Upon entering the studio, Brady Dona finds his eyes immediately drawn to the piano that had been placed in the centre of the room, with a fully operational microphone included. The boy also spies a one-way mirror encompassing the entirety of one of the room's walls, and Brady Dona has little doubt that Stephanie and the other assessors were using it as a means of covertly studying his abilities.
Nervously seating himself down at the piano, Brady Dona listens intently as Stephanie broadcasts her first instruction via the intercom.
"Okay, your first task will be to perform any song that you wish in any style. A sort of freestyle trial, if you wish. Good luck, Brady Dona, and you may begin whenever you're ready."
Brady Dona takes a deep breath, places his gloved fingertips on the piano keys, focuses on his sheet music in front of him, and begins to both play and sing.
"Oh, caught in a bad romance..."
Almost immediately, the boy finds his voice rising in pitch once more and on the cusp of reaching its final destination. Brady Dona is still extremely nervous, though.
"Oh, caught in a bad romance..."
Brady Dona finds his apprehension beginning to abate, his fingers dancing over the piano keys and his voice soaring, hitting every single note.
"Rah, Rah, ah, ah, ah. Roma, roma ma. Dona, ooh la la. Want your bad romance."
Stephanie and the other assessors all smile in appreciation, already captivated by the boy's song.
"I want your ugly, I want your disease, I want everything as long as it's free."
Brady Dona's confidence was now in overdrive, and the boy was now relishing the chance to perform for his audience. He was becoming a talented and charismatic entertainer, a performer that would inspire the adulation of millions.
The former child completes the rest of the song with what would soon become his characteristic flair and style, poses knowingly for his small, concealed audience, and awaits his next instruction.
