SING:

Love ain´t no Crime!

Chapter 1: A new wind blows.

(BG-Music: Eurhythmics-Sweet Dreams)

Buster´s Pov:

Reminiscing the events from not so long ago, was something I did quite often lately.

Two Months have passed ever since the Moon-Theater´s Grand re-opening..., and I can still barely believe it.

Back then, as the last stone of my old Theater fell to the ground, I thought that it was gone forever, that all the effort my father had put into these 30 years of constantly washing cars, went down the drain within barely a month.

I often thought about what I did back then, ever since I got the idea to host an Audition.

All the faults I did..., some of them weren´t even truly legal if I shall be honest, Meena was quite right there..., still I can say, that at least most of them were in the best interest, and all of them were to keep the Theater going with all might.

However none of this would have been possible without those people who gave me new life-force, after my world had shattered and fallen apart right before my very eyes.

Those people who helped me, to set the stone for building it all back up again.

If it weren't for them, I might still be washing cars, most likely for the rest of my life.

However it was not only my crew which helped me, but also our patron, Nana Noodleman, Diva and Queen of the theater, the one whose eyes are piercing right into your soul, once she has laid them onto you.

Either you are able to please her or you will earn her outmost antipathy..., believe me, I had to go through that and I was glad, that for the time being, I was on her good side.

And I would be damned to not stay on that side, to let this new opportunity I was given, rushing down the drain yet again.

"And for this my dear animals, tall and small, big and slim, I will fight.

Therefore, I am very pleased to see that you have come in such great numbers..., for the Moon-Theaters second audition.

A great thanks to all of you..., thank you very much!" I stated through the megaphone, as the 30 contestants stood before me on the stage, all of them nervous and fidgeting but also eager to show what they got.

You might ask yourself why I was holding a new Audition in the first place.

The reason was quite simple, it was for the two still open spots in our crew, which were yet to be filled.

Ever since Mike was missing and the Frogs had left us, we had a shortage on performances.

Luckily Meena had managed to jump over her shadow and fill in for Pete the Camel.

The same had been one of our earlier successful contestants, but he had an unfortunate accident with some of our Stage material and was so unable to attend the course of these few weeks, however he luckily got out of the hospital for the time of our great re-opening.

Since it was more or less my debt, that he even got there in the first place, since the Theater was quite rundown and so also all of the machinery, the least I could do was to give him a one-year ticket for the Theater´s show for free.

Of course these two months after the re-opening have been busy and it was anything but boring, that´s for sure, I had not only a reputation but also a crew of major artists to uphold and manage.

However, as awesome as the crew is, I did not wanted to keep them from their daily life all too much.

At the very least Rosita, who had to care for her 25 Piglets, a real bone-breaking job, if I may say so.

But even if all the others were mostly free, didn´t that meant that they had nothing better to do, than to come all day to the theater and do their rehearsals.

Meena for example still went to school, as much as I know, I hope she does get a good education and good grades even with her participation in the show business, same as Johnny, at least I hope it for him.

I do heard about his family and the crisis that had unfolded ever since the Audition, behind the curtain so to say.

Of course I could not blame Johnny, being loyal to family is something I know very well, but even more I know that for family you shall never give up your own self, a lesson which most of the crew but so also myself, had have to learn the hard way.

And let´s be honest, as I said before have I done barely legal things as well, to keep my theater going, so who am I, to blame anyone.

But going further with my inner monologue.

Ashley..., or Ash as I have to call her, ever since she harshly snapped at me..., well I was not quite sure what she exactly did all the time, when she was away from the Theater.

Not that I wanted to barge in too much into her private life, i´m not that insensitive..., and yet I am a little concerned, I admit I have not much of a clue about romance, but I was pretty sure that the Heartbreak she suffered due to her Ex must still affect her..., I better do something about that, something to somehow cheer her up.

But that was definitely easier said than done, in my early years I had but only one true love, but the same had to move away from here, before i could ask her to marry me, due to some personal interfamiliar problems and afterwards all i had was obtaining this theater, a goal I wanted to reach by every means necessary, there had been no time for a girlfriend or any romantic relationships at all.

