Did today really happen...?
I kind of vowed to myself a few years ago that my fan-girl days were over. Been there, done that, from the A list (getting drunk with Nick Carter at an after show party) to the Z list (watching a British Idol runner-up performing in a corny variety show on Blackpool Pier). But when I made that vow, I didn’t count of discovering a glittery, uber-talented rock god in the name of Adam Lambert, and I morphed (involuntarily) back into my fourteen year old fan-girl self over the course of Idol and regularly question my sanity.
First and foremost, I wanted to get a chance to see Adam perform live, just to hear The Voice and that magical quality to it that gets lost in recordings. And I achieved that goal last November, when I got to see him perform.... at the AMAS. Yes, his most controversial moment of his career to date. While I had an amazing time and got to witness history, the hoopla surrounding the performance kind of overshadowed the whole live experience for me. Oh, and the bad sound mix/poor room acoustics/Adam’s self-confessed less-than-perfect vocals.
While I was in LA in November, I had no desire to try and meet Adam. The whole ‘fan-stalking’ debate has raged on for some time and I found it to be a pretty frowned-upon thing among most fans communities, especially in LA where seeing celebrities in your local grocery store is a pretty everyday occurrence and nobody hassles them. But when Sony announced Adam’s schedule for his UK visit and actively encouraged fans to come along and join in the fun, I thought: why not?
The location was hardly glamourous; a radio station in rainy Surrey. There were around 10 - 15 fans outside, all very friendly and all very excited. Hardly the 1000-strong welcome at Narita airport, but considering Adam’s single was only added to radio and music channel playlists here last week he’s pretty much an unknown here. Although, hopefully that will soon change. My friend and I checked out the back entrance to see if the car was there yet, then walked back down the ramp... only to get to the bottom and see everybody else charging up it. Out of breath, we got back to the top again to see Adam smile and wave as he went inside the studio, to which everybody flailed. Just the mere movement of a hand is all the Glittery One needs to do to create mass hysteria.
My friend and I went back around the front and went up to reception, as she had a fan message book to deliver from one of the UK fan sites and wanted to make sure it got to Adam safely. We spoke to Darren the DJ, who was very friendly and enthusiastic, and said that after Adam finished the interviews, he’d come and meet us and collect the book. We waited on the couch in reception and the nerves/excitement/inner 14 year old fan-girl started kicking in... I guess that’s how Adam must have felt when he was walking up to knock on Madonna’s door. But I internalized the flailing by the time he walked through the door with his trademark ‘Hey guys!’
Yes, it's become quite a cliché now, but he really IS taller/slimmer/sexier in real life.
My friend presented him with the book, which consisted of 42 contributions from fans all over the UK, including some amazing fan art and lovely letters. After having a look through it, he shook my hand (yes, I touched the hand *superflail!*) and said he liked my coat. It is now my favourite coat now it has the approval of AFL and I shall wear it for many years to come, whether in fashion or not!!! I remembered people who’d met him before saying how amazing his eyes are up close, so I made sure I maintained eye contact... and they weren’t wrong. I only wish I’d focused on other details too like the lip/hand freckles (which I have a particular weakness for) but it’s all kind of hazy now.
Adam signed a couple of photos for my friend, then I asked if he minded signing my AMAs programme. He started flicking through it and reading it as he said he hadn’t seen it before, but there was only one small photo of him inside (yes, the performer who made headlines for a full week around the globe following the show got One. Small. Picture.) so he just signed the cover. I’m not really an autograph kind of girl and I felt super fan-girly asking for one, but hey, it’s a collector’s item, it may be worth something one day! Adam asked if I enjoyed the show despite everything and I told him I did and that everyone else around me in the audience did too. I said that he could get away with doing that over here as nobody would be bothered. Adam laughed and joked about there not being any of that Middle America reaction here.
