NEW YORK — It took months for her to appear on MTV, weeks for her to claim the title of Elle Woods, days of rehearsals for her role in “Legally Blonde The Musical,” but mere hours for her to captivate Broadway audiences.

Now, after starting so many different journeys in search of the same goal, Anderson native Bailey Hanks can finally call herself a Broadway star.

“I feel like I’m on cloud nine right now,” Bailey said following the opening night performance Wednesday evening. “This is real, and I can’t believe this is real.”

She described how she felt when she first came up on stage Wednesday night and began singing “Oh My God You Guys.”

“When I turned around, I felt that energy and felt my family’s energy and the fans’ energy,” she said. “An audience’s roar is like no other. That moment I knew I’d made it.”

Fans from all over the country waited anxiously outside the Palace Theatre Wednesday, hoping for the chance to share those few hours with Hanks as the new Elle Woods on Broadway. Many have seen her win the role on “Legally Blonde The Musical: The Search for Elle Woods” on MTV. Bailey was announced as the winner of series on its finale, which was broadcast on MTV on Monday.

“We watched the show from the beginning, and Bailey was always our favorite,” said Atlanta resident Pam Gillespie and her son, Michael, standing outside The Palace Theatre in New York City waiting on will call tickets. “She is just a Southerner like us.”

Lines started to form for the 2 p.m. matinee Wednesday around 1 p.m. By 1:15 p.m., the last tickets for the afternoon curtain were sold.

“I watched this thing all the way through and rooted for Bailey from day one,” said Lori Belbol of Long Island, N.Y. “When I found out she was going to be performing (Wednesday), I told my husband that we had to go.”

Luckily for the Belbols, they were the last ones to get box office tickets. Everyone else would have to wait to see Bailey’s Broadway debut. The 8 p.m. show sold out as well and customers had to settle for another night.

Leading up to the big day, Hanks admitted to being a bit nervous for her debut, but she also knew she was ready to step onto the Broadway stage and make it her own. It has been a unique blend of respect, professionalism and self-confidence that has endeared her to the cast of “Legally Blonde” from the start of rehearsals just three weeks ago.

“Broadway people are a tight-knit people,” said Paul Canaan, a cast member of “Legally Blonde” and judge on the reality show. “But Bailey just fit right in. Everyone who met her came to me and said, ‘She is so adorable.’”

Many from Anderson already knew that. A group from the Electric City made the trek to New York City as soon as they learned Hanks was going to strut her stuff on the Palace Theatre stage on Wednesday. Robb Alverson made his career between New York City and Anderson and directed Hanks in a variety of shows since the now- 20-year-old was 6. He was traveling with two others Tuesday in order to reach midtown Manhattan in time for the night curtain.

Rick Mascaro, another friend and mentor of Hanks’ in Anderson, also made the drive with fellow performers Michael Friedman and Meg Fannin Buckner. They were able to take in a performance of “Gypsy” Tuesday night, but the whole trip was really about their own Bailey Hanks.

“The three of us were talking about how many people we know in New York and have worked their entire lives just to work as an extra dancer on Broadway,” Mascaro said. “Bailey has been able to cut through all that red tape, and deservedly so, made it without all that stuff so many others have to go through.”

Hanks hopes not having to go through the years of roller-coaster auditions will help her along in her Broadway career.

“I was afraid, at first, that I wouldn’t get that respect because of how I got the role,” Hanks said. “But I was myself and showed them that I am serious about this.”

It showed on stage in her debut.

“It was amazing,” said Lauren Langbaum as she came out of Hanks’ first Broadway matinee performance. “She was just as good as Laura Bell. I just thought all her singing was amazing.” Belbol was impressed too — possibly even more than she expected when they got the last matinee tickets.

“I had tears in my eyes for her,” Belbol said. “When she first came on and that first image of her was great. The crowd went nuts when she first came on the stage.”

From here on out, Hanks will continue to rehearse for audiences every day, eight times a week.

It’s an arduous schedule, but one this rising Broadway star feels ready to take. And her family knows it’s the right thing for their “little girl” from the small town.

“She loves all of this, but she’s still a hometown girl at heart,” said Hanks’ father, Brad Hanks. “She worked her whole life for this and everything she has done up to now has prepared her for what’s happening.”