Althouhg now that i remember..., there had been one night i spent with a girl..., but not truly freely, i was drunk and a such things come to gether..., well all i could say was that i apparently graduated from being a boy to becoming a fullfledged man..., according to her at least, i had no real record of the whole night since my mind was blank until the next day, waking up next to her..., in the end it was nothing but a typical Las Vegas One night stand, but the girl eversince hated me for it.

Anyways, a getaway from this quite depressing theme was definitely the thought of the free-minded personality of our Male Power-pack Gunter.

Gunter did not even tried to hide anything about his private life, at least nothing which wasn´t worth to hide anyway..., apparently he was an Aerobic trainer, working during the days he did not rehearsal his performance together with Rosita.

I figured as much, that it must have been something like this, this guy is really motivated to move things, be it himself or other people.

I bet he would love the new song I have chosen for him.

All in all the crew had still to manage their private lives, therefore I did not wanted to make them doing more than 4 performances a week and for that reason I had to hire some more crew members, to make sure that more people are coming to watch the show.

My inner monologue must have lasted quite some time, for the faces of the Audition-participants grew a little frustrated.

I quickly caught myself, before I continued speaking.

"Well then, enough of the great thankfulness, as you all know is my name Buster Moon, you might have heard from me out of the Newspapers..., maybe good things, maybe bad things, but overall it is mostly according to the point of view of the people writing these articles.

A-Anyways, let´s go straight to your performances, each of you had been given a chance to choose a number randomly from the Box, which Miss Crawly had given around, as you can think of, are these numbers the order in which you appear on stage, each of you has at least 10 minutes to impress us before the next one is coming.

If we deem you worthy and in the nearer selection we will stop you and tell you so, if not you must consider that we either want you to impress us some more, or that you unfortunately didn´t made the cut.

But to make sure already in advance, I want to once again thank each single one of you for coming and participating.

Anyways, onwards we go, I will now call out the numbers and the respective person comes on stage, any question´s so far?!" I asked but no one spoke up.

"Alright then, before we begin let me introduce you to our Jury, to my Left sits Miss Crawly, my Assistance who has been working at this Theater for as long as I can think.

To my right sits my Friend Eduardo Noodleman, aka Eddie, who is also here as the represent of Nana Noodleman, the owner of the Neo-Moon Theater.

He is to make sure that all things run rightly and legal here and that the selected ones will be a great addition towards our Theater.

Well then, without further ado we will now begin, I want you all to go backstage and prepare for when we call you out, alright, here you go!" I stated as I gestured them to get in gear, all of them went backstage, some looked nervous others confident to the core.

"Well Eddie, what do you think so far?!" I asked my Friend.

"Well they do look promising, but we better first hear what they got, before we can decide on anything!" Eddie, the voice of rationality and reason, stated.

Believe me or not but this usually so lazy pall was quite serious if it meant to keep the name Noodleman clean and in best respect.

"Well you are right about that, we don't want to later been chewed out by your Grandmother, don´t we?!" I joked.

"That's for sure..., by the way, Buster..., was it really necessary to tell everybody my real name, it´s not like even one of them cares about it anyways but still!" Eddie whined.

"Well they shall respect you, not laugh at you..., anyways are you guys ready?!" I asked them both and they nodded determined.

"Alright then I ask the first Contestant with the number 1 to come on stage and impress us with his or her performance!" I stated and so the first one came on stage.

To be honest I better spare the details about the first 6 Contestants, none of them made any real impact to me, sure some of them were quite good, but none of them gave me this..., Baam!-this-is-it-feeling, you know.

Back then as I heard Johnny, Mike, Ashley, Rosita and especially Meena´s singing the first time..., good lord in heaven, I was like totally blown away by their talent, sure Rosita seemed a little stiff but she had a good voice, Ashley was loud and unrestrained but once she got in gear there was no holding back and sparing nothing.

Meena was an amazing singer but honestly too shy for her own good, the total opposite of Mike, who had been loud, arrogant but just like Meena an Amazing singer, if only his ego were as fitting to his size.

Gunter, on the other hand, impressed me more by the fire in his moves..., so full of passion.

Johnny was more balanced than all the rest, i guess, at leas as i met him, he seemed to really love music and to sing and he spared nothing while still staying level-headed.

Still there was one Contestant which had rivaled Johnny´s amazing voice and even managed to overthrow him in terms of talent.

