My Road to American Idol 2009 Part 4: Finale Performances - Day 1

Man, we must have been tired from all the traveling... We originally had planned on waking up early to do more sight-seeing before the show, but Futaba and I both slept through the alarm and didn't wake up until 1030am!

So we just spent our 2nd day in LA walking around Downtown, having lunch at a Greek restaurant called George's Greek Cafe at a small shopping arcade called 7+Fig (because it was at the intersection between 7th and Fig... Duh...).

Though we were disappointed that we had kind of wasted the day, I think it was good because we managed to get some rest, especially Futaba who had not have good sleep since Aki was born, as she's a light sleeper who always wakes up for feedings at night.

Anyway, the best part of the morning was definitely getting the American Idol finale show tickets!!!

Nokia Theater - Here I come!

Was getting worried about the tickets as we were supposed to get them the previous day when we arrived, but there was a mix-up with the courier service, so it was only delivered on show day itself.

Anyways, the Nokia Theater was just opposite from the hotel we were staying in, so we left at about 3:45pm to have a look-see around the area.

GO LAKERS!

The Staples Center is located just opposite the Nokia Theatre and as you can see from the picture above, the Los Angeles Lakers were playing that night as well. It was the Game 1 of the NBA Western Conference Finals between the Lakers and the Denver Nuggets. Man, I wish I had tickets to watch this game as well. Can't have everything I suppose, eh?

Suprisingly, there wasn't much of a crowd at the Nokia Theater. I was expecting a larger throng of people, but it was actually quite manageable and easy to walk around.

Wonder what the guy at the bottom right saw...

I am guessing that since there were not that many celebs attending the performance show, not many people turn up for the red carpet. No complaints from me though as it was our first time there and we needed time to take pictures and also look around for the entrance.

Oh! And looking for merchandise too! I didn't come all this way to go home with just pictures after all!

Don't you just love commercialism?

We lined up to enter the theater at about 4:15pm. As you can see from the tickets above, we weren't allowed to bring cameras into the theater, so, being such law-abiding citizens, we had left our normal camera back at the hotel. However, I had to talk to JJ and Ean from Hitz.FM before going into the show, so I had my phone with me and was prepared to check it at the counter.

JJ & Ean from Hitz.FM and Jaclyn Victor (1st Malaysian Idol) during my Morning Crew interview on 4th May 2009

But while waiting in line, I saw lots of other people with cameras as well and 'Idol audience veterans' were advising everyone not to check in their stuff as the wait to get it back at the end of the show was baaaad! They basically advised the ladies to just stuff their phones or cameras into a zipper compartment in their handbags as they wouldn't search that thoroughly. And the guys? Stuff it somewhere... Discrete...

I'll leave it up to your imagination where I hid my phone... =p

Anyways, while inside the theatre, I snuck this shot out...

Inside the American Idol Shrine!
(Yes, I was that far from stage... =p)

This post is getting a bit long so I'll continue about what happens during a live Idol telecast and the post-show press and meet-the-fans session in my next post. I'm already halfway through so it shouldn't take too long... Fingers crossed...

Life-sized Gundam in Odaiba!

Holy crap! Man, would I love to be back in Odaiba to check this out!

I'd totally geek out if this was a life-sized Optimus...
(photo taken from Anime News Network)

This 18 meter high model of the RX-72-8 Gundam model was built to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the original Mobile Suit Gundam anime, which many credit for revolutionizing the art of anime.

The model can do a few simple tricks, as seen in the video above, and will only be around for 2 months (from July 2009), so if you are around Odaiba, Japan, make sure you check it out! Best part? It's free for public viewing!

Ahhh... Otaku-bliss!

Remember The Time... A Tribute to Michael Jackson

"TGIF! Weekend just around the corner!"

That was what I was thinking when I woke up this morning.

"Oh god...", was what I was thinking when I read the news.

Michael Jackson, King of Pop, died on 25th June 2009 at 5:31am Malaysian time.

I believe the whole world is reeling right now to try and come to grips with this earth-shattering event. I, like many out there, can probably track a good part of my life, if not all of it, along a timeline of MJ's music.

So to celebrate the passing of the King, let us not remember all the hooplah surrounding his personal life, but celebrate the man's genius and musical legacy. Apologies for the extra long post...

Here is my list of things that I remember the most of MJ:

1. I Remember The Time... I watched the Thriller music video for the first time.
My sisters used to watch the Thriller video on VHS when I was just about 5 or 6 years old.
with my sisters when I was 5 or 6 years old. I remember that I was a bit scared of the whole horror setup, but I was mesmerized by the dance sequence! We even had an instructional video on how to dance the Thriller dance! I remember my sisters trying to imitate and dance to MJ (and I was trying to imitate them). Thus my exposure to MJ's music began.