Darren the DJ posed for a photo with Adam against an Eagle Radio backdrop, then we got a couple of pictures with him too. I hate cameras and cameras hate me... it’s not that I’m ugly, it’s that I just can’t smile for them so I usually do a stupid face or a moody pout when I take pictures with friends. But no way was I doing either with Adam Fucking Lambert, so I gave my best half-smile. My friend took two for me, but both turned out appallingly awful so I cut myself out of them both (other fans would only do the same if I’d posted them fully anyway - it’s the other half of the picture everybody wants to see). To be honest, I’ll probably never look at the photos again (well, the ones with me in) but the best thing about getting the pictures taken was having Adam’s arm around me - I know how silly that sounds... but it was pretty fucking amazing!
Adam thanked us about 673 times for coming to see him, we thanked HIM for meeting us, then he departed to go and meet the others outside. He was still out there with everybody when we got out there, making sure nobody got missed out and taking plenty of time even though he was way behind schedule. We had a chat with Darren the DJ before we left, who was a top guy and very enthusiastic about Adam, saying what every single media person says - great to interview, down-to-earth et cetera. The station had started playing the single already and will air the interview next month closer to the release date.
Adam was due at another local radio station straight after, which was on my way home so we went there afterwards briefly. There were seven fans outside, all extremely lovely ladies and a pleasure to meet! In my fan-girl past, I have seen so many fan-wars, cat-fights, psycho-stalkers and everything in between, and although I know all this and more goes on in the Adam world, the fans I met today - all a variety of ages and different backgrounds - were so friendly, welcoming and unpretentious, which made a welcome change! Adam had stopped for them before we arrived when on his way in, and came out again shortly afterwards but couldn’t really stop again as he had a phone interview to do and was running late. But he apologised in such a sweet way, and before driving off got a member of his crew to pass us a signed photo each to make up for it, and nobody complained or got mad. The Gaydar DJs who had been interviewing him left at the same time and seemed to have been converted into total fan-boys, telling us how lovely Adam was - again - he can certainly charm those DJs!
As I was staying over at my parent’s house for the weekend, luckily I only had a 10 minute train journey home - I know I must have been grinning stupidly to myself in a carriage full of people, but after keeping cool and composed all day I didn’t really care by then and wanted to let out all the glee I was feeling!
So today I regressed about 10 years, but it was a really fun day and an experience I’ll always remember. Thank you Universe for being behind me and aligning everything so well, thank you to all the helpful, friendly radio people I chatted to, all the super-nice fans I met... and most of all, thanks to Adam for just being his usual adorable self!
~ Alien
First and foremost, I wanted to get a chance to see Adam perform live, just to hear The Voice and that magical quality to it that gets lost in recordings. And I achieved that goal last November, when I got to see him perform.... at the AMAS. Yes, his most controversial moment of his career to date. While I had an amazing time and got to witness history, the hoopla surrounding the performance kind of overshadowed the whole live experience for me. Oh, and the bad sound mix/poor room acoustics/Adam’s self-confessed less-than-perfect vocals.
While I was in LA in November, I had no desire to try and meet Adam. The whole ‘fan-stalking’ debate has raged on for some time and I found it to be a pretty frowned-upon thing among most fans communities, especially in LA where seeing celebrities in your local grocery store is a pretty everyday occurrence and nobody hassles them. But when Sony announced Adam’s schedule for his UK visit and actively encouraged fans to come along and join in the fun, I thought: why not?
The location was hardly glamourous; a radio station in rainy Surrey. There were around 10 - 15 fans outside, all very friendly and all very excited. Hardly the 1000-strong welcome at Narita airport, but considering Adam’s single was only added to radio and music channel playlists here last week he’s pretty much an unknown here. Although, hopefully that will soon change. My friend and I checked out the back entrance to see if the car was there yet, then walked back down the ramp... only to get to the bottom and see everybody else charging up it. Out of breath, we got back to the top again to see Adam smile and wave as he went inside the studio, to which everybody flailed. Just the mere movement of a hand is all the Glittery One needs to do to create mass hysteria.
My friend and I went back around the front and went up to reception, as she had a fan message book to deliver from one of the UK fan sites and wanted to make sure it got to Adam safely. We spoke to Darren the DJ, who was very friendly and enthusiastic, and said that after Adam finished the interviews, he’d come and meet us and collect the book. We waited on the couch in reception and the nerves/excitement/inner 14 year old fan-girl started kicking in... I guess that’s how Adam must have felt when he was walking up to knock on Madonna’s door. But I internalized the flailing by the time he walked through the door with his trademark ‘Hey guys!’
