Caro’s American Idol Tour 2009 Philadelphia Recap

I’m 38 years old, and I’ve been watching AI since season one, have occasionally voted when I found a performer/contestant that I would see myself following after the show.

I’ve also never found myself with any urge to follow what happens after all the confetti starts falling at the Nokia theater, that was until last year, when I started following David Cook. I loved what he did during the show and wanted to follow what he did after and hear from him.

This year? I became obsessed and thanks to MJ, this site and the wonderful recaps, I finally found the courage to take that extra step. I’ve read many recaps and many of them started by telling us who the person was, I was ashamed to go to the concert and would have never dared to go on my own, so THANK YOU to all the others that shared their experience, those of you that told us how much they enjoyed the show and wrote how we should not miss it at all’ ¦ thanks!!!

I confess I did have my favorites and my non-favorites, I voted over and over and over again for Matt & Kris and I couldn’t wait to watch them live.

Also, please note that it won’t be as much a recap of the musical show but of my experience watching the show and coming full circle on going to the concert.

BEFORE THE SHOW

It was very hot for a Philly day, 94 degrees and silly me decided not to go for the pre-show meet and great at the barricades, BIG MISTAKE!!! People if you want to meet the idols, it’s the best way to do it, there is less people during the day, after the show it’s just a nightmare, earlier you get the chance to talk and chat with them and get a picture if you are lucky, I envy all of you that did so.

I am happy to report that I consider that to be my only mistake, that said I will give you some tips:

  • No need to arrive hours and hours and hours before, one hour before the show is just perfect (unless of course you want to take the opportunity that I missed).
  • If you plan to hit the barricades after the show, park as close to that spot as you can.
  • Very important if you want to have better seats visit the box office they are open to upgrading your tickets if they have something better and available, the only bad thing is that you can only upgrade for a higher group, if you already have floor tickets and want to sit closer to the stage, it probably won’t happen. But the people around me where jumping up and down with all the better seats they got.
  • Once you get into the venue, go to the bathroom, even if you don’t want to.
  • If you are planning on having dinner, it’s a good time to buy what you will be having.
  • Head to your seats and enjoy dinner, it’s probably 20min before the show by now and you will only be seeing the silly videos twice, the most’ ¦

THE SHOW:

It was 100 times better than I ever thought, I was scared that since I had watched the video of my favorite idols over and over again I had spoiled the show so much for me that I wouldn’t enjoy the live performance as much, didn’t happen, it just made it better because I was looking forward to so many moments.

Reading so many reviews I thought that not all idols will bring it! What a big mistake, I felt they were all singing for their lives and they gave us a heck of a wonderful show, thank you Idols!

If you don’t mind, I’m adding at the end of each idols review my own little ranking, how much would I spend on their post idol career, Post Idol Investment (PII)

Michael – During the show besides being the guy that had a tuff job and a nice smile, I didn’t care much about him. A week before the show I decided to follow him on twitter and what a nice guy. He was great, good strong voice, charming. He would have a shot as a country singer and on top he’s actually good looking and has a great smile.

My PII Index – I would buy a couple of songs on iTunes either because I like them or just because he’s a nice guy and deserves the support.

Megan ‘ I really liked her audition, but when she made it to the Top 13 leaving behind Ricky and the other two really good girls, I couldn’t believe it. I didn’t think she was Top 13 talent. Her set started surprisingly well, I liked her first song and thought, she didn’t sound that bad, her voice was nice and much better than what I ever imagined, unfortunately between songs she started to talk, she was talking with this childish, dumb blonde, Barbie girl voice and just ruined it for me. She did look like a Barbie doll though.

My PII index ‘ Not even a $0.99 song on iTunes.

Scott ‘ I confess that I finished this recap and when I re-read I realized I had left Scott out, nothing personal against him, but I guess that’s how I felt most of the time, I kept forgetting he was around. That said, he sounds much better live than he did on the show, his voice was strong and didn’t break or go to pitchy land. I do think there are better singers and performers than him that missed the Top 13, Ricky!!! but you can definitely see that he is a good guy with a sense of humor, he made us laugh telling the high five joke, even though I had already read about it

My PII index ‘ What can I say about somebody that I forgot was on the show? I guess I’ll probably won’t even notice if he releases a song.

Lil ‘ She started the show as a front-runner IMHO she undid with her attitude what she had won with her talent. She carried her set very well, has a great voice, performed well, but I don’t think she has the personality to make people care about her or identify with her music. She made people start moving for the first time during the show.

My PII index ‘ I don’t think I would buy any songs from her, but I would go to a Broadway musical.

