Traverse City singer Miriam Pico is hoping to turn "City Dreams" into national reality.
Reality TV, that is.
The 23-year-old Traverse City resident who last May released her debut CD "City Dreams," left last Thursday evening for the "American Idol" auditions in Memphis, Tenn. Pico expected to audition on September 3.
American Idol, the FOX networks' hit reality show, promises fame and, more importantly, a recording contract for the singer who bests hundreds of thousands of others to be named "American Idol." The show is well-known for its panel of judges: Simon Cowell, Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson.
Pico is no stranger to the stage or to vocal competitions. She was declared the winner of last year's WKLT "Northern Michigan Rocks Volume 5." Pico says that win caught her a bit off guard.
"That was a huge thing for me to have won that competition cause it was a huge battle of the bands," she said. "I never thought I was going to win. It was like hard core rockers."
That was a bit intimidating to Pico. "I didn't want to win because I thought all their fans would jump me or something," she joked.
All joking aside, Pico has left her mark on the Northern Michigan music scene. Her CD, which features all original tunes, is currently getting air time on stations like The Breeze, WNMC and WKLT.
The website www.cdbaby.com, which sells "City Dreams" describes Pico's style as "John Mayer meets Eva Cassidy in a Puerto Rican Blues bar...very eclectic (with) lots of beautiful melodies."
It was actually in performing her own music that Pico found the courage to get out onstage and perform. Pico says she started writing her own music in elementary school but was too shy to ever share it with anyone. A 2001 graduate of Traverse City St. Francis, she appeared in a production of "West Side Story" at the Old Town Playhouse during her senior year.
Shortly after that, she started singing at Open Mics around the area and began trying her own music out on local audiences.
"Once I started playing my own music, I got more confident and started feeling like maybe I do have something to offer," she said.
Pico said that for each of the five previous American Idol seasons she has considered going. She had held off because her goal was to make her own music and go the "indy" route. However, she's excited about the opportunities that these auditions might hold in store for her.
"This is just going to be something totally different and exciting and totally new territory," she said.
She has a lot of support going into the auditions, including her husband Josh Benghauser. The two have been married since May 2004 and Pico says his support is key to her success.
"Oh my gosh," she said, "I think he's more excited than I am. He was the one that wanted to sell our house, just in case I go to California, he can go with me."
After trying off and on to sell their home for two years, the young couple decided to put the house on the market when she made the decision to try out for American Idol. They listed the house and despite it not selling in the two previous years, it sold within 30 days.
"We had been trying for like two years (to sell it) because I had plans to move to New York, plans to move to Nashville ... I had all these crazy plans and it never sold," she said. "I'm a very spiritual person and I took that as 'OK, it's not time to go yet.' "
Pico's hoping that perfect timing will pay off in Memphis.
Just hours prior to leaving she still hadn't chosen her audition song. "I have a few choices but I think I'll just walk through the door and see what's on my mind," she said. "I work well under pressure so I'm hoping that will not fail me this time."
No matter what happens, Pico says she's strong in faith and trusts that whatever the outcome, it's for a reason. "(My faith) really grounds me," she said. "It's not all on me. If it doesn't happen, it's for a reason. If it does, it's for a reason. It takes a lot of the pressure off."
For those interested in following Pico's journey to American Idol, she started a blog at www.xanga.com/miriamfrommichigan. Her CD, "City Dreams," is available locally at Borders Books.