2. I Remember The Time... Watching Beat It & Billie Jean
After Thriller, before the days of MTV in Malaysia, I got glimpses of Beat IT and Billie Jean on Malaysian TV. It was always so cool to watch MJ do his thing in those videos. Plus the whole pavement lighting up as he walked in Billie Jean was just way cool. A few years later, I would also rush to the TV whenever I heard Weird Al's Eat It was showing. Thus my exposure to Weird Al and comedy music began.

3. I Remember The Time... MJ sang a capella on Oprah Now this is probably the even that kicked off my whole love for a capella music. I know that a capella music and beatboxing has been around way before MJ, but it was watching this interview that got me thinking "Damn! Can the human voice sound like that?". So it's because of MJ that I started singing acapella and doing vocal percussion.

4. I Remember The Time... Watching Moonwalker/Smooth Criminal

Moonwalker... Now what an epic short film that was... Ok, storyline wasn't great, but the music and special effects were out of this world! I remember wondering how on earth he managed to do that gravity-defying move during Smooth Criminal (which still remains one of my favourite music videos of all time). I just found out that MJ even got a patent (http://www.google.com/patents/about?id=MAUgAAAAEBAJ) for the method! Amazing!

Oh and I also played the game non-stop on my Sega Megadrive/Genesis...

5. I Remember The Time... I watched MJ's Concert Live

This was back in Adelaide 1996. MJ was playing at the Adelaide Oval as part of his HIStory world tour and I just HAD to go watch the concert, even though I had a Physics finals the next day. Exams come every year, but MJ doesn't come around that often! My seat was a bit far from the stage, but it was the experience that counted! The stadium's atmosphere was electric and everyone scream and danced and partied to the King as he worked the stage. I am glad to say that I have been privileged to have seen him perform and experience his magic live.

MJ performed at the Adelaide Oval in 1996

6. I Remember The Time... Watching Black Or White

This was such a media event when it was released in 1991. I rushed home from school to catch the premier of the Black or White video on the TV. Again, I was just blown away by how cool the technology in the video was. I mean, all that morphing at the end was just not done back then. And then I had to go rush out and buy the Dangerous album when it hit the stands here. It is remains as one of my favourite albums.

7. I Remember The Time... Watching In the Closet

I think almost any teenager with raging hormones at the time would have been transfixed to the TV when they watched the video for In The Closet. MJ and Naomi Campbell totally burned up the screen together. And MJ's silhouette dance moves kept my eyes on screen whenever Naomi didn't. Classic! There was also a lot of speculation who was the "Mystery Girl" who voiced the female voice in the song. Initially people thought it was Madonna, but it was later revealed that it was Princess Stephanie from Monaco. The song was originally supposed to be a duet with Madonna, but the idea was dropped. Pity, but the song is still hot though!

8. I Remember The Time... Listening to Man In The Mirror

Man In the Mirror was probably the first socially conscious song that I ever listened to and understood. I know there was We Are The World before it, but this was the first song that I actually looked at and analyzed the lyrics. And it made sense, even to a boy who was still in his tweens. MJ later came out with other socially charged songs like Heal The World and Earth Song, but this one was and still is my favourite.

9. I Remember The Time... Watching Jam & Remember The Time
I was really big into basketball when I was in high school. Was not very good at it, but still loved it anyway and I still follow the sport today more than football/soccer, which most people here in Malaysia prefer to follow. So when this video of the two biggest MJ's of the generation got released, you can imagine just how excited I got. Jam's a great tune, and the video was only so-so, but just to see MJ trying to teach Michael Jordan how to dance, it was good enough. Classic!

Then there was Remember The Time. This video was EPIC and filled with super cool dancing and chock full of special effects (this was like the Mummy even before the movie was made!) And it also had Ervin 'Magic' Johnson, another one of my favourite basketball icons, guest starring with Eddie Murphy and the super hot Iman.

10. I Remember The Time... HIStory

To me, his last great album was Dangerous, but that still didn't stop me from rushing out to buy this album of greatest hits and new releases. I just had to listen to his duet with Janet on Scream. It was also the first time that he swore on a song, which is also kinda significant. On a mellower note, this album also housed You Are Not Alone, which I loved in the beginning but kinda wore me down due to the repeated playing on radio.

So those are my top 10 memories of how MJ has influenced my life (ok, I cheated with some of them and put in a couple, but there were so many!) I am sure everyone has their own personal list and memories as MJ has reached out and touched so many though his visionary music, videos and style. He will be missed. Rest In Peace.

Michael Joseph Jackson

(29 Aug 1958 - 25 June 2009)
The King is dead. Long live the King.

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