeeded. Plain and simple: nobody knew who she really was.

"Now that everyone has been introduced let's begin with the Blind Auditions!" Ally screamed excitedly.

***

After the first two hours of Auditions, the coaches were starting to get tired. In general, the contestants were good, but every one of them lacked passion, soul. Technically they were really talented, but none of them was able to create and maintain an emotional connection with the judges, nor the audience. Shawn had three people on his team; Dinah had four; Austin, six; and Lauren, two. Actually, Lauren had turned around a couple of times, always at the end of the songs, not really convinced of what she was doing.

***

The big, black door opened. Finally!, Camila thought. She walked towards the stage, pretending to have the confidence in herself she didn't actually have. The only sound she could hear was her own heels tapping on the polished floor. She saw the back of the four huge, red chairs in front of her. Would someone turn around? Hoping the answer to that question was a yes, Camila grabbed the mic and started to sing.