Musicians begged to open for Bristol. Fast Cars was a concession to the studio because they were on the brink of stardom and Top Shelf wanted them onstage right before her, but Bristol purposely left the opening spot for musicians she believed in.

“If I do this, will you leave me alone?”

“As long as you say yes.”

Bristol struggled into a sitting position. “Show me.” She hit play and watched the woman in the blue coveralls perform a stunning rendition of “Baby Shark” that made Bristol perk up even though she didn’t want to, sing an amazing cover of one of her own songs, and finish with a Miley Cyrus Top 40 song that was making a comeback on the kids’ music circuit. She was good, but anyone could sing kids’ songs. “She sounds okay, but I need more before I make a decision.” She handed the phone back to Lizzy and waited for her to pull up more videos.

“Here’s one she did last night. It’s the most recent. Oh, she’s really cute behind the coveralls and the mask,” Lizzy said.

Bristol snatched the phone away. “She has great hair. Her voice is good. Does she only do covers?”

“Would I recommend her if she did? Go back to last weekend’s stream. She mentions originals. She has an EP on iTunes, and it’s downloadable from her website.” Lizzy put her head next to Bristol’s to get a better view of the phone screen. “She’s got the look. And she has a ton of followers, so it’s not like she’s a nobody.”

Bristol turned her head and frowned at Lizzy. “My little brother has two million followers on TikTok, and he’s just a regular kid.”

“Your little brother makes stupid teenage boy videos about blowing up things and scaring your family. He has all those followers because people are hoping to get a glimpse of you and your spectacular life,” Lizzy said. She scrolled to the next video. “Besides, all kids are doing that now. But Annie Foster? She’s somebody who deserves to be heard. And we should let her stream from the stage.”

Bristol gave Lizzy the look, the one that told her to chill out. “Maybe she doesn’t want to. Maybe being in front of tens of thousands of people will freak her out. You know this lifestyle isn’t for everyone,” she said.