With her Afro swaying and beaded choker stretched with intensity, DeAriesha Mack furrowed her brow and furiously free-styled on the drums. Minutes later, Mack left the midtown Manhattan audition, where she vied for a slot in Beyonc’s band, and took a second to catch her breath. “I feel good. I did my best and I did what I knew in my heart,” said Mack, 21, from the Bronx. “I didn’t sleep last night at all. I’ve been up for 24 hours, and I’ve been here since 7 o’clock this morning.” For nine lucky women, life will smell pretty sweet when the nationwide search wraps up Friday. Beyonc will personally help hand-pick her first all-girl band to go on the road with her for four to six months to promote her upcoming album, “B’Day.” “This audition is different because it’s an all-girl band, and that’s a first for Beyonc,” said Kim Burse, creative director handling the auditions. “It’s a statement she wants to come forth with, to be surrounded by other strong women.”

After Monday’s auditions, Beyonc won’t have to search too hard to find some hot musicians, such as Brooklyn native LaFrae Sci. With her electrified hair and toned arms, Sci clenched her mouth and athletically beat out a pulsating piece of the drums. The only pause came when her sleeve slid off of her shoulder, prompting her to fix it, shrug and say, “Wardrobe malfunction.” Outside of the studio, she acted like the audition was business as usual. “It went great,” said Sci, 30. “I just did what I could do and I don’t feel like I held back.” While she may have rocked, others said they felt it wasn’t their best moment. “It’s hard when you don’t have your own equipment,” said Leslie Zagotti, a guitarist from Buffalo. “It went okay, but I’m way better than that, and that’s the thing that stinks.”

- New York Daily News