I glance around the room nervously. I was presently seated between two men, one slightly balding and overweight, and the other, who looked much younger and was tapping his pen impatiently on the table. About three other men and two women filled up the table. They were having a 'meeting' with the new talent, but the other act hadn't arrived yet. I glanced at the clock on the door and noted that they were ten minutes late.
"We might as well get to know you while we're waiting for Injusteyes to show up," said a man at the head of the table. The others nodded solemnly. I felt really out of place.
"You're Andrea Hancock, 18 years old, from Indanapolis, Indiana? That right?" He asked, staring over his glasses at me. I nodded and swallowed thickly.
"What kind of training have you had?"
"Do you mean vocally or instumentally?" I asked nervously.
"Both."
"Ok, I've sung in choir for 13 years, voice lessons for 8, and I tought myself how to play the guitar. I got it for Christmas was I was 13." I explained. "And for songwriting, I just..." I searched for the right phrasing, "felt it, I guess. I've taken music theory at my highschool for two years, and I'm taking Advanced Music Theory and Compostition at UCLA right now." I waited for the man to say something else.
"You're a student at UCLA...if we signed you to join the Arista team, would you have a problem dropping out of school temporarily?" He asked sternly.
"Well, it depends on what I'd be doing. If I was recording a CD, I know that A&M studios are pretty close. I've actually been to them to record a school project with a friend, and if I was recording there, I might be able to keep a few of my classes, wouldn't I?" I asked.
"That all depends on how quickly you would want the CD out and how much you care about your schooling." The man said.
"How did two UCLA students get access into A&M studios?" The woman who was sitting across from me asked. I felt my cheeks start to flush. I did not want to name drop. But I had to answer truthfully.
"Um, he's in the process of recording a record with his band and invited me to come so we'd do well on our project." I supplied.
"What's his name?" She asked, with a trace of annoyance in her face.
"Taylor."
"Last name, Andrea." I sighed heavily.
"Hanson." I watched the people in the room go from staring boredly at the opposite wall to facing me with amused and astonished expressions on their faces. The old man started speaking.
"Hanson, eh? You say you're recording a song with him for a project at UCLA?" he asked.
"Yes sir."
"Were you planning on playing that for us tonight?"
"No, not originally, but I could if you wanted me to. I could just sing his part. But it wasn't written for guitar only. He plays the keyboards on it, his brother plays the drums, and his other brother is producing the track." I explained.
"Oh really, so it's basically a Hanson song, but you're singing?" He said skeptically.
"No, I wrote it with Taylor. The other two weren't involved. We both shared in the writing process equally. They're just like studio musicians for the track."
"Is that so..." He said, glancing around the room at some of the other men. I decided not to respond to his rhetorical comment. He placed both his hands flat on the desk, scooted his chair back, and stood up. "You can go ahead and get ready in the room to the left of this. If you need anything, Jan is in there to help you. We're just going to discuss some things and we'll be in shortly." He said. I nodded, stood up, and walked out of the room quickly.
****
"What do you think, Sir?" John Oglethorpe asked his boss.
"I think we're sitting on a gold mine here." Hugh Jenkins said plainly. "She's got the attitude and personality to come off well, she's got the potential to be attractive, and we can bring in a personal trainer and stylists for what isn't so good, and there's no disputing her musicality."
"And the Hanson connection?" Linda Heimer asked.
"The perfect situation. That's what took me from mildly interested to wildly interested," Hugh said, using his favorite 'funny phrase' and smiling a bit to himself.
"How so, Mr. Jenkins?"
"Well, think about this. Hanson is a big deal in the states now. They've sold over 20 million records in the past six years. They play the biggest venues and sell out in minutes, and they have a pretty diverse demographic. If the song Andrea and Mr. Hanson wrote together is any good, which I'm suspecting it will be, we could use it to jump start her career. They could record it professionally, put in on her debut CD, and not release it as a single or put it on a Hanson record. The girls will eat that up. The only way they'll be able to hear that song is if they buy Andrea's record. That right there is enough to make her CD do well number wise, and then with the strength of her other songs, she'll pick up a radio following who will buy her CD because of the music. We could be looking at the next big star if we play our cards correctly."
"And then there's the possibility of touring as well, Sir." Chuck Crawford chimed in. "Maybe she could go on tour as an opener for Hanson. She'd play to large crowds all over the world, and she'd be able to perform their joint song at the end of their show or hers. You can't buy that kind of exposure." He explained.
"What about a negative backlash from non-Hanson fans?" Linda asked.
"That's the beauty of it. She won't release the Hanson song as a single, so Hanson haters won't know that there's a collaboration. They'll buy her CD because of her singles and videos. And I'm sure the word will get out within the Hanson community that there's a collaboration without much work on our part." Hugh Jenkins explained.
"So is she a go?"
"I think she's a definite go. But first we need to contact Hanson's management team and find out if they'd be willing to lend the boys to her single and be open to the possibility of touring with her."
"And if they don't agree?"
"She's still a go. The Hanson connection is just an added bonus that will put more money into our pockets and more fame into her world. She's a strong enough musician to get a large number of her own fans, with or without Hanson's help." Mr. Jenkins picked up a phone sitting on the table. "Marsha, find out who manages Hanson, find his number, and get him on the line for me, will you?"