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Hey Everyone,
I went to the live taping of American Idol last Wednesday, & was shown on TV when Ryan Seacrest walks out...the video is posted here along with my review & behind the scenes details from the show...enjoy!
So we get to LA, with not too much traffic & we drive to the studio first before we go to get something to eat. We see that the line for Idol is kinda long, so we ate at a restaurant near the studio. We had planned on eating at a cool restaurant off of Rodeo Drive, but that would have been further away from the studio & taken more time. Anyways, we are SOOO lucky that we didn't drive further away to go eat or shop...because long story short we were the last people let into the studio!!!!!! Ahhh! After waiting 3 1/2 hours in line, the guy came out to check off tickets, & he stopped at a few people infront of us...and we were like "oh crap" and we heard from other people in line, that their friends went to the show the day before, & got all the way backstage, & then they were told there wasn't enough room, because a lot of the people with VIP tickets showed up. So finally the guy comes back, and he's talking with us, and he says "Ok I'll let you girls in"...so we got in! And all 150 people behind us had to go home : ( So we go on the lot, & we are now backstage, & they give everyone a sticker that let's them in the studio. When they gave us our stickers they wrote a "G" on them. So we were like "hmmm".... & we notice that not everyone has a "G" on their sticker. Then a producer says "Ok I need everyone with a 'G' on their sticker to line up here!" So we lined up....Then it becomes really obvious, really quickly, that everyone with a letter "G" is "good looking" lol....& that everyone who didn't have a "G" wasn't dressed up or anything etc. So we were all like "ok what's up with this"....but this has happened when I've gone to other live tapings of TV shows. When we went to "America's Got Talent" they did the same thing!! So we were like "dude the crew on tv shows must think we're cute if they keep putting us in good spots" lol. Ok, so then the producer comes back and said "Ok everyone with a letter 'G', follow me!" So everyone with a letter "G" got to go in first! There was this lady with 3 kids, and the producers said to her "is it ok if you and your kids are separated during the show? We can get the kids right up front but we'll have to sit you further back cause you're taller" And she's like "Ok." Well, the ladies 3 kids all got to go up to the front in the mosh pit with us & they put the mom in the stands, but my mom got to come with us to the mosh pit, cause my mom was dressed all cute etc. And my Mom was taller than the other lady, so the kids were like "wait, why doesn't my mom get to come " So my mom was talking to the other mom and she's like "don't worry we'll keep an eye on them" cause the mom was worried about just letting her kids go up front etc. So it's just weird how the producers seat you etc. And then, a producer physically walks us exactly where they want us to stand!!! So everyone with a letter "G" is hand-placed into the audience by a producer. They placed us in the mosh-pit, right at the stage & right next to the judges table!!! We stood right next to Randy Jackson! There was a white line, right next to the stairs where they walk up to go sit down, & I couldn't cross the white line, because then their body guards would freak lol. So a thin white line, and two feet separated Randy Jackson & I! So all I had to do was reach my hand out, & shake his hand...I was literally that close to the judges!! Oh... while we were waiting backstage with all the "G" people, the producers gave us candy...good candy too! They gave us "100 Grand" & "Nestle" candies...all with american idol sponsored contests on the packaging...& they even gave us all water! I've never been to a live taping where they were so nice to the audience! Ok so when we were inside, we were right next to the judges, and we talked to them throughout commercial breaks! Randy is SO nice!!! He is really "calm, cool & collected" that's the best way I can describe him...he's just a cool laid back dude! Paula is seriously like only 5ft tall! She was extremely nice, and she came down & hugged everyone in the mosh-mit, and told everyone that she loved them, lol. And Simon, he's actually really friendly!!! Not to mention, he's handsome for an older dude! I never thought he was cute, but after seeing him in person, we were all like "wow Simon is actually cute!" for an old dude, that is. lol. He totally thinks he's super hot though...during commercial breaks, he sits on the judges table & kinda poses lol. He would talk to us and wink & smile. He was so friendly! If we would have been allowed to bring in cell phones, I would have had pics with all the judges cause they were all right next to me. PS: Simon and Ryan really don't hate each other...they talk & joke throughout the show, & their big joke is "how much they hate each other"....so it was funny to see them interact. All 3 judges have their own bodyguards lol. In the video when you see me next to Ryan Seacrest, you can see a tall bald guy standing behind us...he is Simon's bodyguard lol. So the show starts, & Ryan introduces the show, from the stage, & then he comes walking through the crowd & he walks right to us!!! It was so cool! He made eye contact with me for what felt like forever...it was like he was thinking "do I stop here or keep walking"...