Idol Recap

I had a total blast Thursday at American Idol. I'm going to try not to do one of those lengthy posts that I normally do after an event like this; just going to keep it short, sweet, and to the point. Dim the lights, here we go!

We got to CBS Studios around 10:30 or so and waited ALL day long practically, and I decided to wear a denim jacket, which was not the smartest move, but I dealt with it, because it wasn't too hot, just a little warm after waiting so long. We met up with one of our friends who lives down in that area and talking with her passed the time off a little quicker. They let us into the studio around 3 or so, and we did a little more waiting, but this time we could finally sit down, and had a chance to go to the bathroom and grab a snack to keep the energy up. Closer to 4, we headed inside the soundstage, and I'll admit that I definitely still teared up and had chills as I saw the American Idol lit up brightly on the stage. It never gets old, because I'll always remember being a little girl and dreaming of being a singer. Heck, I still dream about it now. While I may never have the opportunity to sing for thousands around the world like I always thought I would, being in the audience, I feel like I get to live out that fantasy through the contestants in some way.

As we were waiting, Angie's mom walked in front of us, so my mom tapped her on the arm and said hi. We ended up talking to her for a few minutes; she asked us how we got tickets, where we were from and how long we had been waiting. When we said since 10:30, she was like,"wow! That's dedication!" We said that we'd be voting for Angie and she thanked us, then went up into the audience to talk to Angie's grandparents. She was really sweet!

Finally, the show started, the show is exactly what you see on TV, since the film straight through! However, what you don't see is all the running around, the talking between the judges, a little interaction with the fans, etc. I have to say that the results shows are a little more crazy than performance night, which I thought would be the opposite, but I think it all has to do with timing. So, I'm here to fill you in on a few of those behind the scenes moments:

• Randy Jackson waved to me as the judges were sitting down in their seats.
• Keith waved to our section because of the ladies behind us yelling to him!
• Pretty sure Nicki waved to me at one point during the show
• During one of the commercial breaks, Keith was making videos on his phone, and when he realized we all saw, it looked like he turned sort of bashful and just laughed about it.
• I could have been in the pit, but since I'd done it last time, I figured I would just hang out in the regular section instead. Well, Keith has been jumping into the pit for pictures to post on Instagram, and he did it again that night. I totally would've been there for that!
• The top 4 girls were so cute to watch as they messed around with each other or held hands during the videos and reviews of their performance that each had.
• You can feel the tension in the room during the results show, because everyone is super nervous about what's going to happen! I can only imagine what it's like to be one of the contestant's or a family member waiting to hear the fate.
• I'm pretty sure I shook hands with one of Amber's friends or relatives! He seemed nice!
• Nigel sat in front of us, and he's definitely in charge of everything that happens, because he kept running around to tell the contestants and judges what to do and when they needed to do it. He's definitely the boss man...
• I almost shook Drake's hand, because he came up to the people next to us in the audience, but then they started dragging him off, where he sat in the audience for the remainder of the show and said a few words into the mic, thanking Nicki for asking him to come!
• I was extremely disappointed that they didn't send anyone home! After all, it was our first results show.
• As we were leaving, we got to meet Keith, because he was talking to people in the pit and signing for them! He signed our tickets and I was SO happy... So was my mom!

After the taping, we walked outside and had to pick up our cell phones, and we passed Angie and Candice's family! I think it's so weird that they make family of the contestants check in their phones, but what can you do? We said bye to Candice's parents (who also seem incredibly nice), got our phones, then started walking towards our car. As we were walking down the sidewalk, we ended up seeing Drake in his car...He obviously wanted to be recognized, because he had rolled the window on his SUV down, so everyone was waving and yelling to him. We waved to him just for the heck of it since he was there, and I'm no Drake fan, but that was still cool!

We decided to go over to The Grove after, because the Idols are known to go over there for dinner with their families after the show is done. We had dinner at The Cheesecake Factory, which was delicious; we were starving after not having eaten all day and that sounded yummy (When does it not, though?) I had a skinnylicious burger and it came with a small garden salad; I highly recommend it, because it tastes like the regular burger and not as many calories. While we were waiting to go inside, we also saw DeAndre from last season and said "hi" to him!

We walked around a little while to scope the place out after dinner, since the Idols were probably done with press, and were hoping to see someone, but we didn't. Finally, we called it a night and came home. You would not believe how exhausted I was after all of that! It's all worth it and I'd do it again in a heartbeat, but wow....LONG DAY! In case you're ever in the area and want to go...DO IT! But, come prepared to stand for long periods of time (unless you rent a chair from the guy on the street) and bring snacks. Most importantly, come with a lot of energy and excitement, because you will have a blast no matter what!

That's all for now,
Shelby :)

P.S. I'll be posting more pictures from the day very soon!