Yes, it's become quite a cliché now, but he really IS taller/slimmer/sexier in real life.
My friend presented him with the book, which consisted of 42 contributions from fans all over the UK, including some amazing fan art and lovely letters. After having a look through it, he shook my hand (yes, I touched the hand *superflail!*) and said he liked my coat. It is now my favourite coat now it has the approval of AFL and I shall wear it for many years to come, whether in fashion or not!!! I remembered people who’d met him before saying how amazing his eyes are up close, so I made sure I maintained eye contact... and they weren’t wrong. I only wish I’d focused on other details too like the lip/hand freckles (which I have a particular weakness for) but it’s all kind of hazy now.
Adam signed a couple of photos for my friend, then I asked if he minded signing my AMAs programme. He started flicking through it and reading it as he said he hadn’t seen it before, but there was only one small photo of him inside (yes, the performer who made headlines for a full week around the globe following the show got One. Small. Picture.) so he just signed the cover. I’m not really an autograph kind of girl and I felt super fan-girly asking for one, but hey, it’s a collector’s item, it may be worth something one day! Adam asked if I enjoyed the show despite everything and I told him I did and that everyone else around me in the audience did too. I said that he could get away with doing that over here as nobody would be bothered. Adam laughed and joked about there not being any of that Middle America reaction here.
Darren the DJ posed for a photo with Adam against an Eagle Radio backdrop, then we got a couple of pictures with him too. I hate cameras and cameras hate me... it’s not that I’m ugly, it’s that I just can’t smile for them so I usually do a stupid face or a moody pout when I take pictures with friends. But no way was I doing either with Adam Fucking Lambert, so I gave my best half-smile. My friend took two for me, but both turned out appallingly awful so I cut myself out of them both (other fans would only do the same if I’d posted them fully anyway - it’s the other half of the picture everybody wants to see). To be honest, I’ll probably never look at the photos again (well, the ones with me in) but the best thing about getting the pictures taken was having Adam’s arm around me - I know how silly that sounds... but it was pretty fucking amazing!
Adam thanked us about 673 times for coming to see him, we thanked HIM for meeting us, then he departed to go and meet the others outside. He was still out there with everybody when we got out there, making sure nobody got missed out and taking plenty of time even though he was way behind schedule. We had a chat with Darren the DJ before we left, who was a top guy and very enthusiastic about Adam, saying what every single media person says - great to interview, down-to-earth et cetera. The station had started playing the single already and will air the interview next month closer to the release date.
Adam was due at another local radio station straight after, which was on my way home so we went there afterwards briefly. There were seven fans outside, all extremely lovely ladies and a pleasure to meet! In my fan-girl past, I have seen so many fan-wars, cat-fights, psycho-stalkers and everything in between, and although I know all this and more goes on in the Adam world, the fans I met today - all a variety of ages and different backgrounds - were so friendly, welcoming and unpretentious, which made a welcome change! Adam had stopped for them before we arrived when on his way in, and came out again shortly afterwards but couldn’t really stop again as he had a phone interview to do and was running late. But he apologised in such a sweet way, and before driving off got a member of his crew to pass us a signed photo each to make up for it, and nobody complained or got mad. The Gaydar DJs who had been interviewing him left at the same time and seemed to have been converted into total fan-boys, telling us how lovely Adam was - again - he can certainly charm those DJs!
As I was staying over at my parent’s house for the weekend, luckily I only had a 10 minute train journey home - I know I must have been grinning stupidly to myself in a carriage full of people, but after keeping cool and composed all day I didn’t really care by then and wanted to let out all the glee I was feeling!
So today I regressed about 10 years, but it was a really fun day and an experience I’ll always remember. Thank you Universe for being behind me and aligning everything so well, thank you to all the helpful, friendly radio people I chatted to, all the super-nice fans I met... and most of all, thanks to Adam for just being his usual adorable self!
~ Alien