So, after months of anticipation here it is: My hometown review.
As some of you know, I went to the Rochester, NY concert, which was supposed to be when Kat returned to the tour from being sick, but it turned out the doctor gave her orders to rest her voice another week. Disappointing – yes. But did it stop me? No. I still made a shirt that said “I Love Kat” on the front, and the back said “Get Well Soon Katharine!” My spirits were not extinguished and I was out in full force. Numerous people asked me where Kat was and some didn’t even know she wasn’t coming. I felt bad being the bearer of bad news, but at least I got to tell them WHY. I felt like Kat’s little spokesperson and I’m glad I got to set the record straight for her after all of those horrible rumors about her missing the tour. I enjoyed the concert for the most part, but without Kat, it was really missing something. The people I went with agreed, so I’m not just being biased. It just needed that magical vocal; we needed it. You could almost feel the other idols missing her as well, especially Kellie. I mean, that’s her partner in crime! This was in July.
Now, It’s September. The anticipation was killing me to go to this concert. To have it in MY hometown where I walked the stage for my high school graduation was just unimaginable. I couldn’t believe it was happening finally after waiting so many months. Was I dreaming? Maybe. My plan was that no matter what I was going to meet Kat somehow. Isn’t that everyone’s plan though? I said I would find a way because months ago, when season 5 was still going, I told my friends and family that I would meet her someday – and I am one to keep my word. So, after much help from friends and my buddies on the boards I had developed a plan.
When I woke up the day of the concert, I just could not believe it. A few days before I even got sick because of how nervous I was. First of all, it was sunny in Syracuse – that is highly unusual; Kat must’ve brought it with her. Second, I mean this was my big chance; I was worried about blowing it. But, I got ready, got my tickets, glowsticks, cds, shirt, and I was ready. I had my mom drop us off at around 1pm (I will tell you now that we stood for over 6 hours and that was before the concert!). The area was only about a 10 minute or less drive from my house. My mom offered (kind of) to be our chauffeur for the day so we wouldn’t have to deal with parking because it’s ridiculous downtown. So when my friend and I got there, there are a few other people waiting around too. I’d say about 15-20. I talked to a younger girl who came all the way from Kentucky. She was really sweet. My friend and I were all decked out. My shirt was orange and said “I Love Kat” on the front, “McPheever” on the back, and “KP” on the arm for Kat Pack. My friend’s shirt said “I Love Kellie” on the front, and “McPickler” on the back. We were ready for anything or nothing at all. We were there, and didn’t know what to expect really.
The first few Idols off the buses were Chris, Bucky, Paris, Taylor, Mandisa, and Ace. Chris came to sign autographs first. He was so polite, and nicer than I expected. A real gentleman and so handsome. I was asking the Idols to sign for both my friend and me. There was NO room to move, and I’m more aggressive (well at least for the day), so I did it for us both. We were so squished together, I literally could not move. Then Bucky came over and signed as well. Such a sweet guy, and a gentleman. Ace though, was the nicest guy I have ever met. He signed EVERY autograph and took EVERY picture. I had to get a picture of course; he’s so adorable. He told everyone to start a line and move in and out so everyone had a chance up front. I was so glad he did that because a lot of people just were not moving. He was outside for what must’ve been an hour and a half at least. I called my mom to tell her I met him. I was so excited she thought I met Kat, but I told her, and then asked Ace to say hello to her. He said they couldn’t talk on phones, but he yelled “Hi Momma!” anyways. She loved that. He’s really the most fan-friendly person I’ve ever met. Paris came by and signed a few autographs while she was on the phone. Then we saw Lisa sneak by and go inside. Elliot kept looking out the window of the tour bus, but wouldn’t come out. I heard from a lot of people that Elliot really isn’t the friendliest guy and doesn’t sign much, but I still refuse to believe that. I honestly don’t think he was feeling well and I don’t think Paris was either. Both of them didn’t look well and rumors of their sickness were circulating throughout the crowds (sidenote*I heard Kat is sick now as well?). None of them seemed extremely energetic except Chris, Ace and Bucky. But hey, it’s the end of the tour – it must’ve been wearing on them.
Those were the only idols to come out to sign until at least two hours later. Ace, Bucky, Chris and even Paris had been back and forth a few times. I got a picture with Chris and he really squeezed my arm and rubbed it after – so nice. Ace pinched my arm when he came back out and asked if we were warm yet. I was sweating all day, so that was embarrassing. But, still no sign of Kat and Kellie. We figured they were together, maybe out to lunch. Then finally when we were losing hope about 4 hours into us standing there (my back was killing me and my feet – bad choice of shoes) we see them walk by. We flipped of course. They both waved. After they had the Meet and Greet some woman came out and told us about it. She said Kellie and Kat didn’t have the personality she thought they would and only said “Hi” really. I know if she told Kat she was a fan or anything like that Kat would have been smiling from ear to ear and talking to her. I don’t know what that woman expected, but how could she even complain!? It bothers me when people like that get to do such great things that anyone else would do anything for. You should appreciate things like that more. It’s obvious those girls are sweethearts, but everyone just expects so much from them and all of the Idols. Give ‘em a break – it’s tough being on tour, and it seems like they are getting sick just like the rest of us with the change of seasons.
