"This is one of what are known as small auditions," says Magda Karłowicz of Fremantle Media, the company producing the programme. "Today, we will not tell anyone whether the answer is ‘yes’ or ‘no’. We will take the recordings to Warsaw, watch them again and only then decide who has qualified for the audition judged by a professional jury and held in a large city."
The Bolesławiec audition did not attract crowds – at 3:00 p.m., when it began, just over 20 people were waiting for their turn. That was considerably fewer than, for example, at the auditions held in Krosno the previous week, when 150 potential idols showed up.
Anyone can sing...
The candidates’ level often leaves much to be desired. "There is an absolute lack of self-criticism in Poland. Eighty percent of people who come to auditions cannot sing at all," Magda Karłowicz says. "Some of them know this and come for a laugh; they often want to test themselves and see what it is like on television. Others are convinced that they sing very well, but they do it very badly. There are also quite a lot of people who sing averagely, stand out in no way and fail to captivate. And it is not only a matter of performance, but also of personality. A true idol has to know how to assert themselves a little and fight for what is theirs," Karłowicz adds.
Those who were successful in today’s auditions and qualify for the major audition will be informed by telephone at the end of August.