Christine attended the pre and post M&G by the buses. Check out her photos HERE.
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I’ve been to the season 2 show in Houston, season 4 show in San Antonio, and season 7 show in Houston. This year we had to make the 4 hour trek to Dallas because there were no dates in Houston this time around. It was worth the trip because I enjoyed the show almost as much as last year’s.
My twin CJ and I arrived at the barricades outside the AA center at around 1:15. By then we had to stand around the corner of where they would be coming out, towards the end of the gate. We thought at that time that we would be some of the last people they would get to but to our surprise, security ended up sending them down to our side first so they could just work their way down and around the entire line of folks from one end to the other.
Thankfully it wasn’t super sunny, so waiting wasn’t bad at at all. Michael showed up in his Puma track suit around 2 and came right over to our end. He seemed like such a nice, genuine guy. He was very friendly to everyone as he made his way around. He would say things like ‘Hi how’s it going?, ‘ which I thought was very nice. It was kind of a change from last year’s Houston pre-show where the idols sort of just made the line around signing things because it was about 3-4 rows deep of people. Another thing that surprised me was that they would stop to take pictures this year if you asked even if you didn’t give them a gift. I remember last year some lady gave David a gift and then asked for a picture and he said something like ‘If I have time, I’ll come back and take one, ‘ which he didn’t do. CJ even asked Brooke for one and she said, ‘Can you just take a picture of me while I’m signing?’ CJ then said something like please and then she posed quickly while I took one. I’m not trying to diss last year’s group in any way (because I really enjoyed that season better) but that’s why I was pleasantly surprised that Michael, Scott, Matt, and even the winner Kris willingly took pictures when asked. I just had them sign around a mat (which I framed around an 8×10 of the group because I don’t like when they sign over their picture) for me and CJ took a picture with Matt and I took a picture with Kris (he really is a pocket idol but I’m 5’10’ so maybe that’s why lol). Scott and his brother were also very friendly. Todd helped Scott reach for things to sign. A huge Scott fan had him sign her shirt and he signed a little on her skin (and never realized it). We all smiled and thought that was too cute.
Danny came out a little after it stopped raining but he didn’t start on our side like the others did, so he ended up forgetting us. I wasn’t too bummed though because at that point I remembered that I didn’t really care for him anyways during the season.
We waited a little longer to see if anyone else would come out and they didn’t (although Jasmine Murray made a little cameo after she came out from the M&G with her mom). CJ (a big Anoop fan) and I met some Anoop troopers in the line and decided that if we wanted to see Anoop we would have to leave during the final number and come back out afterwards.
Fast forward to show time:
CJ and I were towards the back half of the floor. Not the best seats for seeing every detail of their faces, but I guess that’s what the jumbo trons are for. Michael started things off with a bang. Most people were on their feet but that was probably because he’s from Texas. He was working the stage, but at parts I felt that the back up singers were outshining him.
Next on was Megan. She looked like a life size Barbie with the pink dress and pink high heels. Pretty girl but I didn’t particularly care for her singing and the background was a little distracting during the Amy Winehouse song. Loved her caw caw at the end of the set though. Most people sat during hers.
Next up was Scott. I didn’t care for him during the season either. He can play a mean piano but his vocals sound a little bland/weak for my taste I guess. I enjoyed the Thousand Miles song because it was current. He was very likeable and funny on stage as he told his story about the high five heard around the world. Again, most people sat.
I enjoyed Lil’s set a lot more than I thought I would because I really only liked her Mary J Blige performance during top 36. Her songs got most of the crowd moving mainly because they were current songs. I don’t think it was necessarily because she was singing them so outstandingly. I personally liked the Single Ladies words on the back drop because I never really knew them before.
Anoop was up next. CJ was so excited to see him. We were up on our feet but much to our surprise, most everyone around us didn’t get up until he sang My Prerogative. Maybe they were tired from standing during Lil’s lol or it could be that the crowd wasn’t feeling him. Anyways, I really enjoyed all 3 of his songs a lot better than I did on the show. He seemed liked a genuinely good singer as he hit his notes and held them. During some parts I got goosebumps and that very rarely happens for me. He was entertaining to watch as he danced around the stage too- the boy has some swagger!
Matt really was great I thought. Nerves seemed to get to him on the show but he seemed to be right in his element. He really commands the stage and sang his heart out on Georgia. He put on his fedora during some part ‘ that boy has some swagga too.
Next up group time- Sarver was better on Suspicious minds. I absolutely loved the dueling pianos. Idol really made a mistake not keeping that in the finale because that was just cool. Both of them were really into it.