& we didn't really know what to do, cause he was looking at us like "come interact in this camera shot" but we didn't want to get closer to him cause the body guards were all right there. So it was funny how that eye contact felt like a long time, but when you see us on TV it all goes by so quickly. But the eye contact was all made before you can see us on TV. My mom was standing right next to me, & for some reason you can't see her in the opening shot when Ryan walks right to us. It must have been the camera angle. But you can see me, and then for a second you can see my sister in a pink dress. Throughout the show you can see my Mom, my sister and I dancing when they show shots of the crowd, you just have to look for us right near the judges table next to Randy. Syesha is awesome singing in person! It was totally obvious that David Cook and David Archuleta were safe! David Archuleta was just the same ol' same ol' ...same facial expressions etc. But he is also much cuter in person! He too is very sweet and humble so you can't help but want to root for him! Jason was way cute in person! Normally I can't get past his "dreads"... but he is much cuter in person, & his smile is awesome! The contestants interact with the audience a lot, & during all the commercial breaks they would talk to us from the couch & wave etc. They are super friendly. Both the Davids joke around with each other during commercial breaks so that's fun. David Cook would grab David Archuletas hand and make him wave all funky and stuff. And then Archuleta would do the same thing to Cook, it was funny. Brooke was SOOO happy when she found out she was safe & in the commercial break, I waved to her and looking right at me she said: "I thought I was going home" & then she was on the couch & she laid on it and hugged it lol We saw simon's girlfriend Teri & she seems really nice. David cook is much cuter in person! Brooke is just totally fun and sweet, you can't help but wanna root for her after seeing her live. Syesha is a great singer!! Everyone in the audience, was like "whoa she can really sing!" Ryan is way hotter in person, and really friendly. Randy was the only one to have his "makeup" touched up during the show, so that was funny. Randy is friggin' pimp man! He has so much bling going on! Even his shoes are super pimp, he was wearing these shiny shoes that would normally be worn with a tux, but he was wearing denim lol. Oh and I'm pretty sure water is in their cups not Coke lol. Brooke's husband seems totally sweet and nice... he was sitting down right behind simon. JoJo (Recording Artist & Disney star) was there...she was so sweet & a girl told her that she looked pretty, & she said "thanks, so do you" so that was sweet. And Abigale from "Little Miss Sunshine" was there, & she was so sweet too! The staircases on both sides of the stage, where the idols somtimes walk down, are ridiculously steep, they are pretty much straight up and down!! We were all like, dude how do they walk down those & sing at the same time, & in high heels! No joke, they are pretty much 100% vertical with a very small curve, to make the allusion of a spiral stair case. Oh, when the fire came up during Leona Lewis' performance, we could feel the heat from the flames...And we weren't like right there, but even the judges were like "OH MY GOSH"...we could all feel the heat. So they did a test run, right before the show, so we all wouldn't look so scared if they just did it in the show all of a sudden...and even when they did it in the show, we were all still like "WHOA" cause there was so much heat from it. During commercial breaks, the MC guy gets everyone SOOO pumped up it's crazy! He got big old guys dancing all provocative on stage, & getting "low low low" to the song "low" by Flo Rida. They gave away itunes gift cards for 10 song downloads, & then they gave this one kid Guitar Hero 3. And the MC guy said "oh yeah, there's a reason why it's opened" & the kids goes "huh?" and the MC guy says "yeah, it's open because all of the idols just signed it backstage!" So that was awesome! Oh Nigel Lythgo was there, he's the dancing with the stars dude & one of the creators of idol. He is randomly everywhere on the set...it's like "dude where the heck did you come from." He just like pops up..he also has a broken arm so he was trying to get pitty lol. And then here' s the really weird part... right after Carly was told that she's eliminated, they show the highlight "tribute" video to her. And during that video, the stage manager of the show, Debbie, comes up there & Ryan, Carly and Syesha are there...so then Nigel randomly comes up & they are watching the tribute video....then nigel pushes on Syeshas back...pushing her towards the couch like "you're safe, you don't need to stand here & watch this" ...it was so funky...it's like "go away Nigel" I don't think he meant anything by it, & I don't think she thought he meant anything but it was like "oh Nigel get out of here" It was really shocking when Carly got kicked off, everyone thought that Jason & Brooke would be in the bottom two, & that Jason would go home. So when Syesha & Carly were in the bottom two, everyone was like "what!?" Anyways, the show was awesome, just full of fun, dancing, and laughs. We got out of the show and people were pulling over & stopping traffic to ask us "WHO GOT KICKED OFF OF IDOL?" because they saw us with our Idol stickers on & our posters and people were honking & screaming "DRIVE!!!!!" & then they saw that the person pulling over was asking us about idol and then they pulled over too! It was a great show and so much fun, and all the contestants are really talented and really friendly, I hope everyone can have a fun experience with the show like we did! My favorites on the show are: David Cook, Brooke White, & David Archuleta. We yelled "We love you David" for both David's and yelled for Brooke, but you could only hear when we yelled for Brooke right before she was told that she's safe. And Ryan paused & Brooke says "love you too" real quick...honestly, all the contestants are awesome! It was an awesome show! Here's a video of us on the show:
Here's a screen capture of us on the show...you can see my sister in the pink dress next to me, & you can barely see my mom's hair next to me:
Ryan Seacrest & I:
^Thanks Mark for the above high quality screen caps.
Our pass for the show: