Pitman Student Auditions for American Idol

Pitman High School student Eliana Roberts, 17, spent Monday chasing her dreams when she auditioned for American Idol at the Cow Palace in Daly City.

Her mother, Monica, says she has been asking to audition since she was a little girl.

And as luck would have it, on all days, Eliana developed a throat infection. But that didn’t stop her — she was determined to audition.

Eliana arrived at the Cow Palace at 5:30 a.m. with her mother and waited in line until about 1:30 p.m. When she had her shot, she took it — singing a country version of “Landslide” by Fleetwood Mac and Stevie Nicks.

Sadly, the judges, which included American Idol producers, did not advance her to a follow up audition.

“They told her she had a cool tone and it was quality, but she needed to develop it more,” said Monica.

Although she didn’t advanced, Eliana appreciated the opportunity.

“I thought they gave really good advice as to what they were looking for and it will help me when I audition next year,” said Eliana. “Possibly, you never know, but maybe I would have sounded better [without the infection]. I gave it my all though.”

Monica explained Eliana has never really had formal training for her singing. She is active in musical theatre, dancing, acting and has performed the national anthem in front of peers at Pitman High.

Eliana called the entire experience “super cool” and said she met people from Florida, Las Vegas and Utah while in line. She also snapped a pic of American Idol host Ryan Seacrest.