Star Bello was encouraged by friends, family to audition for 'Idol.'

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While thousands of Tucsonans headed to San Diego for a little fun in the sun last summer, Star Bello was on a quest for fame and fortune. In late July, Bello, along with her sister, mother and grandmother, packed into her boyfriend's truck and drove to the coast, where Bello auditioned for Season 7 of "American Idol" at Qualcomm Stadium.

The 19-year-old caregiver, who grew up singing in church groups with her mom, didn't make it to Hollywood, but she had plenty to say about the three-ring circus audition process.

"At first I really didn't want to. I like watching 'American Idol.' I thought it was cool, but not for me. I don't like competing. But some of my friends were encouraging me to try out, my mom and my boyfriend, too. I had people who believed in me so I thought maybe I would give it a shot."

"It was very long. We went over to the stadium early in the morning, like 3:30 a.m. The line to get in was crazy. I couldn't even count how many people there were. I had no idea. I thought it was going to be a piece of cake and I was going to go see Simon (Cowell), but you have to go through so much. They told us to make posters. And there were so many different people with so much talent. Some people were not just singing but rapping. I was freaking out. It was pretty exciting."

What was it like after you got inside Qualcomm Stadium?

"Auditions didn't start right away. Everyone sat in the stadium seats, and there were tents all over the field. Everyone received a wristband. I was walking around watching different people sing. They had hairdressers, which made sense. We were waiting out there for a long time. It was hot, and people were sweating and losing the curl in their hair. There was also an area for karaoke to practice in."

"There was this guy who was telling us to sing. They gave us a paper, and the paper had directions and three songs you had to memorize. They had the entire crowd sing the songs. They also had us say 'We're the next American Idol' over and over again. It felt like it took about an hour-and-a-half, maybe two. The man in charge kept on saying we needed to sound more excited. But we were standing in line forever and it was so hot. Everyone was sweating."

"They would take 2 to 3 rows at a time. I was expecting to see Simon and Paula (Abdul) right away, but I didn't. We were in a line of about 30 to see another set of judges. We went in and stood in different rows. When it was your turn you would step up and sing the song for five seconds and then they would say 'thank you.' They wouldn't even say 'next!' They would just look at you and have you step up and start singing. It was hard. There was a whole bunch of people talking. You could hear the crowd, and people beside you were singing. You couldn't even hear yourself."

"If you passed, they would give you a different color wristband. If you didn't pass, they would cut your wristband off. It was simple but very scary. I sang 'His Eyes on the Sparrow.' They said 'I'm sorry. You are not who we are looking for.' They didn't tell us separately. They told me and three other girls all at once.

Would you do it again?

"It was a good experience. It was fun. I'd probably do it again if it was close by, just for the heck of it."