Karen's Annual Idol Tour Review - 7.24.07. in San Jose, CA

[Karen*]

I just like posting these every year. It's REAAAALLY long and detailed and me just kinda rambling, so be forewarned!

PICS (PLEASE do NOT repost anywhere else without permission!): http://s185.photobucket.com/albums/x...n%20Jose%20CA/

VIDEO MONTAGE: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3womwPxZdqc

American Idols Live Tour
July 24, 2007
HP Pavilion, San Jose, CA

My sister, her friend, and I arrived at the venue at around 12:40PM in order to try to meet the Idols. I was afraid we were going to be late but turned out we were right on time, as we saw the Idols’ tour buses arrive about fifteen minutes later. There was only about twenty fans by the gates, so we wouldn’t have to fight much people. It must’ve been about half-an-hour or so later when the first Idol, Phil Stacey, came out to meet fans. I felt kind of stupid for constantly asking him to sign my magazine and pose for a pic with me because hella people beat me to it. But eventually, I got my turn. He wore cool shoes, so we told him that and he said thanks. He didn’t really talk a lot, but overall he was nice to be around.

The next Idol to come out, about another twenty minutes later, was my favorite of the season, Chris Richardson! Everyone started screaming and freaking out like crazy, quite a few people were there for him. Well, he couldn’t exactly come out because security wouldn’t let him for some reason. =( So he had to do his signings and taking pictures through the gate. He was just…so incredibly sweet and adorable! He really interacted with all the fans. With me he greeted me with a “How are you” and then he just randomly told me and everyone else around me “I hope you all enjoy the show.” Ha ha, it was so cute! His Southern accent is so squee-worthy! Then I asked him if Blake was going to come out anytime soon and he said that he should be, but he was still on the bus. Although it turned out that he didn’t come out at all! =p Then he signed the group pic I printed out for my sister and he made some comment about how cheesy his smile was and that he looked nauseous. I asked him “Was it because Gina was grabbing your butt?” and he was like “Yeah, I think that’s why I’m smiling like that!” Haha! He went through the line and made sure everyone got an autograph and pic. He even went back to pose for a couple more pics with some girl who was celebrating her birthday – lucky betch! =p Oh yeah, he blinked in my pic! =( I was going to ask him to take another one with me, but he left before I could ask. I just figured that maybe if I wait after the show, I could meet him again and take another pic with him. My sister and I wanted to meet him again so bad! He was just wonderful. That’s why he’s my Idol. <3

My favorite girl of AI6, Gina Glocksen, was the next (And unfortunately, the last one) Idol to come out. I don’t think security wanted her out either, but she asked the lady if she could and she let her out. I guess Chris failed to do that one. But that was nice of the both of them! Anyway, Gina is so so so so so damn sweet! She gets close to everyone when posing for pics. I asked her for a hug and told her she was one of my favorites this season and she was like “Thank you so much! I really appreciate your support!” Aaaahhh, she’s sweet AND she’s a good hugger. And she’s so cute and adorkable! When she came out, she had no makeup on and she was wearing a hat and she like…threw her head back and covered her face and screamed “I look like a boy!!!!” Haha, OMG. Honestly, it was true. But she still looked really pretty! Anyway, I love love love Gina and I’m so glad I got to meet her. She’s wonderful.

