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When The American Idol Experience attraction opened at Disney’s Hollywood Studios in February last year, theme park guests had an opportunity to take part in, well, the experience of being on American Idol by auditioning and, for those who made it, singing on stage in front of an audience. Those who won the crowd’s votes throughout the day could even win a “Dream Ticket”, enabling the winners to jump ahead of a few long lines at an actual audition for the American Idol television show.
Many wondered if the next big star would be found in a theme park and, as it turns out, it took less than a week of the attraction being open for one such talent to be found there.
Aaron Kelly, who was voted off of the latest season of the popular show last night, sailed through the American Idol Experience attraction just four days after it opened. After passing the audition stages and receiving the most votes at his preliminary show earlier in the day, Kelly’s rendition of the Lonestar song “Amazed” earned him the most votes in the attraction’s Grand Finale show. As that show’s top vote-getter, Kelly was then awarded a coveted “Dream Ticket.”
When the regional auditions for the popular television show were announced, Kelly utilized his “Dream Ticket” and scheduled his audition in Orlando, Fla., which started him on his American Idol road to stardom.
In the end, the 17-year-old crooner, who began his American Idol journey at the Disney’s Hollywood Studios attraction, advanced to the Top Five in the finals during season nine of the American Idol television show.
Kelly will be joining the show’s Top 10 singers on the American Idol summer tour beginning July 1, though no tour stops are scheduled for him to return to Orlando. The closest city in the lineup is Tampa, Fla. at the St. Pete Times Forum on Aug. 4.
Not a bad result for a day’s visit to a Disney theme park!