Yuku free message boards

STRATHAM - To millions of television viewers Wednesday, 17-year-old Julie Dubela's audition for "American Idol" appeared to go badly, very badly, with the judges rejecting and insulting her.

But Dubela, a well known and popular local singer, said the edited version of events presented by the show distorted what really happened.

"I feel like they tried to make the judges look like God and me the fool of the century," she said. "They make it look like (the judges) were giving me constructive criticism and I broke out in this diva fit. But it's like, what do you do then? They were being rude and I was trying to get that constructive criticism."

While she knew the show would more than likely use a young, confident and "precocious" young girl such as herself to boost its ratings, she was a little surprised by how "mean" the judges were.

On the clip aired on television, Dubela is shown arguing with the judges, unwilling to accept the fact they did not choose her to move on to compete in the finals in Hollywood.

"When I saw it I was laughing, because I love laughing at that girl on every other reality TV show," Dubela said. "I thought, 'Oh my God, I'm that girl.'"

Dubela is well-known throughout the New England area. She appears in local venues and has performed the National Anthem at Red Sox, Patriots and Celtics games.

She was a semifinalist in 2003 on "American Juniors," a spin-off of "American Idol" for younger singers. In 2005 and 2006, she appeared on Discovery Kids and NBC show "Endurance: Tehachapi," a show similar to "Survivor."

Sitting in her living room in Stratham Thursday, watching a YouTube video of her performance, Dubela said her tryout before Simon Cowell, Randy Jackson and Paula Abdul did not go the way it was depicted.

"It didn't quite go like that right there. Or right there," she said pointing at the video.

Dubela auditioned for the show this summer on a whim while she was visiting her aunt and uncle in Miami, Fla. She originally wanted to sing "What's Up" by the 4 Non Blondes, which she said showed off her range and vocal skills, but was asked by producers to sing something more mellow and "chill."

Cowell characterized Dubela as "overindulged" after her performance of the Janis Joplin classic "Me and Bobby McGee." He also mockingly called her "precocious."

"Watching Paula on this is really irritating," Dubela said of the former pop star who laughed through the audition and commented: "No one's ever said 'no' to her."

"No one's ever said 'no' to me? Please," Dubela said. "It's common knowledge for performers that you get rejected more than you don't."

As a performer Dubela has made a common practice of going into auditions without expectations, so she's not let down if things don't go well.

"I wish I hadn't gone in and talked so much. It gave them an opportunity to switch things around," she said. "I think the judges would have looked worse than me if the clip went the way it did."

The aspiring musician is taking her "Idol" rejection in stride.

This summer she began working with Mercury/Universal Records in New York and Boston on recording and artist development and is currently working to get a record deal.

"That's one bugaboo I have with 'American Idol.' It's like, congratulations, you're a singer. But that's where it ends," she said. "I'm trying to refine myself as an artist. I plan on expanding my horizons so I am a marketable asset, not another American Idol."

Dubela would not say yes or no when asked if she would try again on the show. "I think right now I'm going to focus on getting noticed the old fashioned way rather than reality TV," she said.