American Idol Concert

I am finally just getting ready to prepare myself to write my American Idol concert review. I can't believe it has taken me this long to get around to it, especially when I have so much free time on my hands. Anyway, it was probably THE best Idol concert I've been to! I couldn't have imagined it going any better. My mom and I got ready pretty early so we could get to LA at a decent time. I had been looking all over for the American Idol highlights CD from this season, but couldn't find it at the two Wal-Marts we went to; they weren't very helpful, so we decided to stop at one on our way down there. They had it! I knew the trip was off to a good start from there. When we made it to the LA area, we had lunch at Kings Road Cafe. Unfortunately, there were no celeb sightings (other than some random comedian guy that I'm pretty sure was on Home Improvement), but I did see a few "People of LA" which was entertaining. It was a really nice day out, so we sat on the patio.

After we finished lunch, we had to stop by Dodger Stadium to pick up some collector bobble heads that had just come in. Well, there were some interesting things that happened around there, but eventually we made it. We had to wait a few minutes for someone to come out, so I was constantly checking Twitter to see whether the Idols had updated anything about being in LA. Once we were done with that, I figured it was time to get to Nokia to see if anyone was around. It turns out they do things very different with the buses at Nokia, and I hadn't really checked into it. They were on a roof of the parking garage across the street, meaning the chances of them being there were pretty slim, and there was absolutely nothing else going on. I had to take medicine, so we went to Starbucks to get some tea and hang out a bit. But, after awhile I was tired of sitting there, so we decided to scope out things a little more.

My new boots!  (In honor of Colton)

We walked over near the parking garage/entrance for important people, and there were a few fans sitting down. We waited a little awhile, but the area was pretty dead....Basically, I'll spare you a lot of detail and just say we waited on a bench for a long time for absolutely nothing! LOL. That's when we saw Joshua Ledet's mom walking in the side door. When she came back out, I thought we could say "hi" since we had talked to their family at the finale-they were in line behind us. We were trying to catch up to her, when we actually ran into Heejun. I got a picture with him, only to find out my eyes were closed...BUMMER. But, oh well. Afterwards, we caught up to Mrs. Ledet and talked to her for a good 25 minutes probably. She is one of the sweetest ladies; telling us all about Joshua's journey, how they'd been praying for him, and what an experience it was in general. She was also saying how relaxed everyone was backstage that afternoon, in comparison to right before a taping. I can imagine how high nerves are when it comes to the actual season. GAH!

We still had around 2-3 hours to kill, so we'd wander around, sit down, try to think of something to do, come up with nothing, and end up sitting back down and checking Facebook/Twitter feeds. Go figure! It was still fun hanging out with mom, devising plans and just going back and forth between our witty selves. It was getting closer to show time, so they brought out merchandise, fans were filing in for meet and greets, and Glozell was even out about entertaining the crowd! HAHA. Awhile later, we headed inside as soon as the doors opened, found our seats, got some snacks, and listened to the videos they played on the screens 4,000 times at least. By the end of the night, we had those songs memorized! That happened at the last Idol show we went to also, but with a Daughtry song instead.

Finally, the show started and I was so excited! I loved this group of people so much. Week after week, each of them would grow on me for a different reason. I loved the fact that they all seemed to be so close, and weren't quite as cliquey as some in past seasons. They all genuinely act like family, and after meeting/seeing them at the finale, it was really cool to be able to see them perform live! The highlights for me include:

