Thursday, June 17, 2010

have a little faith

I don't know how to put last night's concert experience into words. Seeing Jordin up there, someone who I've supported since the birth of her career. Someone who has been such a HUGE part of my life. As I was standing in line I started thinking about how Jordin and Melinda have played such a key role in the person I am today. They've seen me at my worst and helped me to get to be my best. I am incredibly grateful for them, for their inspiration and motivation. Also, Jordin recently helped my family through one of our most difficult times, losing Laurence. She awarded him the M.A.D award and spoke very highly about him at one of her events, asking the attendants for a moment of silence in his rememberence. Everyone in my family is eternally grateful for that. Her song "Faith" is pretty much what got me through that rough time.

I was so excited to be able to see Jordin yesterday. I knew I had a meet and greet and was starting to prepare my "speech" to her while waiting in line outside the venue. I was assuming she wouldn't remember me...because although she was a huge part of my life from summer 2007-summer 2008, I hadn't seen her since then, and I assumed she had forgotten, knowing she meets millions of people, each of them with a different story.

The doors opened at 7 pm and I waited in the lobby with some of the other's with meet and greets.Her manager came to get us and we lined up on the balcony of the Royal Oak Music theatre. Her friend/tour assistant Mo came out and said that personal pictures were not allowed, and Jordin was on vocal rest so she may not talk much. The first few people went and were IN AND OUT in literally 30 seconds. At this point I'm thinking "how am I possibily going to be able to say everything I need to say, especially if she doesn't remember me?" Pretty soon, Mo looks at me and says "NEXT". So I walk in, and Jordin GASPS. No, literally gasps. Then squeels. Then runs and hugs me so hard I thought I was going to fall over. This is pretty much how our conversation went over that:

J "OH MY GOSH HI HOW ARE YOU IT'S SO GOOD TO SEE YOU"
Me "I wasn't sure if you would remember me!"
J "HOW COULD I NOT REMEMBER YOU OMG HOW ARE YOU YOU LOOK SO CUTE WHERE DID YOU GET THAT DRESS?
ME "Old Navy- 15 dollars!"
J "I love old navy ::goes on a 2 minute rant about how much she loves Old Navy::
Me "These are cards from my family to thank you for everything you did with Laurence...my dad wanted me to specifically tell you that we will NEVER be able to tell you how grateful we are for that, you really helped my family during that time."
J, with tears in her eyes "awww. thank you. It was an HONOR for me to stand up there and talk about him. He was such an amazing young man."
Me "Yes he was...and Melinda/Gina say hi"
J "Omg I miss them so much!"
At this point, Jordin's manager is giving her "the eye" soo
J "What kind of picture do you want?"
Me "A normal one because I haven't seen you in two years!!"
So we take our picture and she hugs me again
J "Tell your family I love them. What great people. Tell Laurence's dad how awesome he is. I am praying for your family. Please tell them hi and I love them."
Me "I will...and thank you for the song Faith because it got me through that time"
J "aww. I'm glad I could help"
Me" And I will tell Gina and Melinda you say hi as well"
J "Yes, that's like a given! Thank you SO much for coming it was SO good to see you again!!!! I love you! Enjoy the show! Thanks for coming! Don't forget to tell your family!"
Me "I won't and THANK YOU! So happy I could see you again".
::HUG::

As I was walking out, she made like a whimpering noise so I turn around and she has a sad face, lol. I got my picture info from Mo and walked down to the main floor. I was worried that I wouldn't be able to get a good spot, because the meet and greet was happening while the doors opened. Luckily, I got an AMAZING spot! I was probably only about 4 rows from the stage, with many short people in front of me, so I could see perfectly ! I didn't have to stand very long before Day of Difference came out.

Days of Difference were great- cute boys who can sing and play insturments? Sign me up!

Next was Kate Voegele, and I pretty much flipped out. It's also been two years since I last saw her, and the night I did see her two years ago was a pretty bad one. So I was happy to be able to hear her perform songs from her latest album. She's one of my favorite female artists, mainly because she writes her songs and plays guitar. She's also an incredibly passionate singer. Apparently I was one of the few Kate Voegele fans. No one around me was cheering for her and I was the only one singing along...but Ihad a fabulous time! She sang a few of my favorite songs....including a cover of "Hallelujah". She was so good, again, very passionate. I'm really happy I was able to hear her live again!

I was getting anxious to see Jordin come out. I couldn't wait to hear some of the songs off Battlefield. When she came out, the crowd went crazy. She started off with Battlefield and SOS, then continued to do songs off "Battlefield". It was SO fun to sing along, and Jordin was so energetic and passionate. That girl is going to be AMAZING on broadway, because of the way she interprets her song on stage. One of my personal favorites was "Walking On Snow". She also sang "Tattoo", "One Step At A Time", "Freeze", "Young and In Love" from her first album, and closed the show with "No Air", which was unbelievable. I was pretty much SCREAMING the words the entire time, and Jordin kept looking at me throughout the show. I literally felt my vocal chords strain during One Step At A Time at the "it's your faith that makes you stronger" line. My absolute favorite part of the concert was when she sang "Faith", which is typically not on her set list, but she added it for the Detroit show. Seriously, I cried throughout the entire song. I had told her what that song did for me when Laurence passed...in the beginning of the song, Joridn caught my eye and I was standing there with my hand over my mouth, tears down my face, and just started shaking my head at her. She smiled, and then wiped away tears in her eyes. She continued to look my way throughout a good majority of the song, and when she was finished, she said "I'm sorry, that song just makes me so emotional". Omg. What a very special moment! Jordin tweeted later that it was a very special night for her to sing "Faith". Agreed. One of the most concert moments of my life. Jordin was SO good you guys. So good. She has improved as a performer and kept the audience captivated the entire time!

Soon the show was over and I headed out to my car. I was going to stop by and chat with Kate Voegele, but my throat was killing me, and I needed to go home and sleep.

Thank you, Jordin, for an amazing night. Love you.

2 comments:

babz019 said... Add Reply

amazing!!!! So glad you had such a great night!!!

Shari said... Add Reply

I've been waiting for this post all day! :)

I am so glad you had such a fantastic time. There really is nothing quite like getting to see someone who means so much to you perform songs that have inspired you and taken on such an important role in your life. Just reading this, I could tell what a truly special experience this was for you. The concert sounds wonderful, and I'm thrilled that she added in "Faith" for your show. It's such a beautiful song, and it's easy to see what a poignant experience it was for you to listen to her perform it live.

And your M&G!! I seriously had a smile on my face the entire time. I'm so happy you got so much time to chat with her and tell her everything you wanted. It sounds like it meant just as much to her as it did to you. So glad you had such an incredible night!!