However in the end, I choose Johnny out of a simple reason..., physical strain.

It was hard to always having to look up to someone several times taller than yourself and to even have to use a megaphone, just so you can communicate.

With Johnny I was almost able to speak on eyelevel.

I admit I often catch myself, when I was watching such Casting-shows, of trying to choose the least evil, maybe some people think of me having done just that back then, and i do belive in that principle, even today, by my very own hosted Audition.

Still with Johnny i really got myself a lucky-strike.

But let´s stop reminiscing in the past and get back to the present...

"Seriously, I daydream way too much lately!" I thought to myself, as I looked over my notes, which i made about the contestants.

To be honest none of the previous Contestants was really good enough to patricipate in our shows, some where qite psssable, so much i had to admit, but then again was i sure that The Audience would quickly get weary of them..., but as we arrived at contestant number 7, things quickly began to Change.

"Contestant no.7, please tell us your name and your reason of why you have come to this Audition?!" I asked the tall German Shepherd with glasses standing on the stage, looking more like a teacher or a scholar, maybe even a police officer, at least from his build..., but it seemed to me as if the outter shell really fooled what´s inside.

At least i thought so as he began to speak.

"A-Alright, h-hello, m-my name is Nathan, i´m 36 years old and I like music in general, without choosing any specific genre, ever since I had been 4 years old I wanted to become a musician..., but I never managed to take the plunge and get a move on.

Eventually I became a simple Janitor in the high school I once attended, before the same was closed, then later I took another Janitor-job in a hotel.

I was recently fired from my job, due to an unfortunate accident, for whom I was apparently to blame, although I cannot think of anything I did wrong, honest, anyways momentarily I live from what I had saved, in a small apartment and I do come good by so far, at least for now.

In my opinion my live is still Liveable..., but I guess Rose, my wife, does not think that way!

She has taken the kids and went to her Mother, she told me to get a well-paid job or else I could stay where I am without her or the kids

Of course I tried to find a new job as quickly as possible, but no one wants to take in someone like me, who has no real experience in other things, than simple janitor work.

Having no real clue what to do i thought i might as well try my luck, I just really hope, that my singing voice has not yet rusted too much!" Nathan replied as he came on stage, fidgeting, almost letting the microphone falling, he somehow reminded me on how Meena had been before she became more confident.

Sure he looked not any different from the others and if he would not have told us his story, I might think he would have been a normal man.

Of course was his story sad, but it did not meant that we would now also instantly take him in out of pity..., sure we could perhaps take him in as second Stagehand next to Eddie, if he would not make it through with his Audition.

We had to stay fair after all..., and let´s be honest, a janitor who had worked at a School and a Hotel, was quite worthy, at least in my eyes..., you should never underestimate the little jobs.

After all, my father spent years as a car-washer and was able to buy a whole Theater...,well at least 60 % of the price was paid by him, of course I did also saved some money for it, he didn´t had to give up his entire pension..., lord heavens above, I could not do that to him.

No, I did learned management at a job-school, before I took over the Theater, after it was announced to be for sale.

I mean I had to know what I was doing, an amateur, who does not even has a clue about how to promote the own Theater, has no chance of ever making it working at all.

Sure maybe Nana was right and none of my Shows had been quite a hit, but it kept the Theater alive for 2 more years after the old Owner gave it up for sale.

And that was anything but easy, not for the least because I constantly had Judith from the Bank at my throat.

I know how it is to hit rock bottom and even when there was a time, when even I didn´t believed this claim anymore, it still was a true speech.

If you fall so low there is only one way to go and that is upwards, even Nathan had to believe this, or else he would have not have come here to at least try anything possible.

"Then give it a try, I wish you the best of luck, we are ready when you are, may your Performance entertain us enough to earn our recognition!" I stated to him and he nodded bowing politely.

"T-then I will now begin, forgive me when it is not good!" He stated as he got ready.

He had a small Recorder with him, which he sat on the floor and started the record, out of the same, a short Piano piece, accompanied by a Guitar and a drum was to hear, before he began to sing.

(Original: Aloe Blacc-I need a Dollar)

"I need a dollar, a dollar, a dollar is what I need
Hey, hey
Well I need a dollar, a dollar, a dollar is what I need
Hey, hey
I said I need a dollar, a dollar, a dollar is what I need
And if I share with you my story, would you share your dollar with me?

Bad times are coming and it´s freezing out my soul
Hey, hey
Well let me tell you something, all that glitters ain't gold
Hey, hey
It's been a long old trouble, long old troublesome road
And I'm yearning for somebody, who come and help me carry this load

[Bridge:]
I need a dollar, a dollar, a dollar is what I need
Hey, hey
Well I need a dollar, a dollar, a dollar is what I need
Well I don't know, if I'm walking on solid ground
Cause everything around me is - falling down
And all I want - is for someone - to help me-e

I had a job but the boss man let me go
(He said)
I'm sorry but I won't be needing your help no more
(I said)
Please mister boss man, I need this job more than you know
But he gave me my last paycheck and he sent me on out the door

[Bridge:]
Well I need a dollar, a dollar, a dollar is what I need
Hey, hey
Said I need a dollar, a dollar, a dollar is what I need
Hey, hey
And I need a dollar, a dollar, a dollar is what I need
And if I share with you my story, would you share your dollar with me

Well I don't know if I'm walking on solid ground
Cause everything around me is - crumbling down
And all I want is for someone, to help me-e

What in the world am I gonna to do tomorrow
Is there someone whose dollar that I can borrow
Who can help me take away my sorrow?

(Maybe its inside the bottle
Maybe its inside the bottle)

I had some good old buddy, his names is whiskey and wine
Hey, hey
And for my good old buddy, I spent my last dime
Hey, hey
My wine is good to me, it helps me pass the time
And my good old buddy whiskey keeps me warmer than the sunshine
Hey, Hey
My Wife said to me, you got to stand up for your own
Hey, Hey
If god has plans for me, I hope it ain't written in stone
Hey Hey
Because I've been working, working, myself down to the bone
And I swore on my mother´s grave, I'll be paid when I come home
Hey Hey

[Bridge:]
Well I need a dollar, a dollar, a dollar is what I need
Hey, hey
Said need a dollar, a dollar, a dollar is what I need
Hey, hey
Well I need a dollar, a dollar, a dollar is what I need
And if I share with you my story, would you share your dollar with me
Come on, share your dollar with me
Go ahead, share your dollar with me
Come on share your dollar, give me your dollar
Share your dollar with me
Come on share your dollar with me-e-e!" With this Nathan ended his song.

To be honest it was more than I had expected, sure his story was sad and the song did fit his situation..., but, by all friendliness, the song and his voice just happened to fit way too much, it was as if this song was made especially for him.

And I don´t mean this like I meant it with Ash and Pop Songs, I admit, that might have been a major failure of my own..., or at least I didn´t considered it any further.

Even if she had a freaking awesome voice, while singing that small part of Call me Maybe, as I told her about the song, it brought me Goosebumps, but in the end I think letting her sing her very own song had been the best I could do for her.

Of course it was not everything she got, all the Ideas and the yearning to sing out loud, which she had to hold back for years, due to her ex-boyfriend, they all were released.

They all were set free, on that very day, as she played that Song during the concert right in front of half the town and as cruel as it sounds, it might have being worth all the hardships she had to endure before.

No..., this time I am freaking sure, even though it was far from the Soul-genre, had Nathan´s song so much of life´s truth in it, that it just instantly convinced you to share your dollars with him and with pleasure.

"Say Nathan..., that's hopefully not the only song you can sing..., don´t get me wrong, it was awesome..., but I want to see if you can also sing other songs with that kind of voice, it would be a waste to let this voice repeat the same song over and over again!" I stated and he began to think.

"Let me think for a second..., there aren´t much songs I know, as I said, due to work and family, I kept the music out of my life for most of the time, I just recently had begun to let it in again.

Yeah..., I think there is one song which I lately had heard and just for my own fun, I had learned it by heart, even though I had no idea what to do with that knowledge anyways.

But I guess I might sing it, if Rose will reconsider and come back with the children, but I think I might as well give it a try here and now, just to make sure that it is even worth to sing to her..., that I don´t totally suck on it!" Nathan explained and I nodded, urging him to go on.

He told Eddie which song to play, as the same searched in his Library, before signaling him that he has the song, I looked and was astounded, it was quite a meaningful song I would say.

