From working nights as a 911 dispatcher to getting an opportunity to chase his dream of being a professional singer, Aureius Myers is heading to Nashville to compete in the upcoming season of American Idol.
Myers was one of five Mississippians at this year’s state fair who won a VIP executive producer audition, meaning they are just one step away from going in front of judges Katy Perry, Luke Bryan, and Lionel Richie.
Myers, who works for the Brandon Police Department as a dispatcher, said he heard about the local auditions through a coworker and decided to take a chance.
“I was sitting there at work one random day. I’m always singing. I’m always humming, and one of my coworkers actually ran across the advertisement on Facebook and she said, ‘You should do this,’ and I was like, ‘You know what? I think I will,” Myers explained on Good Things with Rebecca Turner.
And the chance paid off. With an electric performance of Bill Withers’ “Use Me,” the judges chose Myers – along with Nicholas Brown, Elijah Middleton, Naomi Taylor, and Amirah Washington – over 500 initial applicants and 40 finalists.
In the interview, Myers told Turner that he started singing through church and show choir at a young age before moving to Hattiesburg to attend the University of Southern Mississippi. After returning to Brandon, he wanted to find a way to reconnect with the community and that’s why he decided to apply for an open dispatcher position.
“I was wanting to get involved with the community anyways, so I just felt like…I’m still being able to help people and contribute to the safety of everyone,” Myers explained.
While the hustle and bustle of serving as a dispatcher is mostly serious, Myers has found some creative ways to incorporate his love of singing into the job.
“Most of the time, I keep it professional, because most of the time, it is emergencies that they’re calling about. But I do have a caller on our non-emergency line that likes to call and prank us a little bit,” Myers said, laughing. “One specific moment, she had called, and I was already busy with another call that I had just gotten off of. So, I answered the phone and she went to talking and I just started singing, ‘Hello, it’s me. I was wondering if, after all these years, you liked me.’”
While Myers doesn’t plan to go into the competition singing Adele, he is open to switching genres from his typical R&B if the judges ask him to. You can keep up with Myers and the other four Mississippians who won auditions at the state fair when American Idol season 22 kicks off next spring.
