So You Wanna Be A Pop Star?: A Choices Novel


 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 Copyright © 2023 by Zachary Sergi
 Interior and cover illustrations copyright © 2023 by Jeff Olsteberg
 Cover copyright © 2023 by Hachette Book Group, Inc.
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 First Edition: March 2023
 Published by Running Press Teens, an imprint of Perseus Books, LLC, a subsidiary of Hachette Book Group, Inc. The Running Press Teens name and logo are trademarks of the Hachette Book Group.
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 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data has been applied for.
 ISBNs: 9780762480821 (hardcover), 9780762480845 (ebook)
 E3-20230114-JV-NF-ORI
 
 
 
 
 DEDICATION: TO BRITNY, LUCY, AMANDA, AND KELLY (CLARKSON)
 
 
 
 
 This novel was written for two kinds of readers:
 Those who love control and those who love to lose control.
 So, go ahead, read every page like a novel straight through if you want;
 this was written with you in mind. 
 However, if you really want the full experience, follow the interactive
 brick road and honor your choices while reading.
 You might just find following the rules is the fastest way to break them…
 Either way, this story now belongs to you.
 INCLUDED IN THE BACK OF THE NOVEL IS A READING GUIDE TO help keep track of your most important decisions. You can easily read without using this guide, but it’s there for you if you need it. 
 Once your Reading Guide is complete, you can also use it to compile two Character Personality Profiles. These determine what kind of reader you are and your signature song.
 I encourage you to write in this book, but if you can’t, a PDF copy of the Reading Guide can also be found online.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 CHAPTER ONE
 EVERLY
 THE STAGE LIGHTS HIT ME AND I TRY TO SHINE JUST AS BRIGHT, even though I’m not sure what I’m doing up here anymore.
 At least, for this final group performance, we’re singing an original song I wrote. It might not be my best, but it’s maybe saying something real about this experience? I figured if the five of us left in this competition are forced to perform together, we should try to sing something that might matter to us. And hopefully to someone out there listening.
 “All that glitters isn’t gold,
 That’s the line we’re always sold.” 
 It’s deeply surreal to hear another artist sing a verse I wrote, especially in this setting. I’m still way more used to performing for bedroom ring lights and muted coffee shops, not under the blinding lights of a studio soundstage. Everywhere I look there’s a different searing flash—white and green, red and purple. These lights currently bathe me in sapphire, same as the icy dress that wardrobe put me in. 
 I told myself when I entered SO YOU WANNA BE A POP STAR? The Search for America’s Next Teen Sensation that I wouldn’t sell out or do anything that felt inauthentic. But here I am wearing too much stage makeup, playing a heightened version of myself: the deep blue singer-songwriter who freezes up onstage. I guess it’s all true, especially that last part. I still don’t know what to do with my hands, standing here swaying awkwardly without a guitar or piano. Everything just feels so forced, including having to pretend that I vibe with everyone else onstage.
 “Diamonds are a girl’s best friend,” CeCe keeps singing across the stage.
 “Molds we fit to not offend.”
 At least I do genuinely adore CeCe. Hearing her sing the first verse, it feels almost worth giving away one of my songs to production. She inhabits the lyrics in a way I never could, breathing electric life into each phrase. She breaks forward in her ruby-lit track, her combat boots stomping and plaid shirt swinging. It’s CeCe’s personal mission to remind the world that Black women helped invent rock ’n’ roll, and she is succeeding. 
 Watching CeCe, I’m heartened she feels so comfortable on a song of mine. She was actually the one to convince me I should even feature an original, after the producers asked me. We’ve been singing strictly covers, since we have to give up the rights to anything original performed on the show. This debut season of SYWBAPS hasn’t exactly been a ratings smash, so it hasn’t felt worth the sacrifice. But CeCe reminded me that I came here for exposure, no matter the size.
 “You owe it to your fans,” she said. “Just come up with something new for the situation. Don’t overthink it.”
 It took one very sleepless night, but that’s exactly what I did. Most of this other mainstream pop star stuff might not come easily to me, but I know I can always write a song. If I had more time with “Press Diamonds,” I’d break apart the even syllable counts and strict rhyming structure, but then again, something about this mathematical evenness works for the song. It’s way more bop-forward than my usual stuff. Blander,