got this. “Instead,” Keith continued, “DJ Spinz is on hand to play the karaoke version of the songs chosen by our contestants and they will sing along. Let’s give DJ Spinz a round of applause. Remember, you can hear him every weekend at Club Pulse.”
I joined everyone in applauding the DJ, even though I was mentally commenting on what a stupid name he had. “The winner will be chosen based on a combination of two things; the level of applause from the audience which will be measured by a meter at the judge’s table, and the scores from our three judges. The first judge is city commissioner Rachel Gordman.” Everyone clapped politely, again not caring about the commissioner. “The second is Michael Dunaway, host of ‘Morning Zoo’ on local radio station 100.8.” Another louder round of applause rang out. “And judge number three is local recording artist Hunter Simms. Hunter’s new album Small Town Lovin’ is available now on iTunes.”
Nice product placement, I thought as I rolled my eyes, though the crowd around me went nuts. Apparently this Hunter guy was pretty popular, though I’d never heard of him.
“So now that we’re all clear on the rules, let’s get this show started!” Everyone whooped and hollered around me. A woman (I’m assuming it was Rachel Gordman but also didn’t really care) approached the stage and handed a piece of paper to Keith. “Okay, our first contestant is Holly Green. Come on up, Holly, and show us what you’ve got!”
A string of competitors got up on stage and sang their hearts out. Some were fucking terrible, some were pretty good, but none of them wowed me the way Noah had when I heard him sing for the first time. True, I was probably a bit biased, but I also had ears and knew what sounded good.
Finally, Keith called out my man’s name. Noah was all smiles and waves as he took his place in center stage. I was in awe of his confidence; I’d piss my pants if I had to perform in front of a crowd. Of course, I sounded like a choking donkey when I tried to sing, so that may add to my nerves.
DJ Stupid Name started up Noah’s song; I recognized it as Chris Young’s Losing Sleep. It played on the radio incessantly a few years ago when it came out. It was pop-country that I’d normally hate, but I couldn’t wait to hear the lyrics from Noah’s mouth. Plus, it was a good choice; this crowd was much younger than Noah entertained at The Rhinestone Cowboy, so they’d probably connect to this song better than an older choice.
Noah’s voice was smooth and crisp as he started out the song. He stayed still, closing his eyes and only moving a hand as he crooned the first slow verse. I swear I could hear the collective sigh of all the young girls crowded around the stage. Women loved Noah; too bad for them he loved dick. My dick to be exact. I chuckled at my naughty thought and the woman next to me glared at my interruption of Noah’s song. I glared right back at her and she looked away quickly. I was a lot fucking scarier than she was.
The tempo sped up and Noah’s eyes popped open. He smiled widely and shimmied across the stage as he sang. Everyone before him had stood still for their entire performance, but my man was a fucking star.
The slightly dirty lyrics he sang fit his personality perfectly, but were still appropriate for the younger members of the audience. Speaking of the audience, they were eating out of his hands. Hordes of teenage girls flocked to the stage and reached for him. Noah played to the crowd, bending down to slap fives to all their palms as they squealed. During a break in the lyrics, he turned around and playfully shook his ass at everyone watching, who all damn near swooned over him.
He pranced all across the stage, belting out notes and strutting his stuff to his heart’s content. When he sang the last word and lowered the mic, the crowd lost their goddamn minds. I stuck my fingers in my mouth and whistled as loudly as I could as everyone around me screamed and applauded. Noah’s face looked like it was about to rip from the giant smile he wore. I could barely contain the pride I felt.
“Give it up one more time for Noah Graham!” Keith called as he