More Than Music by Elizabeth Briggs Page A

his late 40s, with overly gelled black hair, skin that screamed “spray tan,” and a flashy white suit.
    “That was one of the best things I’ve heard all day,” he said into his mic. “And the audience clearly loves you. Who are you and where are you from?”
    “We’re Villain Complex from here in Los Angeles,” Jared said, and the crowd cheered even louder. I couldn’t believe they were making this much noise for us .
    “That was killer,” Angel said. “I need you on my team! I—”
    Dan cut her off. “Yeah, I loved the way you—”
    “Hey, I was talking!” Angel snapped. “Wait your turn.”
    Dan rolled his eyes but gestured for her to continue. This was normal for the show; part of the draw was seeing the mentors bicker between each other. Still, it was crazy that two musicians whose songs I’d listened to for years were fighting over us. Was this really my life? How did I get here?
    Angel started again. “As I was saying, I love your sound, I love your look, and I think you’d be perfect for my team. With my help, you could definitely win this thing.”
    “Are you done with your sales pitch yet?” Dan asked her and then continued before she could answer. “Look. You’ve got the raw talent. You’ve got the skills. You’ve also got some things you need to work on, but I can take you to the next level.”
    “No, this band is mine!” Angel said, slamming her fist on the table. “I buzzed in first!”
    “That doesn’t mean anything,” Dan said.
    “But I want them. I want them so bad .” She practically fell out of her seat saying it, and the crowd went wild.
    “Okay, you’ve heard from two of the mentors,” Ray said. “Lance, you want to chime in?”
    Lance leaned forward, his dark gaze slowly taking us all in. “Listen. I’ve won The Sound three times already. Join me and we’ll win.”
    “That’s it?” Ray asked, after a brief pause.
    Lance shrugged and sat back. “That’s all I need to say. They know what the right choice is.”
    “All right then,” Ray said and turned to us. “It’s up you now. Whose team do you want to be on? Take a moment to talk it over.”
    The crowd erupted with shouts, and we huddled together next to the drums. “What do you guys think?” Jared asked. “I think we should go with Angel.”
    “I don’t know,” Hector said. “She hasn’t won before. Lance has won three times. Seems like a sure deal.”
    “That’s why he won’t win again this year. Viewers are tired of it. They want someone else to win, with a new sound.”
    “What about Dan?” Kyle asked. “Loaded River was my favorite band as a kid.”
    “I don’t know. He didn’t seem that excited about us,” Jared said.
    Kyle snorted. “He was more excited than Lance.”
    “Maddie, what do you think?” Jared asked.
    The three of them looked at me. I’d kept quiet until now because I wasn’t sure I’d get a vote. I was brand-new after all.
    “Um.” I turned back to check out the mentors again. Definitely not Lance, but I couldn’t decide between Angel and Dan. Both of them thought we could go far in the competition, and both seemed to be good mentors from what I’d seen on previous seasons. The crowd chanted names, but it was hard to tell which name was the loudest.
    “Time’s up,” Ray said. “Who do you pick?”
    “Angel,” I told the guys. “I’d go with Angel.”
    Hector rolled his eyes. “You only picked her because Jared did.”
    “ No , I picked her because she seemed the most enthusiastic. We need someone who will fight for us ‘til the end.”
    “My thoughts exactly,” Jared said.
    “Fine,” Hector said, and Kyle nodded.
    We turned back to the mentors and the crowd, and Jared grabbed the mic. “We pick Angel.”
    “And Team Angel gets another band!” Ray yelled.
    One of Dark Embrace’s songs started playing through the speakers while Angel jumped up and cheered. She rushed onto the stage and hugged each of us before I knew what was happening.