• "Moves Like Jagger"-Colton, Hollie, Erika and Joshua
• Erika seriously blew me away. It's crazy that she was the first to get voted off, because she has some pipes!
• "Party Rock"-Heejun, Jessica and DeAndre
• "Rumor Has It"-Elise, Erika and DeAndre
• All of Colton's set! ...Just, wow. He's incredible.
• Top 9 singing "Just The Way You Are/What Makes You Beautiful"
• Hollie's set! She gave me goodies! I don't understand how the judges couldn't see how amazing she was.
• Joshua killed it! All of it! He can seriously sing, and he feels every ounce of music that is up on that stage. I was so glad he sang "Runaway." I think I could possibly like his version better than Bruno's. I also liked his duet with Jessica that they sang on the finale. 
• Phillip's set! Especially "Somebody That I Used To Know" with Elise. It was definitely one of my favorite performances on the show, and of course, "Home." It was cool that he was back to sing it again, and remembering being there that night for the finale. I was hoping the band would be there again, but alas, they were not. I loved Colton doing backup on it as well! :)
• The Top 10 "Glad You Came" 

It was definitely one of those feel good concerts that after you leave, you just feel better having gone. It was cool to see so many people of different ages: kids, teens, adults, and senior citizens all in the same place. It's rare that that happens for a concert these days. I love that they're all so relatable. As Colton even said, he was in our seats last year, and look where he is now. It gives me hope that there's still a chance for me to "make it" if it's in God's plans for me. Those things just always have a way of working themselves out.
After the show ended, we had talked about possibly meeting up with Joshua's mom...but, that's a long story. We waited outside, just hanging around, hoping to run into her, but we couldn't find her, so we kept waiting and walking in that area, hoping that maybe the Idols would come out, since they were staying in LA that night. I knew that usually they come out after the shows by the buses and sign, but with them staying in town, and the buses being on the roof, I wasn't exactly sure where they'd be doing it, if at all. After about an hour or so, we just decided to have a seat right in front of Nokia. There are glass windows, so you can see basically everything that's going on inside. My mom spotted a girl that looked like Hollie, and it was! She was also with Joshua and Skylar. They were taking an escalator down to what they call Club Nokia.  Then, Heejun and Elise walked out. A few minutes later, we saw Colton. That made me go up to the window! I tried to knock on it to get his attention, but the ladies that worked there started coming to the window as soon as I did, so I walked off. We tried peeking down below through the window, because you could see that the press was set up and they were doing interviews, but that didn't last long, because the guy at the merchandise table made us leave. Because standing two stories above them through the window is really going to do a lot of harm. *SMH* Anyway, we were informed that around the side is where they'd be coming out. We were like, "Uh, okay..." So, we walked around to the side entrance, across the street from Staples Center to see barricades set up and hundreds of fans lined up, waiting. Oh, so that's what they were talking about. That's when I heard my name being called. It always catches me off guard when I'm out of town and hear my name, because I forget I know people down there. I turned to see my friend, who I usually run into at things like this, and ended up calling me over, and we sort of squeezed in with her. I don't think many people around us were too happy about that...But....What can you do? We've had so many times where people have cut in front of us, and really, now you do just sort of have to squeeze in when you can. As harsh as it is, it's a dog eat dog world sometimes. We waited about 15 minutes, and all of a sudden we heard cheering and screaming from the people who were facing the door. It was Hollie! I was so excited because her and Colton were my favorites, and I didn't get a chance to meet her at the finale. She was incredibly sweet and gracious; I was so excited that I forgot to give her the card and lollipop I had gotten for her! LOL. Then, Erika and Elise not too long after. I was so glad to meet Elise because she was another favorite, and she was really sweet, taking her time with all of the fans. Not too long after, Colton came out! I had already met him at the finale...but, it's COLTON. You can never have too many pictures with him ;) haha. He was signing for everyone! I got my CD cover signed, but wasn't able to talk to him at all. He ended up remembering my friend, so they spent most of the time talking in our area, and then he moved on. He wasn't taking pictures, because he was in a hurry since his family was getting into town. The security guard told us that after Colton, no one else would be coming out, and we hadn't been able to get ahold of my dad, because the cell reception in the area sucked. So, we decided it was time to go. I wish we would've been able to wait around a few minutes, because as we drove off, I could've sworn I saw Colton posing for pictures for the smaller crowd that was left. :( Oh well! There's always next time.