About an hour later Taylor came out and signed very few autographs. I didn’t see him take any pictures and I didn’t hear him say one word. He didn’t seem rude though, just very serious. Mandisa came out after him, which surprised me because I haven’t heard much about her signing too often. I could be wrong, but I was so happy to see her and got a picture with her. Then we saw Kat in the door and I yelled, “I love you Kat!” to her, but I don’t think she heard me, but everyone else sure did. I told the girl next to me I got played, and she laughed. Then a woman came up to me and asked if I went on BLEEP, and I said yes and she asked if I was AllAboutMcPhee and I said yes and there was Yogini! I don’t know how she found me (maybe the shirt gave it away?), but she did and I hugged her and we talked for a while about Kat and the concert and if she’d been out yet and I said no. Such a sweet woman and I was so glad to have met her!
A little while later after sound check Kat starting walking towards us. A girl next to me had a gift for her, but she was too shy to speak up. So, I called Kat over and pointed to the gift. The girl gave it to her and Kat thanked her and the girl asked for a hug and Kat gave her one. It was a really cute moment. After that, I really don’t remember much of what came out of my mouth or my actions or anything. I blacked out, I swear. I was sooo nervous and shaking. Then the girl let me in to get to meet her because there was really no room at all you had to make pacts with people to let you in their spot when they were done. I was shaking and about to cry and just could not speak. Usually, I’m pretty good with words but not then. I had things I wanted to say, but all bets were off then. It all seemed like a dream and I couldn’t tell you what I said exactly or how she responded. It’s like when you see her you just are so stunned by her beauty and her talent that everything else you do is so robotic that you just don’t even realize what you’re doing. I was looking at her when she was signing for someone next to me and she’s just beautiful. Everyone was quiet when they saw her except for saying how gorgeous she was - like she was a princess or something. It’s like the whole crowd kind of quieted when she came out. It was definitely a sign of respect and awe of who was standing in front of us. They didn’t respond to anyone else this way. When I handed her my cd covers to sign I was shaking and said “sorry” under my breath. I felt like everyone was watching me trying to interact with her because they knew I’d been there all day and that I was a HUGE fan. Then I was calling Kat back under my breath, trying not to be rude but I was so excited, and she came and I asked for a hug, since I made a shirt and all (jokingly said this), and she gave me one. So surreal. I don’t even remember us like touching, like I said robotic. Then, I know I was being greedy, but you got to seize the moment – I asked for a quick picture. Kat said “sure” or something like that. We were all ready to take the picture and then Kat asked where we were looking because there were so many cameras. I am a moron and couldn’t talk, so I just pointed, and she laughed. So, she looks great in the picture. At least, I made her laugh! Even the security guard in the back in smiling. After that, I think she left after a few more autographs and waved goodbye to us all. Then I snapped back out of it, and literally couldn’t remember what just happened. I had to re-group. I’ve never been like that before in my life. I mean, she’s only two years older than me, but I was such a kid around her. (I must add that Kat only came over to sign on my side, so I very well could have completely missed her - pure luck!)
She wasn’t the bubbly Kat I expected; she was very shy and vulnerable. That's what we love about her! Her eyes were so beautiful, they just say it all. She's really special and her eyes were just soo magnetic; I can't get over it. She also looks younger in person, it might be the new haircut. She just looked GREAT. I think she might not have been feeling well that day, but was still sooo sweet to her fans. She seemed tired, who could blame her. She was still so nice and said “sure” or “yeah” to everything. Very good to me. I really can’t remember much because I just couldn’t believe it was happening. After the hug I turned to my friend to ask if she took a picture and she was standing there just as shocked as I was and said, “No, it happened too fast!” That’s the story of the day, it all happened too fast. My friend was so happy for me that even she was tearing up. She was so glad to have been a part of me meeting my idol. Yogini stopped over to see if I met Kat and I said I had and she’s just beautiful. She agreed and we had our little girl moment where we said we were just so excited to have seen her. She was so happy for me and I for her; it was really nice.
