Idol – the final recap

This is the follow up to
my post about all the famous people I met after the Finale.

I promise to not de-rail this craft blog anymore with American Idol updates after this last post.

At the beginning of this season I signed up for tickets to see a taping of American Idol. It’s not hard – you just fill out a little form on their website.

After that it was all just a crap-shoot. I had a friend tell me that she signed up for tickets several years ago and TWO YEARS later got an email telling her there were tickets available for her. So I figured I had no chance and just enjoyed watching the season on TV each week.

As the season drew to a close I gave up all hope of attending the show. Then last Friday I got an email from the show saying they had tickets available for me!! For the finale!!!!

What?! The finale?!?! Holy crappers, I’m still shocked. I quickly followed the instructions in the email and got my name on a voucher for tickets.

Once I read the voucher that was then emailed to me I started getting worried that in the end I still might not make it into the theater.

“This voucher ensures that you are allowed to come down to the taping and be admitted on a first-come, first -served basis.
Admittance is not guaranteed. … We will take in as many audience members as possible from the front of the line after we have accommodated special guests or groups.”

Also it said on the voucher to arrive NO LATER than 2pm, so we figured we’d better get in line early to ensure we received our tickets.

We were going to bring our kids with us, but the voucher also said no kids under 12 were allowed, so they couldn’t come. I posted on facebook that I had two extra tickets to the show and my friend Rianna who I grew up with claimed them and actually flew from Austin, TX to come to the show for the day. (She’s hard-core!). She brought her friend Yang with her and the two of them together are seriously a walking party. F to the U to the N!

We got in line at 11am, and honestly it was the most organized process. I was really impressed. They got people through the line quickly and once we had our tickets in hand (about 30 minutes later) we were free to roam about the cabin do whatever we wanted until 3:30pm.

We were hungry and were all dressed up and in non-comfy shoes, so we opted to eat as close to the theater as we could find – Katsuya AKA really expensive (ouch) Sushi where celebs are spotted all.the.time. Unfortch we didn’t see any celebs eating Sushi.

So after that we walked around and watched TV Guide interviewing peeps on the Red Carpet. Thank god we had Rianna with us. She’s like a blood hound for celebs. Without her I wouldn’t have seen anyone. She pointed out Dr Drew from Celebrity Rehab, some crazy chick from the outtakes of American Idol, and a singer who totally is on the tip of my tongue but I can’t remember his name.

Also, the interviewers for TV Guide were Justin Guarini and Kimberly Caldwell, both contestants of previous American Idol seasons (1 and 3 respectively).

Finally we go into the theater and find our seats.

We were in the bottom yellow section right in the middle. It looks far, but they were actually GREAT seats.

Words cannot describe how amazing it was to see this show live. Not only was it the live finale to the season, but it was also Simon Cowell’s last night on the show, so they made it extra over-the-top for him.

We had no idea who would be preforming on the show, so act after act we just kept looking at each other with our jaws dropped in sheer shock. Grinning from ear to ear is an understatement. It was literally the time of my life.

The set blew me away. I sat in my seat for an hour before the show began just trying to take it all in. It is exactly like you see on tv, but totally different than you see on tv. I so wish I was allowed to bring my camera.

They have a host similar to Ryan Seacrest that entertains the audience before the show and during all commercial breaks. He was really great at it and he went around giving away free phones and iPods (I did not get one). Just seeing how a live taping works was in and of itself simply amazing, and then to add Christina Aguilera, Alanis Morissette, Janet Jackson, and a handful of others to the mix made it just off-the-hook.

There were many favorite moments for me, but I actually got teary-eyed when at the end they brought out all the past Season winners (except David Cook) and then if it wasn’t awesome enough, they filed out tons of past contestants who I have loved and adored. Seeing them all together over 9 years of shows was really moving. And Simon cried too.

You should have heard me when Ryan announced Lee the winner. I jumped out of my seat and started screaming my head off. I don’t know why I got so into Idol this season. I’m really hit or miss. I’ve missed the last 2 years of shows, but have gotten really into other seasons. I think I got so into it because I have watched it each week from Los Angeles and just knowing it was happening down the street from me made it more real.

Plus Lee’s voice is like butteh’ and I melt whenever I hear it.

And I have a crush on him.

Someone asked me if I just love American Idol or if I love music as well. I LOVE music. I was in the choir at school from 6th grade through college. I never missed a year. I LOVED it. I miss it. I own all the Karaoke games for the PS2 and Wii – and I like to sing them even when I’m home by myself. I play music on my iPod almost all day. I can’t stand my house to be silent.

Music takes me away to another place. I connect more with music than with anything else – including crafting. I listen to music to give me inspiration when I craft and do projects.

My favorite music is generally the Top 40 pop stuff, but I love most every style of music depending on my mood. My iPod is generally on shuffle and it isn’t uncommon for me to go from a Miley Cyrus song, to Country, followed by a Broadway musical, and then maybe a song from Slumdog Millionaire or a classical piece. But I really love anything that has a dance beat or has lyrics that really move me.

I also play the piano. I’m not amazing or great at it and I refuse to ever accompany anyone, I am not the best beat-keeper, and I really only prefer to play songs that are radio hits that I can sing along with. But I can sight-read music and if I’m really stressed out or just want to unwind, I’ll usually go straight to my piano. My favorite’s lately are all my Dixie Chicks song books.

So, the answer to the question is yes. Yes, I love American Idol. And yes, I love music and am very musically centered.

But I also love celebrities. 😉 I secretly wish I was an amazing singer so that I could combine the two things I love – singing and celebrities. If I could be a famous pop singer I would have died and gone straight to heaven.

Some people think American Idol is l-a-m-e. Whatever. I love it and my experience going to the finale was literally life-altering and I will carry this amazing memory with me for the rest of my life.

I never felt so old than I did this year when I realized I was too old to try out for American Idol. Not like I actually would try out, but knowing I am now too old to try out even if I wanted to? Wow. I don’t feel that old. I feel hip enough to be on the show. But I guess considering I’ll be THIRTY on Tuesday, I’ve officially jumped the shark.

I haven’t loved living in LA. In fact I’ve been counting down the days in my calendar until I move (4 weeks), but getting to have this American Idol experience has made it totally worth it.

Yay for Lee!!!