After sleeping in line for two nights at the auditions in Los Angeles, Carson City's Amber Cleveland made the preliminary cut for the TV show "American Idol."
Out of 5,000 contestants, Cleveland was chosen to compete in Hollywood for the rest of the week until the top 100 hopefuls are chosen. The top 100 from each of the five auditions around the country will then compete for the chance to star on the program's second season.
"This is really cool," said Cleveland's father, Gene Cleveland.
Amber Cleveland, 20, won a Midwest talent search sponsored by radio station KFRX in Lincoln, Neb., where she is a University of Nebraska student studying nutrition. Her brother, Ethan, is also a student there.
The station paid for her airfare and accommodations to Los Angeles to try out for the hit TV show.
Despite her success, Gene Cleveland said his daughter has not changed.
"She's still the same kid that everybody loved so much at Carson High School," he said. "She doesn't have a big ego about the whole thing."
Cleveland is a 2000 graduate of Carson High School.