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Earlier this year, a camera crew took Michael Woodard and his family, who hail from 19th and Montrose streets, to Fairmount Park to hear the results of an audition he had given.
“They took us to the park and then Leona Lewis — they pulled out a computer and she was on there and … she told us we made it,” Woodard, 14, said. “My grandma was shouting in the grass and I knocked over a couple of chairs. My mom cried and everyone was crying; my sister was crying.
“We didn’t know. We were so happy we actually had the honor of being on a TV show. I was in shock. It was wonderful.”
Lewis informed him that he was cast on “Majors and Minors,” a reality TV show in the “American Idol” vein, where 12 gifted youngsters ages 10 to 16 are coached by industry mentors including Lewis, Brandy and Sean Kingston, among others. Woodard spent part of his summer in Los Angeles filming the series and will return to the City of Angels in November for the reveal of who wins the grand prize, a Sony recording contract.
“I wanted to be on the TV show because I am always looking for an opportunity to share my music,” Woodard, who writes his own songs, said. “I came across the TV show and I thought this would be the perfect opportunity, the perfect experience. I wanted to know a little more about my craft, the music industry and how I can progress in the music industry.”
For the audition, Woodard, who has performed at the U.S. Tennis Open and the Congressional Black Caucus, did an original work entitled, “Joy.”
“I wrote it when I was about 12, and I wrote it about my relationship with God,” Woodard, who attends Greater St. Mathew Baptist Church, 2321 Fitzwater St., said. “Basically I also made it known I wanted my music to reach out to everybody so I made sure it was inspirational for people. People maybe thought it was talking about a girl or God.”
Woodard also had to include a dance for the audition tape he sent in, which his sister, Amayah, 9, choreographed for him.
“She is one of my biggest fans. Well, she is my biggest fan — her and my mom and my family are a big part in me going to L.A.,” he said.
The Woodard family relocated to East Falls two years ago, but Woodard still attends school at Meredith Elementary, 725 S. Fifth St., and sees his extended family often that still lives in the South of South area. His desire to be an entertainer came at an early age.
“I was watching TV one day … and I said to my mom, I want to do that. I want to sing, act, dance all that stuff,” he said. “My mom, when she heard that, she said ‘Let’s get on it. Let’s start, this is about you.’”
With his strong network of family and friends — starting with his mother, Wanda — Woodard has began growing his performing acumen for as long as he can remember. And with the “Majors and Minors” experience under his belt, there are only better things to come.
“I want to do all of it. I tell everybody what I want to do when I grow up: I just want to entertain people and try to live playing my music with everyone,” he said. “I don’t know if I want to do anything else really, I want to be a singer and fulfill my dreams and later I’ll see if I want to do anything else.
“Singing is all I want to do.”
During filming Woodard said the production was very aware of making sure the children were comfortable and treated appropriately.
“They made sure that we got time to be kids, that’s basically one thing that you know when you have a kid in the industry you have to let them have time to be kids. We were given a lot of breaks when we needed them. We had our needs put first,” he said. “The proper nutrition, too. They looked at us as kids. They didn’t treat us like adults, they treated us like kids.”
Though the singer, songwriter and actor stresses that he is still a child, his demeanor and accomplishments are befitting of an industry vet.
“I made sure I greeted everybody every morning. The set was amazing,” he said.
As one of 12 contestants, Woodard felt there was little to no direct competition between the contenders and the structure of the show was one of collaboration instead of competition.
“We really were a family. At the audition we got to know each other, then it really was like a family. We didn’t look at it as a competition. It was a goal in our lives and we helped each other,” he said. “We saw each other’s weaknesses and helped each other through the process.”
With new episodes premiering 7 p.m. Sundays on The HUB, Woodard hopes a few things won’t make the editing cut, such as when he had a snot bubble in a close-up during a performance, but more than anything he can’t wait to see more.
“I’m very excited. I’m just happy that we still get the chance to look at the episodes,” he said. “I just can’t wait for the next episode.”
As he prepares to return for the winner announcement, he already feels he got more than he could have asked for.
“There is one winner and they’ll decide who that one winner is, but the winner will be everybody in the end,” Woodard said. “We all have had amazing exposure and so much help from the industry. They keep saying, “I just can’t see one of you not making it. You know what you want to do and you’re so good. All of you had that ‘it’ factor and that’s why we chose you.’
“I’m just glad I got to be a part of the experience. This is not an everyday thing. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity.” SPR
Contact the South Philly Review at editor@southphillyreview.com.
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