12:09 PM EST on Tuesday, January 17, 2006

BY ANDY SMITH
Journal Television Writer

Bethany Vanasse of Pawtucket was one of those people who would sit on the couch, watch American Idol, and think she could certainly sing better than most of the would-be stars on camera.

Journal photo / Sandor Bodo

Bethany Vanasse, of Pawtucket, got through two rounds of tryouts.

This year Vanasse, who works for a real estate title company, decided to do something about it, and went to the American Idol auditions at Foxboro's Gillette Stadium in August. She said it seemed as though fate was urging her to go.

For one thing, the auditions were an easy drive from her house. For another, she was 28, the upper age cutoff for American Idol contestants.

Vanasse, a fan of Pat Benatar, U2 and Sarah McLachlan, said she's always loved to sing. She has a theater degree from Rhode Island College, spent two years with local touring company Murder on Us, and briefly tried to find work in Los Angeles and New York City. She uses Beth Brooklinn as a stage name.

Right now, her goal is to sing for her own rock band.

On American Idol, she was a fan of Bo Bice, last season's runner-up. "He was not trying to be a pop star," she said. "He stayed with the music he loved, classic rock and blues, and I admired that."

The auditions at Gillette Stadium were held on Aug. 31, a rainy day. Vanasse said she got to the stadium at 6 a.m. and didn't sing until about 2:30 that afternoon -- fortunately she had come prepared with an umbrella and a blanket.

She said American Idol had set up 14 booths inside the stadium, each with a pair of judges. Contestants were taken to the booths in groups of four.

Vanasse had prepared two songs -- actually pieces of two songs -- "Son of a Preacher Man," made famous by Dusty Springfield, and Bon Jovi's "Wanted Dead or Alive."

She only sang "Son of a Preacher Man" but it was good enough to get her a trip to Boston for the next round.

Vanasse said she was so excited she jumped on top of a table and kissed one of her judges.

Her Boston audition was held Sept. 2 at the Seaport Hotel.

After more waiting, questions from the show's producers, and frequent advice to "show big personality," Vanasse finally found herself in the room with another set of judges, including American Idol executive producer Ken Warwick.

Vanasse said the room was set up for a police interrogation -- mostly dark, with a single spotlight on the singer.

She said she decided to defuse the tension with some humor, particularly considering the first thing she did was walk into a wall. "Whoa, I hip-checked the wall!" she said.

No one laughed.

"Hey, party people, put your hats on!" she said.

No one laughed.

Now, Vanasse said, she was really getting nervous.

When it came time to sing "Son of a Preacher Man," Warwick told her to take it from the beginning. Vanasse said this threw her off a little, because at Gillette she had only done the big final chorus.

After the first verse and chorus, Warwick stopped her and asked if she had anything else. So she started "Wanted Dead or Alive," and was irritated to see that Warwick started talking to one of his colleagues in the middle of her song.

A few moments later, he stopped her and uttered the dreaded words: "Great personality, but you're just not what we're looking for."

Vanasse said she just wanted to get out as fast as she could, but there were camera crews lurking outside the audition room.

"I knew they wanted a big reaction, so I yelled 'Sucks to be me!' THAT got a big laugh. . . . I was probably spouting some other stuff, too. By then it was just all a blur. I don't know what I was saying," she said.

Vanasse said an American Idol cameraman continued to follow her, and asked if she really thought she had a chance to go to Hollywood, where the final rounds of American Idol are shot. Vanasse told him that Boston was a city of champions -- Red Sox, the Patriots -- and that she was in line to be next.

Only this time, she wasn't. "My nerves really got the best of me," she said.

And despite her disappointment, Vanasse said she would continue to watch the show as long as its on the air.

American Idol is a huge ratings success for Fox, and the network drags things out as long as possible. The final 12 singers, for example, will not be known until March 9.

Episodes featuring the audition cities -- San Francisco, Austin, Boston, Chicago, Las Vegas and Greensboro, N.C. -- will be shown Tuesdays and Wednesdays through Feb. 1

Fox did not say when footage from the Boston auditions will air.