Everyone waited around for a couple more hours to see if any more Idols would come out. A security guard said they were expecting about 3 or 4 more people to come out, but the Pop-Tarts pre-show M&G was going to start soon, so once I saw they were letting people in for that, I knew no one else would be coming out for sure. As I walked around the corner to find a place to buy food, I saw the people in charge of the M&G standing nearby. Being the obsessed Idol fan that I am, I actually asked if they had any extra passes and they said they were only for Pop-Tarts employees and their families. Then I told them that I had a belated birthday gift for Blake and I wanted to give it to him in person but they still wouldn’t let me have one. One of the guys said I could give him the gift though and he’d get it to Blake. Ugh, I really wanted to give it to him in person but whatever. I didn’t wanna carry that around all night and just in case I didn’t meet Blake later on, it seemed to be the best bet. (It was a white baseball cap with a pic of California on it and it said Bay Area in big letters across it) I continued to look around the area to find a restaurant but I couldn’t find one! With an hour to spare, I just figured we’d buy the expensive arena food. >.< When we got in line, there was a hella annoying religious solicitor dude on a megaphone talking about Jesus and stuff. And when we were all going inside, he actually criticized us for “worshipping” these Idols like they were God. o_0 Seriously, I wanted to like gag him or something. Just to **** him off, I yelled “Chris Richardson is God!” I don’t think he heard me, but I had to do it. It made me feel JUST a little bit better. =D

When we got inside I immediately made a run for the merchandise booth, where I bought a program, a keychain, a top 10 poster, and 8x10’s of Chris and Blake. I wanted to go find my sister and her friend, but I couldn’t find them anywhere and my sister wouldn’t pick up her phone. So I went downstairs to find my seats, just to see how close I was. I got FLR 2, row 10 from the Ticketmaster Premium Seat Auction early last month. Turned out it was really like sitting in the fifth row since the stage setup was weird, so DAMN I was HELLA close! After taking in the cool and close view, I got up to get some food. Then I met Christian from IDF (Hi if you’re reading this!)! He was sitting in the same row as me! We talked just a little bit before I went upstairs to buy a couple of hot dogs and a soda. After I ate, I met up with my friend and we went downstairs to go back to our seats.

We sat for about twenty minutes till the show started. I let her know that I heard Blake was taking on janitor disguises before the show, so if she saw one on stage, then it was him. Well, we didn't see a janitor, but we saw a couple of the venue workers on stage and Nicole pointed to one on the left and said “I think that’s him.” The guy was wearing a long black wig and had a super fluffy mustache and he kept on playing with his hair. She was like … “Who does that?” Yeah, it was definitely him. We tried to get his attention by screaming his name, staring him down, and holding pics of him up, but it all failed.

So the guy took his wig and mustache off and what do you know, it was Blake! Then the rest of the top 10 came out to perform the opening song, “Let’s Get it Started.” It was just a lot of fun to watch (Phil rapping was kinda cool and funny!) and it really set the energetic vibe for the rest of the night.

Melinda Doolittle and Lakisha Jones then came out in their pretty little “Dreamgirls” – like dresses to sing a Diana Ross/Supremes mash-up. They sounded really good, but even better when Chris Rich, clad and looking fly in a suit, came out to join them for “I Heard it Through the Grapevine.”

Then Melinda stayed on stage and Sanjaya Malakar came out to join her on “Proud Mary.” They both sounded really good and they both had so much fun! I loved it when Sanjaya unraveled part of Melinda’s skirt to reveal her legs! It was so hilarious and oh, Melinda looked really sexy!

Phil then came out to sing his solo, “Blaze of Glory.” OMG … it was seriously awesome! He sounded so great! Nicole said that he glanced at me while he sang! LOL!

Chris Sligh and Gina came out next to sing Fall Out Boy’s “Thanks for the Memories.” (The song doesn’t spell it like that, but whateva) I love the song and it was a great performance, but they sounded just okay.

They then introduced Haley Scarnato, who got the opportunity to sing the song she wanted to sing for country week had she stayed, Martina McBride’s “When God Fearin’ Women Get the Blues.” She sounded average, nothing special. She was my least favorite from the top 10 this season and seeing her live didn’t make me like her more at all. Oh well. Fun song.

Then the phenomenon known as Sanjaya made his solo appearance! I still don’t think his voice is that great, but he sounded slightly better than he did on the show with “The Way You Make Me Feel,” and he still has that charisma and stage presence he acquired as the show progressed. I loved watching the guy! He just has a great time whenever he’s on that stage! I think he was trying JUST a little bit too hard to be sexy with those dance moves though!

