On a whim, I signed up for American Idol tickets online months ago. I didn't expect that I would ever actually get tickets, especially as the season was coming to a close. Late one night I checked my email before going to bed and discovered that our names had come up on the waitlist and we had tickets for the finale! I didn't think we actually could pull it off, especially since it was just a few days away, but we decided that this might be an opportunity of a lifetime and decided to give it a shot. Mike's mom graciously agreed to take time off work and come from Utah to stay with Brayden and Emma. Mike and I haven't had getaway just the two of us since Brayden was born five years ago. I called my sister, Ashlee - the biggest American Idol fan I know, or, more specifically, the biggest David Achuleta fan I know - and asked her if she and her husband would like to have the other two tickets. We were thrilled that they were able to join us and she was thrilled for the chance to see her "idol" in person. We decided to make the drive to save the cost of buying a last minute ticket. We arrived in SoCal in record time, especially without any kid-related pit stops. Mike, the Priceline Guru, found us killer deal right downtown L.A. at the Westin Bonaventure, a company that I used to work for. We drove around Beverly Hills and walked Rodeo Drive; strolled the beach in Malibu; saw the hand-prints at Mann's Chinese Theatre; walked the Hollywood Walk of Fame; and ate dinner on the Santa Monica pier. The day of the performance, we stood in the ticket line at about 4 hours outside, and then about two more hours in the lobby of Nokia Theatre. While we were waiting in line, several news crews were interviewing people in line. I did not want to talk to any of them and was literally hiding behind Mike when one guy stuck a microphone in my face and asked, "So, OLDER people like Simon too, right???" I was STUNNED! Seriously, did that guy just call me OLD? I did not know how to respond! I think I said something like, "Uh, sure..." Gratefully, I think it was just a small-time Internet production.
After standing in line for so long, we were SO excited to be let into the theatre, which was quite impressive in person. Because we arrived so early, we were one of the lucky few to be allowed into the rehearsal performance. This was my favorite part of our whole trip. We were sitting directly behind the judges seats, about six rows back (in all the seats that the celebs sat in during the live performance). The rehearsal was almost exactly like the actual performance except they had a producer on the stage directing things as they should go, and they repeated a few sequences. The funniest thing about it was that they has look-alike judges standing in for Randy, Paula, and Simon. Paula's look-alike even wore a wig and gave the EXACT SAME LINES that Paula gave in the actual performance! The footage from the rehearsal performances is actually what they use for the recap at the end of the show. (If you noticed during David A.'s performance of "Imagine", there were stars in the background during the recap, but not during the actual performance. And Mike says you can hear me do a "WOO!" during the recap one of David C.'s songs. REALLY!) Nigel Lythgoe, the A.I. producer, actually sat one row behind us. It was so amazing to see the Davids perform in person! I swear I had eye contact with David C. a few times! I felt like he was singing directly to me! Well, maybe it had little to do with the fact that the teleprompter with all the lyrics to his songs was directly over my head, but who knows!
After the AMAZING rehearsal, we went to find something to eat before the live performance. We were starving. We had not had a thing to eat since 7:30 that morning, and it was after 4:00 p.m. by the time we got out of the rehearsal. We were told that there would be concessions available, but they had run out of food! We were not allowed to leave and they confiscated all the food we had at the door. So we subsisted on Sprite until that evening at about 9:00. Mike said we should have said a prayer beforehand and called it a fast.
The live performance was so exciting! We cheered ourselves hoarse for our respective Davids (for the sake of sibling rivalry, I claimed to be cheering for David C., even though I love 'em both). Our seats were still on the orchestra level, but at the back. After the show, we hung out for a little while and were able to get into a gated area near where the other Idol contenders were doing interviews. We were able to get quite close to them and got photos and video of all ten. We also took photos of ourselves on the "red carpet".
After a fabulous dinner at the Cheesecake Factory and a good night's rest, we said goodbye to my sister. The next day on our way out-of-town, Mike and I saw a sign for an "NBC Studio Tour" and decided to see what it was about. It wasn't terribly exciting, but we saw the sets for All My Children, Access Hollywood and the Tonight Show. But while our tour guide was talking to us, someone came up to him and asked if he could use us for a skit for the Tonight Show!!! The had us be in a fake crowd in a skit about exploding baseball bats in MLB. (They had a piece of a bat through the heart of a dead vampire sitting in the middle of us.) You could only see me for half a second, though, and only from the chin down. But it was sure an interesting experience! On our way out of the building, we walked right past "Ross the Intern".
It was such a fun trip, but I was so glad to get home to my sweet kids. I am so grateful for Pam (Mike's mom) for coming and watching Brayden and Emma and for my mom for watching my sister's kids, so that she could come. Without them, this trip would not have been possible.