Intermission and then next up was Allison. This girl was my second favorite on the show, behind Kris and before Adam. She can really rock out and interact with the band like she’s been doing it for years. The singing was top notch for me but I found a couple little things that annoyed me. One was the copycat Pink move when she blew the raspberry. I thought it was a little childish, but I had to remind myself that she’s only 17. Another was when she said something like ‘haha, I’m not done with my set yet. You have to listen to me some more before the three guys come out.’ Everyone seemed to be enjoying her set a lot. It’s as if she assumed we didn’t like her or something. I think I’m too nitpicky but the girl should maybe have some more confidence that people actually want to hear her sing.
I wasn’t looking forward to Danny but I rather enjoyed his set. I think I’m officially a Danny fan now- I finally understood why people liked him. He can sing and his dancing at the end of Maria was cute. He even took off his jacket at some point. I didn’t think he sounded preachy at all before My Wish. It was more of an inspirational, universal message of not letting things get you down and reaching for your dreams. I was fine with that and didn’t feel like I was being talked down to.
The house went crazy for Adam. I was the most excited to see him live. Everyone was on their feet and the cheers were by far the loudest all night for him. Whole Lotta Love was awesome! CJ and I gave each other a glance when he stroked the mike stand suggestively. We smiled and said to each other in mock disbelief, ‘This is a family show.’ We heard later outside that some parents were covering their children’s eyes at some parts during his set, which I thought was funny. It didn’t offend us in any way but I guess I can see why some parents might have had a cow about that. Some of his thrusts during the Bowie medley were a bit sexay too. I loved Slow Ride with Allison! It was so great seeing that live since I’ve rewatched that performance from the season like 89949549549 times! They really are like brother and sister- their on-stage chemistry was amazing.
Kris was finally up. Screams were nowhere near as loud for him and some people even were leaving after Adam. Kris doesn’t really have much shock value like Adam does. It’s kind of like you know what to expect with him ‘ good vocals, good instrument skills, etc so maybe people find him boring (I don’t). Heartless was solid, The Killers song was rockin’, Ain’t No Sunshine was jammin’ and Hey Jude got everyone on their feet. I personally liked that one the best. Can’t beat an old Beatles song. That was cool how they all came back out to help him finish singing. We left as they started DSB because we wanted to get a good spot at the fence. We were able to stand right next to the Anoop troopers we had met earlier outside. If we had waited five minutes longer, we would have had to stand five people away from the front.
We were packed like sardines from about 10-11 until Megan Joy came out. She came around quickly signing things and even taking some pictures when a few people asked. She was all smiles and seemed very friendly. Her jeweled tat looked cool I thought. Found out later that apparently Adam bedazzled it.
Next out was Anoop, the man we were there for b/c CJ really wanted to take a picture with him. Anoop troopers had him talk on their bus cast and gave him their custom made Houston Astros hat in Carolina colors and ‘Noop Dogg’ embroidered on the back. He loved it and put it on right away! We took pictures of the two girls with him. My sister asked him repeatedly for a picture while I had my camera to take it but he doesn’t hear her. It’s like she’s literally invisible even though she’s at the front of the fence. It’s so loud I guess he can’t hear everything. And to make it even worse, he didn’t even sign my mat that CJ was holding out because I was too busy trying to get a shot of her with him and he somehow missed it. He really was whizzing through the line fast! Lil was too- she almost didn’t sign ours either until we held it up higher.
Kris came out with a tall girl who helped him grab all the stuff to sign. Danny came out too. He was very nice. We finally got our mat signed (since he skipped our side earlier in the day) and he was nice about saying no to the pictures and didn’t just ignore people. He said he couldn’t because they almost left him the other day. Some lady said she drove nine hours to see him and he reached way back and touched her hand and thanked her. I thought that was really sweet of him to take the small time that took to do that because it probably made her day. I am officially a Danny Gokey fan, words I never thought I would say because I was one of the ‘put the go in gokey’ people like Kristen Baldwin on EW. Michael, Matt, Scott (and Todd) also came out again and were nice but had to also rush. I thought it was so awesome when Scott ran down the line giving high fives to people with his brother holding on to his right, just before the went in.
It really is chaotic afterwards. I would definitely recommend going before the show as opposed to after if you really care about getting pictures, etc with them. Allison was like a blur too- she basically signed an A on my thing and was hurrying and grimacing, saying ‘Oh, uh.’ She seemed kind of uncomfortable to me. Adam came out on the other side and only got through not even half of the line before they whisked him away. People were p-oed! Our entire side got nothing. I didn’t care because like I said before, I was there to help CJ get a pic with Anoop, which unfortunately didn’t happen. I would bet that over 90% of the people outside were there for Adam. I felt so bad that they didn’t get what they wanted. He should’ve come out earlier, but I read later that his boyfriend was at that show, so that could’ve been why he didn’t. Sarver’s wife was also there, but Michael took the time to get down the entire line. Who knows?
All in all, it was a fabulous experience and hopefully next year’s tour will be as good as this one was!