Sligh was up next with his solo, “Typical.” He sounded wonderful! I think the performance aspect was better when he sang it on the show, but he had a really great voice performing it here! I liked it a lot.

Gina, Lakisha, and Haley then came out much-less-skimpier-than-in-Moulin Rouge attire to sing “Lady Marmalade.” They sounded really great together and it was such a cute and sassy performance! I could never get sick of that song!

Then I think Sligh came back to introduce C-Rich and Jordin Sparks for their duet of “What Hurts the Most.” I saw a couple of videos of this performance on YouTube and seriously, I couldn’t get enough of it and me being able to experience it live was such a blessing. Jordin and Chris sounded really beautiful together and Chris! OMG…many of the IDF SexyPackers wanted him to sing this song on country week, including myself, so I was really pleased to see and hear that it was as sweet and beautiful as I always heard it to be … maybe even better! I just LOVED this duet. It made me even wanna cry a little bit! It was just amazing.

Then Jordin stayed while Melinda came out again to sing “This Will Be (an Everlasting Love).” They sounded gorgeous together – I always loved their friendship, but turns out they make wonderful duet partners too!

We then heard some quiet beatboxing in the background and who else can beatbox like that but the man himself – Blake Lewis! And he looked as gorgeous as ever … I stared with googly eyes for a while just before I could bring myself to pay attention to his performance! He opened his solo set with “Time of the Season,” which was wonderful. Then he sang “She Will Be Loved” while he was on his guitar and his loop pedals. OMG … seriously. One of the hands-down BEST performances of the night for me. It was BEAUTIFUL. He sang it with so much heart and passion … like, you really felt like he was singing only to you! I loved how he mixed in U2’s “With or Without You.” It made it even better! Then he put the loop pedals and guitar away and showcased some of his signature beatboxing before he started “You Give Love a Bad Name.” I actually liked it better when he sang it on the show, but he was still amazing on this one! Of course, he had to make me googly eyed again as he arm-humped the mic and mic stand during the slow parts. Then he just BURSTED with energy as he ran across both ends of the stage during the chorus! The rest of the guys came out to join him near the end. Then they announced a 20-minute intermission, where Nicole and I got into a really long line just to buy a drink. The second act started when we were still in line and when we got back to our seats, a guy and his little girl were sitting in them. So we showed them our tickets and told them we were still sitting there.

With that being said, I missed a little bit of whatever patriotic song Phil and the girls were singing and I don’t really have anything to say on it other than I really liked their costumes!

Then all the boys came out on instruments (Phil on keyboards, Sligh on guitar, Blake on electric guitar, Sanjaya on guitar and tambourine, and Chris on drums!) to perform Gnarls Barkley’s “Crazy” and “Hey Jude” I loved it so much! The guys have amazing chemistry together and hey, my little fantasy about Cake being in a band together kind of came true!

Then Gina, who got amazing reception from the crowd throughout the show, I must say, sang her solo, Pink’s “Who Knew.” Again, this was another performance that made me feel sappy! Her voice just really seared through me on this one and she really knew how to work the crowd! I’m so proud of my girl! She rocked it!

Then it was OMFGCAKEDUETTIME! Chris appeared on stage on guitar to sing “Ain’t No Sunshine” then Blake joined him by beatboxing. Then Chris got to showcase some of his own beatboxing as they performed together on some of their best performances on the show, “Virtual Insanity” and “Geek in the Pink.” I really wish I got more pics of this, but it was really difficult cuz they were moving around so much! But really, I just wanted to take it all in and ENJOY it. I mean, HELLO! It’s Cake! I love them! They really burned up the stage with that crazy-awesome medley and of course, they warmed my heart. CAKE FTW FOREVER.

Then they introduced Lakisha, who gave one of the best performances of the night (IMO) and received a standing ovation from the crowd for her solo of “I Will Always Love You.” She. Was. PHENOMENAL. She did amazingly well on those high notes, they were almost flawless, I think! If she sang that on the show, she’d definitely have a moment along the ranks of “And I Am Telling You…” and “This Ain’t a Love Song” ! Great job, KiKi!

After Chris performed in many group numbers, it was time for his solo with “This Love.” Unbiasedly, I have to say I liked it better than Blake’s version! It’s tough to explain! I think the song was more suited for Chris’s voice than Blake’s, I guess! Anyway, C-Rich sounded pretty close to perfection on this one. I don’t know if it’s possible to love him anymore than I do already!

Sanjaya and Haley then joined Chris for “Life is a Highway.” It was a fun performance and it’s another one of my favorite songs, but they sounded kind of odd together! It wasn’t bad though.

Then both Jordin and Miss Melinda Doolittle came out together and talked about their girls’ nights together and just how close they were. It was really adorable! Like I mentioned before, I’ve always loved their friendship! Jordin then allowed Melinda to take the stage for her solo, “(You Make Me Feel Like a) Natural Woman.” Like KiKi, Mindy got AMAZING reception from the crowd and honestly, how could she not? Her powerful voice sounded as perfect as ever. I enjoyed it a lot!

Then all the girls except Jordin sang “Ain’t No Other Man,” which was another cute and sassy performance by the ladies!

Finally, the American Idol of 2007, Miss Jordin Sparks arrived for her solo set. She kicked it off with “I Who Have Nothing.” Like some other performances, I enjoyed her versions on the show better, but she still sounded great. I knew her voice was strained, because when she talked earlier, she didn’t sound good at all. Then she sang “Heartbreaker,” which was so damn FIERCE! Whoever says Jordin can only sing ballads would’ve been in for a rude awakening! Her voice sounded so strong here and the performance was so energetic. Then she slowed it down by getting on acoustic guitar and singing Jewel’s “You Were Meant for Me.” She received really good reception from the crowd with this performance. It was good! Then she sang “A Broken Wing" , which was one of my favorite performances from her during the night. Again, even though her voice was strained, I was impressed with how she went for those high notes and still sounded amazing! Next was “Livin’ on a Prayer.” I reaaaalllly didn’t like this one much, LOL. But she had fun and so did the crowd! Finally, after a quick dress change, she came back for the encore, singing her coronation song, “This is My Now.” She sounded beautiful and it reminded us of why she was America’s pick to win – she owned that song!

After she left the stage, each of the other ten finalists came back out to reprise part of their solos, with Jordin closing it out with “This is My Now” yet again. The group took their bows, with winner Jordin and runner-up Blake taking the very last ones together. As soon as the house lights went back on, I kind of spontaneously yelled out “Awwww, it’s over already?” It went by so fast! But time flies when you’re having fun, right?

Nicole and I chilled a little bit inside before we went back out to the lobby to meet my sister and friend. Then we grabbed some free Pop-Tarts and met our ride (Nicole’s boyfriend) outside. We wanted to stay to see if we could meet more Idols, but we didn’t wanna wait outside, so we just hung out nearby in the car. We weren’t going to go through with it, but I’m so glad we did!

We heard people screaming not even like ten minutes later and Nicole said she thought Blake had come out. So we kinda ran back out and saw that it was Phil, haha! We decided just to take another pic with him. We posed for one (With funny faces!) but Alvin didn’t know how to work the camera, so we ended up not taking it! Oh well, at least I got one with him earlier!

All of this happened right after BLAKE came out! Everyone started screaming (Including Phil!) when he did, it was kinda insane! I was worried that everyone would start ignoring Phil and pay more attention to Blake, but since B was on the other side from my side, it was no problem at all. Then less than a minute later, CHRIS came out! OMG, I just about died! CAKE!!!! LOL. Melinda followed Chris about five minutes later. So I was going to meet four Idols, and two that I didn’t meet yet!