Eventually, Elliot came out and signed a few autographs, but wouldn’t take any pictures. Then finally, Kellie came out and my friend went crazy. I took a picture of them, and it was the best picture EVER. They looked like best friends. I wish we could’ve gotten a picture of us with Kat and Kellie, but they weren’t out at the same time. I got a picture with Kellie too. I came out bad in it, but as long as she’s good I’m happy! Someone asked what the “G” on her sunglasses meant and Kellie thought for a second and said”…Gaban..na? Gabbana. Like Dolce and Gabbana.” Then she said, “Kat introduced me to a whole new world!” We all laughed. Kellie was so sweet without even meaning to be. So, I got to meet the entire top 10 and I got all of their autographs. How frickin’ lucky am I? I don’t know if anyone has gotten to see them all at one time. They are all sooo attractive in person. Especially Ace and Kat (Mandisa is so pretty too!). Even guys were hugging Ace. He’s just adorable, such a sweetheart. And as for Kat? Just so perfect. I wish I could’ve gotten out some words like “I’m in the Kat Pack!” or “I voted about a million times for you!” or even “You’re amazing and I love you!” Standard things to say to her, ya know. I just really was not with it – I was beyond star struck. All my plans just went out the door when I laid eyes on her.
A woman gave Ace a Syracuse basketball shirt when he was signing and asked him to wear it when he was performing. He said, “Well, we gotta see it first!” He was so nice, and for the final group number he wore it and the crowd went crazy. Syracuse takes a lot of pride in their basketball team, so it was really special for him to do that for us.
When Kat was performing I pretty much was just in awe that she was in front of me. I listened to her beautiful voice, but I just couldn’t focus on that alone. She’s so angelic and her stage presence is amazing. She really owned the stage. The newspaper the next day agreed saying she was the fan favorite. She did “BHATCT” barefoot, and then “Think” and everyone loved it. Kat was dancing all over and everyone was just eating it up. Then she did SOTHR and everyone was just captured by her and her voice. I was holding my glowstick up high, her voice was just running through me, even though it feels now like it never even happened (I swear I blacked out whenever Kat was around), I know at that moment how it felt. I was smiling from ear to ear – I was in heaven. Then, I swear, Kat saw my glowstick and waved at me. My friend saw it too and almost got a picture of it. During the group number, I was waving it around and she waved again. I really think she saw it and waved because of it. I didn’t see any other orange glowsitcks anywhere. I’ll never know for sure, but I swear she looked at me and waved. It was awesome, and I’m glad she knew a very dedicated Kat Packer was there.
When Taylor came out of the crowd he ran by my friend and I and we both hit him on the arm. Gosh, I wanted to hit him all season! JOKING! He was really energetic, and I enjoyed him this time around. He was dancing like crazy and it was really funny. Everyone was really into “Do I Make You Proud?” Even the older man next to us, who just stood there the whole concert, had his arm waving back and forth. It was nice to see that. I wasn’t a huge fan of Taylor’s this past season, but he did put on a great set. Everyone was amazing. I really enjoyed every single performer. I knew what to expect the second time around, so that took a little excitement away, but it was like a whole new experience! So much better than the Rochester show. Kat was joking and dancing with Taylor and Kellie in the group finale, it was so cute. I feel like when Kat came back everything came together for them all. Practice does make perfect I guess! The only thing was I was anticipating Kat coming on so much that I was thinking about that when the others were performing!
The only thing that went wrong the whole day was that I forgot to bring money! Of all things to forget… I will get over it I guess; even though there were about 10 things I really wanted to buy… But, I met Kat, and that’s all I really dreamed of. My friend bought me the huge poster of Kat. She had a little money. It was only $7! That’s a crazy deal. So I’m grateful for that. If that’s the only thing I can say went wrong, I’m satisfied.
Like Mandisa said, I agree that American Idol is the greatest show ever. It was so great to see fans of all ages acting like kids again. In my opinion, they should’ve ended it now. Nothing will top season 5. I really don’t need a season 6. Will I watch it? Probably, maybe, but it won’t be the same. I won’t be dialing for 2 hours straight and I won’t make an event of every Tuesday and Wednesday. I won’t beg my friends to vote for me and let me borrow their phones. There will not be another Katharine McPhee, and we sure don’t need another – we still have ours right here. She’s not going anywhere.
10 hours later, I was 10 signatures richer, and had hugged and taken a picture with my Idol, who I never ever thought I would meet. I didn’t have passes of any kind. I made my own luck that day, my own Destiny – if you will. For once in my life, it paid off. Nothing has ever gone so well for me, ever. It truly was the greatest day of my life. When I was voting for her all those weeks all that time, I never really thought I’d see her in person like that, but then again I knew that she had touched my life so much for a reason and that something was different this time. Thank you to all of you who wished me luck and helped me time everything right. As I sat reflecting on this all, I thought about the lyrics from a song I’ve heard once or twice that really summed up my experience: “The dreams that you dare to dream, really do come true.”
Thank You Katharine, for everything. Syracuse loves you and I love you! Come back SOON!