It was such an incredible night; I had a blast! It was just another reminder that even though Idol might be taking some different turns that it would've when they first started, it helps us connect to the music world in a way that no other show or anyone else ever has. I feel like these people could be my friends. They have a lot of the same beliefs, dreams, and goals that I do, and if we lived in the same city, they'd be the type of people I'd hang out with. That's what the show is all about...reminding us of the beauty of dreams. When I think back to a lot of my favorite artists and some of my favorite people in general, they've come from American Idol. They've introduced me to so many incredible friends and have helped me through some hard times in my life. I'll always be grateful for this show.

After meeting Colton, we headed back to the parking lot, hit the freeway and came home. My mom and I were so tired, but still on the buzz from the concert, and just ready to get home. After a couple more interesting moments and a short detour (thanks to one of the lanes being closed, and throwing us in a completely different direction), and a stop at In-N-Out (our usual 'after concert' dinner) we made it home. I had planned on going straight to bed, but I got a little distracted looking at the tour book and reliving some of the moments in my head. Finally, exhaustion kicked in and I was out. But, what a night to remember! I got a ton of videos and some good pictures; I might post a few more videos later on, but for now, I'll leave you with a short montage of the highlights.

That's all for now,
Shelby

If you've been to the show, what was your favorite part? If you haven't who would you go just to see?

Idol Connections

So, this year I found out that I sort of have a couple links to two of the contestants on this season of American Idol. While I was out of town, I guess they ran this news story in our city about Colton Dixon having some relatives from here. My mom was texting me keeping me updated on it. It turns out his aunt and uncle just live in a town not too far from here and is still considered to be in the same county! I was hoping they would actually live here in town, but maybe for whatever reason he'll end up here someday ;)

Here's the link to the news segment they ran:
http://www.bakersfieldnow.com/news/entertainment/148179355.html

The next connection I found out about was Phillip Phillips! My dad has some relatives that are actually from his hometown. I guess they've talked to him when he's played at the restaurants back there and that he's a really nice guy. Some of their friends are either just really close with him or they're related. I thought that was really cool! They're really pulling for him back there. And I'm definitely pulling for him and Hollie in the finale! We'll see how things go!

That's all for now,
Shelby<3

Do you guys have any idol connections from this season or season's past? Share them with me on Twitter or in the comments below if you do! I'd love to hear them!

Colton Dixon

I'll be honest...I wasn't necessarily crazy about the way Colton first got into Idol. He hadn't technically planned on auditioning, but the judges were pushing it. I felt bad for his sister and others that had waited and done it the official way, but I thought he was good. I was just afraid he might be an Adam Lambert type at first. However, week after week he really started growing on me. I was still pulling for Hollie and voting hardcore for her week after week, but I slipped in a few votes for him at times as well.
The week I truly became a fan was when he sang Lifehouse's song "Everything." First off, I LOVE that song and second, I love how completely open he was about his faith and in trusting Christ with this journey. To me, the most attractive thing a guy can wear is his love for God, and that's what really drew me into Colton. Aside from that...he is also freakin' talented (and not too bad to look at either ;))! I can't believe how he could turn a popular song that's on the radio to fit his voice perfectly and make it sound like it's an original. He is going to do SO much beyond American Idol and I am SO excited for him!
Last night, I bought all of his music from itunes and love all of it, but I need to find out if you can still buy the videos, because I love having those on hand. His playlist was the perfect bike riding music this afternoon; his voice couldn't be any more perfect. I'm crossing my fingers and saying a prayer that I'll get to meet him at the American Idol finale, if all goes according to plan! I LOVE him! He's definitely up there with Kelly, Carrie, Danny, and Kris for me. He's the kind of guy I hope to marry someday.

That's all for now,
Shelby

What was your favorite performance of Colton's? If you're not a fan, who is your favorite contestant?