Anoop ‘ When Anoop came out it was the first time during the show that people went from the Yeah! and applause to a little fan scream, Woooooo!!!! Anoooooop!!! It was a nice feeling since it felt like we were getting into what we had come to see. His set was great and solid, although I did feel that of all the performers he was the won who gave the least, but even that said, I really enjoyed him and his voice was just amazing, he has this mellow way with him that is just soothing. It’s difficult for me to define Anoop, I loved when he made it to the top 13, I was torn when it came to Matt and Anoop because I really, really, really liked Matt, but I also knew that Anoop deserved to make it. I hope he finds the secret to his success because he has the voice, but sometimes I think the voice, with what he should do and his image don’t go together.

My PII index: Will definitely follow to see what he’s doing and even though I would probably not buy his full first CD, I will buy as many songs as I like for ever an ever.

Matt ‘ When Matt was announced I was surprised that people immediately jumped of their chairs, it made me happy that people were looking forward to him so much, what can I say that hasn’t been said? He brought the house down and I don’t know how he does it, but he gave 180%, he came out like it was his first and last time and made us love him even more. During one of his songs he had this low register note that I felt he was making love to me and my knees went weak’ ¦ I do think that if his personality, confidence and performance would have come out during the season like it did on the live performance, we would be watching a different Top 4, he is really a pleasure to watch to hear and to love, so PTB, Please SIGN MATT GIRAUD!

My PII index: Is it difficult to guess? If I could pre-order his first CD, I would have done so already and bought extra copies for my friends, he is also the first that I would watch perform live and can’t wait until he has the opportunity, plus I would buy VIP tickets for a meet and great. Maybe I should start my own fund to help out with his first album.

Group performance First Half ‘ I liked it, I don’t know why people just think it’s bla, but it’s nice, funny, entertaining and I loved the dancing between Matt and Anoop and I agree with somebody who wrote Michael Sarver should always wear a tux.

Allison ‘ What can I say? the girl can rock and she is going to have an amazing future, what does scare me a little bit is that she is still young and she has already the rock and roll girl vibe, there was a part of her set, I think singing Cry, Cry Baby where I didn’t like the sexuality she put in the song, I want her to be successful but I would like to take her away for two years, prepare her, train her voice, she really puts it out there during her performance and I think she needs to learn to use her voice without damaging it. I want her to be a Pink, I want her to be a Fergie, I want her to be the next ‘IT’  Chick but I feel she needs two more years I don’t want her to get lost into the world of teenager living and having a career as an adult. I feel like Jamie Fox when he mentored her’ ¦ But again, great performance, great voice, loved the hair when she came out, liked the guitar and she made that stage her own.

My PII index: Would definitely buy her first CD, without a doubt.

Danny ‘ I wasn’t a big Danny fan but a lot of people had written how they changed their minds and after watching him live, for me it did nothing’ ¦ I tried, I really tried, when he came out with PYT I stood up, sang, applauded, danced but then I didn’t feel it’ ¦ when he started singing Maria, Maria I was thought it was strange based on what he had showed us so far, I do know he likes the Latin vibe, but when he did his salsa dance solo, it’s just not for him, as a Latina, there is no appeal for me to see him dance some Salsa. I do see him having a career a la Rascal Flatts and for sure people loved him, besides Matt he was the next one to bring the house down when he came out, the crowd just loved him. For me it was the countdown for the best is yet to come.

My PII index: No thank you, wish him well as an idol, but not my cup of tea.

Adam ‘ My favorite performer of all times, my favorite singer, the singer of my favorite song of all times are all the same person and that is Freddie Mercury, if there is anybody that can make it even close to him is Adam Lambert, during his performance he gave us everything he had and didn’t have, I was just blown away and so was Philly, he was the only performer for which the crowd stood up the whole time. I loved his sense of humor with the whip, I loved his performance with Allison, you could see the love between them, the confidence and the trust and I loved that he called her My Girl when he introduced her. During one of his performance he give us one of those high, lets hold it for a minute note to show us all who he was and bring the house down even more, BRAVO’ ¦ I rarely watch the preliminary rounds but I did happen to watch the episode where Adam auditioned, when I first saw him I said hmmm pretty’ ¦when he finally sang I said, this is it, he’s the winner this season, he was my favorite that is I saw Kris Allen, aka the underdog.

My PII index: I’m biting my nails to see what is he going to put out, I have a feeling that I’m either going to love it and become obsessed or hate it. I think we all have an idea of who Adam will be, but I also think we are all wrong and we are only going to find out when he his CD comes out, as for me? I can’t wait.

Kris ‘ as I said before, for me Adam was the champ until I fell in love with Kris and how he made songs his own. I first noticed him when he made it to the Top 12, I can’t resist an underdog and I won’t lie, it wasn’t his singing or performance that got me at first, it was his face when he made thru, he could not believe it, I loved it, after that when he sang To Make you Feel my Love, he won my heart and when he did Ain’t no Sunshine I said, he is ‘IT’ . When Kris came out my first surprise was that people screamed as much for him as they did for Adam when he came out. I also think you can’t compare Kris and Adam, but if I had so, I would say that Adam is the big ‘O’  and Kris is the cuddling & spooning after the big ‘O’  J you’ve gotta to love them both and they perfectly complement each other. His Heartless was with a heart, he sang Ain’t no Sunshine like it was finale competition night, you see him live each word, each note and I wonder how does he do it night after night after night. Seeing him rock during the end of bright light was just the note to let people know that he is no saint and the scream during Hey Jude, priceless. I liked Kris before tonight and I love him now even more, what I learned? He can sing, he can hold a note better than what I thought, he has this strong low register and he gets so much into the music that he reminds me that he is human.

