Around 2,000 children and teenagers auditioned for the show; from these twenty were chosen as contestants. Throughout the season, this number was narrowed down to five through several rounds of voting. Like American Idol, voting was done by the show's viewers via telephone. Unlike Idol, to prevent hurt feelings, the contestants were voted into the group, as opposed to being voted off the show. Idol host Ryan Seacrest repeated this duty for most of the shows. Idol judges did not appear (other than one satellite hookup with Simon Cowell from the second season of Pop Idol); the principal Juniors judges were Gladys Knight (who also hosted when Seacrest was absent), Deborah Gibson, and Justin Guarini (American Idol (Season 1) runner-up). A number of Idol alumni, such as Ruben Studdard and Christina Christian, made guest performances.
The five contestants who remained at the end of the season were formed into a group also named the American Juniors. They were Lucy Hale, Tori Thompson, Taylor Thompson, Chauncey Matthews, and Danielle White.
American Juniors became one of the highest rated televison shows of the summer season, with approximately 11.9 million viewers on June 3, though the numbers dropped 40% toward the end of July. Nonetheless, the producers were satisfied of the strong teen demographic. A second edition had been planned for fall 2003, later postponed to the summer after American Idol (Season 3), then called off. [1]
Seeing children and young adolescents competing gave some viewers a sour taste as the show had many "stage parents" in the wings. [2]
The American Juniors made a brief appearance on the December 2003 American Idol Christmas special, An American Idol Christmas. Their debut album American Juniors was released on October 26, 2004 after a year's delay from its original scheduled date.
The American Juniors group disbanded in 2005. The members seem to be pursuing individual efforts and there is little publicity about them as a group. The show website became inactive in April 2005, but the music website remains intact as an archive. In May 2005 the Thompson sisters' website announced they were now out on their own. [3]
Radio stations that play children's music (e.g, Disney, or digital radio) still occasionally play the music of American Juniors.
No Matta What
American Juniors Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
[Chanucey:] Cause tomorrow we ain't got school
[Danielle:] Tonight we gonna hang out, have some fun, and hit a party gonna while out.
Everybody's all excited and we look tight.
And there's just enough money for the night out.
[Taylor:] So how bout we go and hop in the 6-4.
[All:] Drop top down headed for the disco.
[Lucy:] Call ahead cause we ain't standin in line.
[Chorus:]
[All:] It's Friday night, got visions in our head
But Nothin' on our mind, so let the music play
[Danielle:] So let me hear you say
[All:]
Hey We're gonna have some fun
Oh Oh Party all night long
Hey That's all we think about
Oh Oh No matter what's goin down
No matter what's goin down
We're gonna do this anyhow
No matter what's goin down
We're gonna do this anyhow
[Lucy:] We pull up to the valet
We turning heads like a Hummer on the freeway
[Tori:] We grace through crowd eyes on us
[Lucy:] People st-st-stutterin' sayin' hey who are they
Wall to wall, back to back packed so tight
But VIP is where is where we kick it for the whole night
Paparazzi be tryin peep us out, but we don't care
'Cause we're here with our friends we gonna have a good time.
[Chorus]
[All:] It's Friday night, got visions in our head
But nothin' on our mind, so let the music play
[Lucy:] So let me hear you say
[Chauncey:] Say-oh
[Chorus]
[Tori:] Oh ya!
The lyrics of American Juniors’ song No Matta What tell the story of a group of friends looking forward to having a good time on a Friday night. The lyrics talk about the excitement of going out with friends and the anticipation of the fun ahead. They talk about heading to a party and making sure they put their names on the list to avoid lines. The chorus emphasizes the importance of having fun regardless of what’s going on in their lives or the world around them. It’s a song about living in the moment and enjoying life.
The lyrics convey a sense of teenage rebellion and carefree attitude. The imagery of driving down to the disco in a 6-4 with the top down and turning heads like a Hummer on the freeway gives a vivid picture of the freedom they feel. The song is a celebration of youth and the freedom that comes with it. It encourages the listeners to forget their worries, let the music play, and have some fun.
Line by Line Meaning
Oh Ya, We gonna have some fun
We are going to have a fun time
Cause tomorrow we ain't got school
Because we don't have school tomorrow
Tonight we gonna hang out, have some fun, and hit a party gonna while out.
We are going to hang out, have fun, and go to a party where we'll dance and enjoy ourselves.
Everybody's all excited and we look tight.
Everyone is excited and we look great.
And there's just enough money for the night out.
We have just enough money for the night out.
So how bout we go and hop in the 6-4.
Shall we get into the 6-4?
Drop top down headed for the disco.
We put the top down and headed to the disco.
Call ahead cause we ain't standin in line.
We called ahead so that we don't have to stand in line.
Put our names on the lists now we're ready just to have a good time.
We put our names on the list and now we're ready to have fun.
It's Friday night, got visions in our head
It's Friday night, and we have ideas of how we want our night to be.
But Nothin' on our mind, so let the music play
We don't have anything specific planned, so we'll let the music guide us.
So let me hear you say
Tell me:
Hey We're gonna have some fun
We're going to have fun.
Oh Oh Party all night long
We're going to party all night long.
Hey That's all we think about
That's all we're thinking about.
No matter what's goin down
No matter what happens.
We're gonna do this anyhow
We're going to do this anyway.
We pull up to the valet
We park the car and give the keys to the valet.
We turning heads like a Hummer on the freeway
We are attracting attention like a Hummer on the freeway.
We grace through crowd eyes on us
We move gracefully through the crowd as all eyes are on us.
People st-st-stutterin' sayin' hey who are they
People are stuttering and asking who we are.
Wall to wall, back to back packed so tight
The room is filled with people, and there's barely any space left.
But VIP is where is where we kick it for the whole night
We'll be in the VIP section for the entire night.
Paparazzi be tryin peep us out, but we don't care
Paparazzi are trying to see us, but we do not care.
'Cause we're here with our friends we gonna have a good time.
We're here with our friends, and we're going to have a great time.
Say-oh
Say-oh
Lyrics © OBO APRA/AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind