Mariah Week on American Idol (Part 2)

5. Because my good friend Nico works for the show, and he's real friendly and everyone loves him, not only did we (me and Michelle, his girlfriend) get tickets (pretty good seats too, thanks to Kathleen Sheets!) and not have to line up for hours at the main gate, the guard gave us these VIP wristbands too, which gave us access to the VIP room, this little lounge where they serve refreshments and some food while you wait for the show to start. All we had was water coz by the time the food came, it was almost time for the show. I wish I tried the food, though, just because it would've added to my whole American Idol experience: yknow, knowing what they serve VIPs, tasting what they serve VIPs, the actual experience of having eaten what they serve VIPs. Hahah. Nico also showed us the show's production area where they... I dunno, plan the show and do all the work, I guess. The performers/contestants aren't allowed in that area, so I guess it was cool that we got to see it. Met quite a lot of people working on the show, none of whose names I remember (except a Bristish guy named Joe because he was the first one I met and Kathleen coz she was the one who hooked us up with the tickets and she had a nice sweater). I also met the idols' voice coach, which was awesome. Gobbled down a slice of pizza and a cookie from the pantry too: got a taste of the food the production staff eat. Hahah.

6. After the show, there's a sort of little meet and greet line at a studio entrance. Nothing big, just an awning and and some ropes behind which fans could wait. Yes, I did the whole fan/tourist thing, and why not? I am a fan and a tourist. I met David Hernandez before heading to that area, and then I met Mr. Brooke White (Brooke's husband, who joked, "My last name isn't even "White." But yknow what, maybe I should start a website, mrbrookewhite.com."), whom I recognized before Nico even said who he has because he's shown on TV a lot. I didn't get a picture with him, but I wish I did, coz he's cute and semifamous. And I don't mean cute like I like him. I just mean cute like... he and Brooke are adorable. I wish I coulda had a picture of me sandiwched in between them, kind of like their Asian adopted child, only about the same age as them. Hahah. And I met most of the remaining idols (with the exception of little David because he was there for like a second), Chikezie too, and had pictures with them, yay! The judges and Ryan didn't come out, though. Woulda wanted a picture with Simon. Ahhahahah. Fun fun.

7. The show, just like this post (including part 1), was not done in order. Well, not entirely, anway. The show went in this order (I think):

• a) Top 7 performance
• b) Jason, big David, Carly, and Kristy were called out
• c.1) Elliott Yamin's performance
• c.2) Syesha and Brooke were called out
• d.1) Phone calls to American Idol
• d.2) Mariah Carey's performance
• e) Little David was called out, and the bottom 3 was announced
• f) Someone (not saying in case someone hasn't watched yet) sang one last time

*Items with the same letter were shown as one segment, meaning, no commercial break in between.

But this is the order it really happened:

• a. Mariah's performance (d.2: pretaped)
• b. Calls to American Idol (d.1: pretaped)
• c. The rest of it, in the order shown (live)

Ahhah! So, I don't know why they pretaped the performance. Maybe so that they could redo it if something went wrong or if it sucked. Or maybe so Mariah could leave early, perhaps so she could avoid any run-ins with the audience and the little people working on the show on her way out. As for the calls, apparently they always pretape them in case a caller says something nasty that they wanna edit out. So much for live TV. Also, they ask everyone to hold up their posters before taping the live stuff in case there are any mean messages. Case in point: there was one person whose sign read, "Bye-bye Kristy." Mean! I actually agree, but I wouldn't do that.

A glitch! Seen on TV! And I don't know if I only noticed coz I was there when they taped it, but here it is.

So, they taped bMariah's performance, with a platform to one side for the drums, a platform to the other side for the guitar and keyboards, three mic stands just a little behind and to the side of Mariah for the backup singers, Mariah's bling-embedded mic stand front and center, and the idols on the couch. There was a break, all the equipment was taken out and replaced by a small table with a phone and laptop, and the idols left the stage and then returned to the couch but sat in a different order. And then they aired the two segments continuously and in reverse order.

The results:

• a) During the calls, Carly and big David were seated next to each other somewhere in the middle of the couch. Camera on Ryan to introduce Mariah, camera back on the idols clapping, and all of a sudden, big David is in the middle of the couch, and Carly is on the end. The excuse: they could have switched around during those couple seconds. Really, they could have!
• b) During the calls, there was a table with a laptop and a phone onstage. Camera on Ryan to introduce Mariah, camera on the idols clapping, camera back on centerstage, and all of a sudden, in a matter of seconds, there's a drumset, keyboards, guitars, musicians and backup singers, and Mariah's glittering mic stand. The excuse: maybe the calls and the performance happened on different stages/areas of the stage. The calls were flashed on a screen, and Mariah's album cover (I think) was flashed on a screen (that split open to reveal her diva-ness, and out she came carrying her glittering mic), but hey, it might not have been the same screen, right? Maybe the two stages both had screens. Very possible.

Ahh, movie/TV magic.

8. When Carly was called out from backstage, people cheered. When people were done cheering, some crazy person yelled, "You're awesome!" although the words didn't come out so clearly on TV. The reason I know what was said even if it wasn't clear was because that crazy person was me. Me! I was heard on national (international!) TV! By millions of people! It's not much, but hey, it's a start. Ahh. The whole hand model thing (watch Zoolander) comes to mind. Only, my claim is more pathetic, and I didn't get paid to do what I did. But it was wonderful and such fun!

Hmm... maybe next week I'll wear a sweet little cocktail dress and get all dolled up (it seems to be a requirement for the moshpit) and line up at the main gate. Hahah.