Melinda was the second person I met after Phil. The lady beside me gave her a lei from Hawaii, so Mindy got lei’d! LOL. Anyway, Melinda looked so pretty! She was so sweet! I told her I liked her hair and she said thanks, but acknowledged it was her Whitney wig. I also told her she was a good mama to Jordin after she let us all know she wasn’t feeling well and that she tried to feed her everything. She was like “I try!” I love that girl and I love how she loves her fans!

Then I met Blake! I didn’t even wanna ask him if I could take a pic with him just cuz I’ve heard all these really not-so-nice stories about him, but thank God other people asked. He said that he’d be able to take some quick shots as he was signing and that’s what I did, so yay! I got a pic with him! Before that I asked him if he got the gift I gave the M&G guy earlier and I let him know what it was I gave him. He said that he did and he thanked me and said it was an awesome hat! After we took our pic together, Nicole started laughing for some reason and Blake was like, “Hey, I like that giggle.” So now Nicole has a crush on Blake, woo hoo! Anyway, in light of some of the bad stuff I’ve been hearing about him, I’m so glad I had a sweet experience with him. He really is a great guy and now I know first-hand that he can be awesome to his fans!

The last Idol I met for the night was Chris Richardson…again. What? I can’t get enough of the guy, and I just had to tell him he did amazingly well! So I told him that after I got another pic with him and that was about it…I wanted to hug him but he kinda passed over me before he left. But it’s all good! I got to meet my Idol, even got to say a couple of small things to him, and I got TWO pics with him! Haha. We’ll probably meet again when he has his own shows. I didn’t really wanna stay since I already met all the Idols I wanted to meet, so we went home and arrived there just a little bit before midnight.

WOW. I know it’s a bit of an overstatement but this was seriously one of the best nights I’ve ever had in my life. When you’re there in the arena with the Idols, you just get entranced and have fun with them as they perform and you forget about all the negative things going on in your life. I knew I was going to have a blast no matter what, but being so close to the stage and meeting some of the Idols definitely made it better! Waiting for 12 hours in 80+ degree weather was so worth it! I got to meet my LOVES Chris and Blake (And I wanted to meet them so badly!), my INSPIRATION Gina, and the amazingly sweet, humble, and talented Melinda and Phil! But being there was a blessing in itself. The entire show was amazing! I’ve only been to the AI concerts since season 4, but out of those three, I definitely had the most fun at this one! The group numbers were a lot of fun and you can sense the chemistry and how close this year’s crop of contestants were. The solos allowed us to see how the contestants have developed since the show and allowed them to have their own moments in the spotlight. Some of my personal favorite numbers from this year’s concert:

- Phil Stacey – “Blaze of Glory”
- Jordin and Chris – “What Hurts the Most”
- Blake – “She Will Be Loved”
- Gina – “Who Knew”
- Chris and Blake – “Ain’t No Sunshine” / “Virtual Insanity” / “Geek in the Pink”
- Chris – “This Love”
- Lakisha – “I Will Always Love You”
- Melinda – “Natural Woman”
- Jordin – “A Broken Wing”
- Jordin – “This is My Now”
- Closing medley

Everything worked out so perfectly for me that night … thank you so much to everyone who helped make this possible! This is one awesome experience I’m proud to have had and I will never forget it. Thank you and good luck Idols! You all have proven you can do so much and I wish you nothing but the best in life! For some of you I’ll be rooting you on as you finally get your careers started!

To the next batch of AI contestants: See you next year!

[Stormtracker TF]

I already said so on IDF, but thanks for the review. Sounds like you had a really awesome time.

[Karen*]

Originally Posted by Stormtracker TF

I already said so on IDF, but thanks for the review. Sounds like you had a really awesome time.

You're welcome TF! Thanks for reading!

[Karen*]

Pics are up!

[Cactus Jack]

Sounds awesome!

[I Love John Ritter]

Congrats! Thanks for sharing

[Karen*]

Thanks Jack and Cassandra for your comments.