Q&A: Rylie Jobe Dishes About 'American Idol' Audition

Rylie Jobe, a senior who splits her time between GlenOak and s, talked with North Canton Patch about to audition for the hit TV show "American Idol."

We met up with Jobe inside , the first place the singer had ever performed. Aside from auditioning for "American Idol," Jobe plays around the area at Canton First Fridays and other local coffee shops, .

She's busy writing music to record and send out to record labels in the hopes she can move to Nashville upon graduation, start recording her songs and launch her singing career.

Read on to see what Jobe had to say about her "American Idol" audition experience!

North Canton Patch: So you went to the American Idol auditions all the way in New Jersey. Were they the closest ones to you?

Rylie Jobe: No, but they were the last ones. They had one in Pittsburgh in July and I didn’t know about it. I heard about the New Jersey auditions a week beforehand. I was like, “Mom, can we go?” and she said “I don’t know if I can take it off school,” (because she’s a third-grade teacher). She asked the next day and she was allowed. And so we just went.

It was the very last audition. It was kind of out of the blue. I was really lucky that I saw it on the website.

North Canton Patch: Is that something you regularly check out?

Jobe: For years people have been telling me to audition and I’ve been against it because, I don’t know, the chance of getting on the show is not likely. I wasn’t for it, but then I was like “why not?” I went and it was a lot of fun. Obviously I didn’t make it, but it was still so fun.

North Canton Patch: Was that the first time you had tried out for American Idol?

Jobe: Yeah.

North Canton Patch: That’s got to be pretty cool, though, to just up and go. So you’re glad you did it?

Jobe: I met so many nice people. And we all sang together and I met Ryan Seacrest, and we did so much filming. It was a really early day, though. It was 3 a.m. when I had to get up. I had to be there at 4 and I waited till 10, when I auditioned.

North Canton Patch: So you said you met Ryan Seacrest? What was he like?

Jobe: I didn’t talk to him; I just shook his hand. But he was smiling the whole time. He just did his little “Season 11,” [Jobe goes into a Seacrest impersonation]. He just talked for the opening credits, and that’s all, and then he left.

North Canton Patch: Do they actually have the judges who are on the TV show there?

Jobe: No. For that audition, you audition in front of producers. You go up four people at a time. We all audition and they say if you’re “good TV,” or if they like you they put you through. If they put you through you come back in a month and audition one more time before you get to the actual judges. So it’s a long process.

North Canton Patch: What was it like when you actually got in there to audition? I mean, were your nerves 10 times worse than they would have been elsewhere?

Jobe: It wasn’t that bad. It wasn’t a big deal because I didn’t know them. It wasn’t like I was auditioning in front of J-Lo. So it wasn’t terrible. And I thought I had it, that I nailed it. I did everything right, everything that I had planned to do. 

I auditioned with two guys and another girl. And both girls didn’t get through and the guys did. And this girl, she flipped out, like “Can I please sing again?” So I started walking away and they started interviewing me walking away and crying. So I might be on TV for doing that.

North Canton Patch: Wait. For walking away and crying? 

Jobe: Yeah … [Don’t worry, she was still smiling.] It’s OK.

North Canton Patch: At least it shows you’re passionate about what you’re doing. So is it something you would do again if they came around here?

Jobe: Yeah. I know they won’t come to Ohio. I don’t really watch the show, but I used to back when I was in elementary school. They came to Cleveland once, and they had a terrible experience so they never came back. But I know they always go to Pittsburgh.

North Canton Patch: I wonder what we did to them that was so bad?

Jobe: I think we were all just terrible! I don’t know. In a year, if I’m in North Canton still, I would go. If I go try out in a year, and I don’t make it, I still won’t care. It was still so fun.

Interested in more news from Rylie Jobe? You can follow her on Twitter and on Facebook, and you can listen to her songs on her YouTube channel.