(Original: Rag`n´Bone Man- Be the Man)

"We're bound by this
Running high and low, without a course
It's hard to change a love like this
The writing´s on the wall, so strong it hurts

[Pre-Chorus]
You say our love has burned out
For reasons you will not define
yet I'm still the man you know
But you hardly seeing me so

[Chorus]
We're going through changes, changes, changes, yeah
With hard times, which surely are ahead
You gotta have faith in, faith in, faith in me (faith in me)
'Til I can be the man I said I'd be
'Til I can be the man
'Til I can be that man

[Verse 2]
We're bound by this
And you don't even say a word to me
I guess that's how the hell must be
And knowing it just hurts the most

[Chorus]
Still you say our love burned out
For reasons you will not define
I'm still that man you wanted (once)
It's just hard to see it sometimes

[Chorus]
We're going through changes, changes, changes, yeah (changes)
With hard times, which surely are ahead (But we'll make it through, I'm sure of it)
You gotta have faith in, faith in, faith in me (faith in me)
'Til I can be the man I said I'd be
'Til I can be the man
'Til I can be the man
'Til I can be your man
'Til I can be your man (Again)

[Chorus]
We're going through changes, changes, changes, yeah (changes)
With hard times, which surely are ahead (But we'll make it through, I'm sure of it)
You gotta have faith in, faith in, faith in me (faith in me)
'Til I can be the man I said I'd be
'Til I can be that man!" Nathan sang and the goosebumps I had just seemed to have increased in numbers.

Was I even still a Koala or have I already turned into a goose.

"One thing is for sure, if it was for a party, and he could sing some cheer up songs, I would hire him!" Eddie stated and I nodded, going with the scale of Eddies usual parties, it was well said that it was a whole different level than a mere Party of a sports club perhaps.

As I thought about that, I had to admit that I wanted to listen to more of his voice right now, however that was most likely not possible, since it would not be fair to the other contestants.

"You know what Nathan..., take this here, you are definitely in the nearest selection, once we have decided, we call you back and tell you our decision!" I explained to him as I gave him our recall-pamphlet and it literally saw his eyes grow in surprise.

"Seriously..., are you for real?!" He asked in shock and surprise.

"Indeed with a voice like this you play in a high league, my friend, yet it would be unfair towards all the other participants to already decide yet, without even hearing them out, therefore, make sure to stay out of trouble and by best health until we will call you, got it.

Well then, it was nice to meet you, I hope we see each other again!" I stated as he took the document, as if it was made of the finest glass.

"I thank you so much!" He stated practically running of the stage, while clutching the Recall-pamphlet to his chest, as if he feared that someone might take it from him.

"That fella sure was a number..., wouldn´t mind to see him in our next show!" Eddie mumbled.

"Your words in god´s ear Eddie..., anyways on to the next participant, number 8, please make your appearance on stage...!" I stated into the megaphone, as a trio of Mexican mice arrived on stage, greeting us heartily.

"Hello, hello, nice to make your acquaintance, well then, we´re ready when you are!" I said and they nodded eagerly, before beginning their performance with some typical Mexican songs, from which I unfortunately understood not a word, but the mood was still raising with them, after these depressing yet beautiful songs of Nathan.

The next few participants were hopefully just as interesting as the last two.

To be continued...

A/N: Hello, once again I saw something, imagined something and then wrote something, this time it is Illumination´s 2016 Movie Sing.

To be honest, at first I was skeptical, I didn´t quite thought much about the movie before watching it..., well until I felt its story, its hilarious parts and its sad moments and its absolutely adorable characters.

From all of them I like Rosita, Johnny and Ash the most, and as always I wish for true love to become true, for my favorite Characters, so I ship Ash and Johnny.

Maybe because due to their opposite personalities, Ash being a rebellious teen, with a soft core hidden underneath a hard and yet vulnerable, shell.

While Johnny on the other hand is a responsible Boy, who wishes to follow a dream, but has to hold back due to his feelings of loyalty towards his family.

Seeing such characters come together and achieve great things together, just makes me feel inspired to the max, in any case I hope you enjoy this Story as a little gift in-between the wait for the Second Major Arc of Solatoromansu, Return of the Legendary Heroes.

Yours truly, the Storyteller and his Books.