My PII index: Anything and everything that he wants he will have from me, I’m already signed up for his iTunes Pass and if I have to fly to Conway to hear him on his first concert I will.

Kradam ‘ For me Kradam deserves a spot on its own, I love the Kris/Adam friendship I think it just shows that life is like a box of chocolates J When Kris and Adam were on stage I was looking for any indication of this friendship and I enjoyed it. First Kradam moment came during Hey Jude, Kris was singing and when the other Idols started coming out Adam was first, Kris just looked at him like I’ve been waiting for you to come out man! They look at each other like ling time friends and pointed to each other, when they got together started singing the na, na, na, moving their heads together like they were part of the Beatles band at the end of the song Adam applauded Kris, sweet’ ¦

DSB, what is best than Kradam coming out together united to end the night? Seeing Kradam love performance this piece over an over an over again and having fun’ ¦ during the what is supposed to be the dance moment, Adam was all ready and positioned and Kris was forward at the stage, Adam was just waiting for him until Kris turned around and saw him, ran to where he was and they started the Kradam dance, with a big smile on their faces, that my friends is love and a very cool friendship.

Overall, I don’t think I can rate this show, but I can tell you what it made me feel, Happy, weak knee, teenager all over again (I forgot I could scream as loud as I did) and when I came back home at 2am I looked at all the remaining Idol tours and wondered how could I make it to each one of the performances they have left, I want to see this show over and over an over and over again.

So performance wise I would rank them as this: Matt, Adam, Kris, Allison, Michael, Danny, Anoop, Lil, Scott, Megan.

AFTER THE SHOW: Bare with me, I know this has been long.

I was happy to see that people did not leave after Adam’s set, at least not on the ground floor where I was. Some people started leaving during DSB but it was either family with small kids or older couples.

When the show finished I walked towards the barricades and wondered for 2 hours what the hell was a 38 year old women doing waiting there. I didn’t have anything for them to sign I’m not a fan of having things signed, I knew it would be impossible to have a picture taken, there were way to many people I still had a good position I was on a kinda of second row surrounded by Adam fans and at the end I realized that I just really didn’t want to end my experience and I wanted to see them as guys and girls and not as idols.

I was not disappointed, first Michael & Megan came out first, Michael made sure he got every single autograph that was asked, he would come back if he thought or heard he had missed somebody.

Then it was Lil, she came with a big smile and surprised me since I kept reading that she was more apathetic during the signing but she was keeping everybody happy, I loved her hair tonight I think it’s the best that I’ve seen so far and she did have some funny shoes.

Alison came next and she basically ran through the autograph line, signing without looking at what she was signing, when I was just thinking that she was there but didn’t want to be, this girl called her back and she came, that won me over.

I have to give it to these guys, they come out every night to make a special moment happen to so many of us and they do, despite the fact that they are tired, without sleep and as Adam said, we only pay for a ticket and a performance, we don’t pay to have time of their private time.

At this point it was wild and Kris came out followed shortly by Matt, it was my moment, I was worried that Kris did not smile during the signing and I was also surprised since it’s completely different from what I had read.

Matt he is just happy to be, he came smiling, talking with people and I was star stroked or actually it was the point were my knees went weak again, he looked at me eye to eye and he has the most beautiful eyes and smile, why or why I’m not 20 all over again!

When he had finished signing, some people were by a fence and started calling him, he looked at security and asked if he could come and they said no, I thought that was so sweet.

Danny and Scott also came out but by now I was tired, it was 90 plus degrees and I knew Adam wouldn’t come out, so I started walking back to my car on my way I walked by the buses and saw the door were the Idols were exiting and going to the busses, Adam walked out and the people by the fence (not where the others were signing) started calling him, he looked up, turned around and waived hi and got on his bus.

I also say Alison waiting for the other guys to finish; she was sitting outside by the grass waiting for everybody else and hanging out with other people working on the tour.

Last and I promise, all the buses are color coded, the guys bus has an orange sticker and the girls, has a Hello Kitty.

Thanks for reading, I hope I didn’t offend anybody but as I said at the beginning this is my recap of my full circle idol experience, thanks for allowing me to share it with you all.

About mj santilli 34841 Articles
Founder and editor of mjsbigblog.com, home of the awesomest fan community on the net. I love cheesy singing shows of all kinds, whether reality or scripted. I adore American Idol, but also love The Voice, Glee, X Factor and more!