What would American Idol look like without the money, the fame, the celebrity judges, the youth, the television coverage, and the legions of fans? It would probably resemble a bunch of senior citizens gathering in a high school auditorium in south Brooklyn to sing their hearts out in front of a crowd of not many.That's what Brooklyn Senior Idol is. The contest, hosted by State Senator Marty Golden, is now in its ninth year—contestants, who must be 50 or older, will compete for a prize of $500 on Saturday night armed with their covers of Elvis and Frank Sinatra tunes.
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As adorable as that sounds, the show ran into a snag this summer when the company that owns the rights to AmericanIdol threatened to take legal action against the outer-borough competition for infringing on its copyright. But that dispute got sorted out and the name remains the same.The finals are tonight at 7 PM, but photographer Amy Lombard was on the scene at the auditions Monday to document hopefuls belting out their favorite hits.All photographs by Amy Lombard
Amy Lombard is a photographer living and working in Brooklyn, New York. Follow her on twitter.