There was no Idol show last night, so today has been a great day to play re-cap catchup! Next, is Holly’s recap from the Columbus, OH concert. She attended the meet and greet by the buses before the concert. She’s also attached some pictures. Enjoy!
Surreal would be the word I would use to describe my Idol concert experience. I headed on over to the Schottenstein’s Center around 11:30am Sunday to meet up with some other Word Nerds to secure a place along the barricade so that we might have a chance to meet some of the Idols. We waited for about 2 1/2 hours before the Idol buses pulled into the loading docks at the Schott. Another 15 minutes or so passes before Kristy Lee Cook and Ramiele made their way to the Meet & Greet line.
Kristy Lee, Ramiele, Brooke, and Syesha were the first to make their way down the line. Syesha and Kristy werent really taking any pictures with fans, just signing autographs. However, I did see Kristy Lee start to take pictures with fans toward the end of her session. Both were pleasant to fans, but not near so like Brooke and Ramiele. Ramiele took pics and signed autographs, as well as Brooke, and both made some time to talk to fans. Brooke really is as nice as she seemed on tv. Both are adorable in person. Syesha and Kristy Lee are both stunning in person.
More Re-cap and Photos after the JUMP…
Then the heavens smiled upon us and David Cook, appeared. He looked delish, let me tell you. He was wearing was dark jeans, a blue t-shirt, and those lovely cowboy boots. Brooke had told us they were put on a time limit for meeting with fans, but David Cook stopped and talked to every single person in line. He took pics and signed autographs and had conversations with everyone. It was almost like he said to the powers that be, …Screw you and your time restraints, Im the American Idol! He is exactly as he was on AI too ¦such a gentleman, all-around nice guy, and much more attractive in person, if that possible. He signed my shirt and took a picture with me and I made him laugh at my incoherent ramblings. He looks great in pictures, and I looked like a sweaty lobster.
Archie and Jason came out as well. Archie didn’t take any pics, although it was clear he wanted too, but he’s too nice to say “screw you” to the powers that be, so he just signed things. I’m pretty sure he stuck his hand up my sleeve to sign my shirt. I made him laugh though and you can’t help but smile around the kid…he’s that adorable. Jason was exactly like he was on TV, super cool and laid back. He signed my shirt as well and drew a pic of himself on my sleeve. When I asked him if he minded if I took a pic with him, he said “I mind pictures, ” but not in the way that he wouldn’t take them, he meant (I think) that he liked taking pics with fans. OMG, I touched one of his dreads too. But they totally didn’t feel greasy or anything and they didn’t smell at all, like youd think dreads would. He actually smelled nice.
Carly, Michael Johns, and Chikezie did not make an appearance at the before concert M&G, which kind of bummed at lot of us out.
On to the concert….
In a word…awesome. I was pleasantly surprised at how much I enjoyed the concert. I mean, I knew I’d like David Cook, but everyone was actually really good. Maybe it’s because they’ve had a lot of practice, maybe because they aren’t singing for votes anymore, no judges…whatever the reason, these guys were fabulous.
The Idols sang in the order they were eliminated. Even though there was nothing really wrong with Chikezie, Ramiele, and Kristy Lee performances, they were kind of forgettable. Chikezie and Ramiele sang songs Id think everyone has heard before, most of the songs being current hits by big names like Usher and Maroon5. Kristy Lee sang two country songs that I dont think anyone has ever heard before, so it was hard to get into her set when I couldnt sing along. Everyone was sitting down during the slower numbers, but because of the patriotic nature of …God Bless the USA, the whole stadium was on its feet. I had goose-bumps.
If I didn’t love David Cook so much, I might have jumped ship into Michael John’s Aussie Train last night. He is smokin’ hot on stage and he knows it.He even mentioned something about all the ladies in the audience before launching into …It All Wrong, But It Alright. I think all us women about fainted during that number, it was that good. Carly was fabulous too. She’s really good live. She was really engaging to the crowd and it was clear that besides the two Davids, Carly and Michael Johns were the two other crowd favorites. Brooke and Jason got huge applause as well. Brooke is a darling on stage and was so happy to be there. She got everyone dancing and snapping along to her cover of Feist …1234. Jason laid-back set made me want to plant myself on the beach somewhere with a pina colada in hand. Syesha looked beautiful on stage and can really belt out a song. If she would have done songs on AI like she did at the concert, she might have given the Davids a run for their money.
Oh the screams and cries from the tweens in the audience when Archie came onstage. I had a slue of Archie fans sitting in front and beside me and had to use my fingers as earplugs when he came onstage. He almost couldnt start his last number because of the screaming girls. Three out of four numbers were slow, except for the …Stand By Me number that caused some controversy on the Idol stage when he added some of Sean Kingston …Beautiful Girls into the mix. Nevertheless, Archie was as consistent as he was on Idol. I actually loved his cover of Josh Groban …When You Say You Love Me. I thought he did a respectable job with it, given that Josh Groban voice is like no other.
DAVID COOK AHHHHHHHHHHHH! Okay, I’m done. His set was fabulous, amazing, and every other word you can think of to describe something great. …Time of My Life is 100% better when you hear him sing it live. I almost forgot the magic rainbow line. He, of course, dedicated “My Hero” to his brother Adam. Right before he sang …My Hero Michael Johns came out on stage to help David put on his guitar. He then did the ‹Im not worthy bow before heading backstage. It was hysterical. David then told us that he and Michael had been talking about doing that for a while and this was finally the time to do it. Im glad they shared it with us! He also dedicated “I Don’t Want to Miss a Thing” to an unnamed person. He said something to this effect, “I want to dedicate this next song to a certain person…sorry I’m so awkward.” Although a name was never mentioned, I have my suspicions as to who it was dedicated to. Some say it was to Kim, others to a fan he met before. Im guessing it was to a special fan because why choose Columbus, OH to dedicate the song to your supposed girlfriend. He did seem a bit melancholy though when he was doing the dedication, so I have no idea what that was about. His rendition of Chris Cornell’s “Billie Jean” was mind-blowingly amazing. He even came out on stage telling us that someone told him to try this, …O ‘ H followed by the crowd yelling …I ‘ O! He expressed his gladness that we knew what he was talking about so he didnt feel stupid. He a true performer and I cannot wait to see him on tour again, once his post-AI album comes out.
The group numbers were so-so, but that’s about all you can get with group numbers. Luckily there were only two and there wasnt a whole lot of jazz-squaring and shaking of the hips, mostly just moving from one part of the stage to the other. I would recommend getting tickets to an up-coming show near you if you havent already. It definitely worth the money and time.
