My trip to American Idol!

It happened.

I, Matt Eickhoff, super-fan of American Idol actually got to go to a taping of the show! I LOVE LOS ANGELES! :-)

This blog post will be my best attempt to let you all into the behind-the-scenes world of American Idol. There is SO much to remember that I am sure I will forget something. I wish I would have had a notepad and pen to take notes! I couldn't even text myself because they took our cell phones... sheesh! So I'm doing this all from memory folks.

First, some fun facts... then a play-by-play of the experience.

Bet you didn't know: American Idol tapes right next door to Dancing With the Stars! As we were getting in line, we realized there were two lines of people, one for Idol and another for DWTS. The funny thing about it... Idol is a FOX show, DWTS is an ABC show, yet both of the shows tape at the CBS Studios!!! Craziness.

Bet you didn't know: The judges (Randy, Kara, Paula, Simon) all go back stage during EVERY commercial break... and come back out just in time. I guess I just thought once they were out there and seated they were out there the whole time. They probably don't want to be bugged by everyone.

Bet you didn't know: The studio is SO small!!! Words cannot describe. On TV they make it look so huge, but it isn't at all. The seats are only about 12 rows deep, and the "pit" where people stand in front only has about 40 people in each side (on TV it looks like 100+!). I would say, that there were 300 people in the studio MAX. Made it even cooler to be a part of the experience.

Bet you didn't know: (some of you may know this one) They tape a practice run of the show right before the live show. Our line of people was divided into a line of people there for the rehersal and people for the live show. The rehersal is just like the live show, only no comments from the judges. During this taping is when they tape the small clips that are played back at the end of the show when the run the phone numbers again. Some of you may have noticed that during those clips the singer did a different riff or was standing in a different place then when they performed it live on the show, and this is why.

Bet you didn't know: The audience is directed to boo when the judges make bad comments about the contestants... and to cheer when they make good comments. The dude that preps the audience for the show came out and told us to do that. To me, it was weird, but it definitely make sense. Because, for example, if Simon tells Megan that her performance was "complete rubbish" and many of the audience members agree, they don't want us applauding Simon and make Megan feel horrible. It's still a bit weird to me, because when we boo Simon plays it up like we weren't instructed to do so... Let's face it. Simon is right most of the time, so they gotta prep the audience to be on the side of the contestants.

Bet you didn't know: When the judges and Ryan make comments about "watching the show back" and comparing how it was on TV to how it was in the audience... it REALLY DOES make a difference. It's SO loud in the small studio with the band and everything, that it does sound much, much different. I'm sure most of you have experienced this by going to a concert and the performer sounding much different than they do on TV or on CD. The same thing comes into play at Idol. There were parts of the song I completely missed... like the ending riff of Adam's performance... because the crowd was already on their feet cheering loudly that we couldn't hear it. Watching it back, that riff was amazing!



So on to the play-by-play. This is how the day went:

7:30am: Wake up and start making my sign to take to the show. Although I really do like Adam, I felt like I needed to represent the hometown boy and make a sign for Matt. I made a sign that said "Kalamazoo [heart]'s Matt" with a picture of the Michigan mitten and a big star on Kalamazoo. I thought he'd appreciate the hometown shoutout.

8:45am: It's time to figure out what I'm going to wear to the taping... which may not seem like too much of a daunting task... but the ticketing company specifically says on the ticket that you must follow the dress code rules or you may not be let in! The rules: no t-shirts, no sweat-shirts, no jeans, no white clothing, no logos, no flip flops, no shorts..... SHEESH! A lot of rules! I finally decide to wear what I wore to Deal or No Deal and call it a day.

9:40am: I pick up my friend and co-worker James and and we head down to Hollywood to get in line. Lauren and Rich will also be joining us later, but both were at work. Luckily for James and I it was Cesar Chavez Day here at CSUN, so we got the day off of work! PERFECT! Even though we have tickets, they are "not guaranteed" so I wanted to get down there as early as possible to stand in line and make sure we get in the door!

10:45am: After some heavy traffic due to construction, we make it to the CBS Studios. We park and walk a couple blocks to get in line. I was assuming the line would already be long, but when we show up there's only about 40 people in front of us. I start to get really excited.

12:00pm: James and I pass the time by playing some games on his iPhone. Finally, we have our first interaction with an actual employee of the show. He comes out to break our line up into three groups... one for Dancing with the Stars, one for the Idol rehearsal and one for the Idol live show. We move to the Idol live show line and are only about 10 people back now! YAY!

1:45pm: A couple of people, looking official, walk up to the line and begin talking to those of us near the front of the line. They say they are from the TV Guide Channel and are taping a segment for their show "Idol Tonight". It's a game called "Idol Branium"... basically like the board game Cranium but all about American Idol. They ask for a volunteer to play, and of course my hand shoots up immediately. Cranuium + Idol = Matt Domination! They pick me to play and start to set up the scene. Basically we are going to play an unscramble game. They are going to give big letters to other people standing in line and I have to unscramble them, spelling out the name of an Idol contestant... from ANY year of Idol. I get a little nervous, but an Idol fan freak like me should be able to handle it.

2:00pm: The camera crew for the segment shows up, as well as the super-cute hostess. We get a game plan down, and the taping begins. Little did I know that she was going to give me clues as to who the person is. The clues were that the contestant was from season 5... and that they helped Chris Daughtry write lyrics to his debut song "It's Not Over". DUH. EASY. I look at the letters and know immediately it is Ace Young. I move the people around, and I win! :-) Unfortunately there weren't any prizes involved... but it was still pretty cool to be a part of it. We had to do a couple takes of different parts of it (and pretend like it was the first time we did it, of course... gotta love TV) but it took only a few minutes and it was over! They told us it is going to air on "Idol Tonight" in 2 weeks. Its on Wednesdays right before the results show on the TV Guide network.... so check it out if you get the chance! I'll be on TV! :-)

2:15pm: Lauren arrives with lunch! YAY! James and I were HUNGRY! Wendy's had never tasted so good. :-) Thanks again Lauren!

2:22pm: Simon Cowell drives by us in his super nice convertable... everyone standing in line on the street could see it was him turning into the studio, so they were cheering for him. Pretty cool!

2:30pm: Another camera crew shows up, this time for "American Idol Extra"... a show on the Fox Reality Channel. Basically they wanted people to hold up signs and shout out messages for thier favorite contestants. They brought pre-made signs for people to hold up... but I didn't need a pre-made sign! I had my own! lol... (and might I add their signs were way crappier than mine!) So I got recorded again giving a shout out to Matt... saying that everyone back in Kalamazoo is rooting for him. I'm not sure if he will actually get to see it or not... but still cool.

3:00pm: The rep from the show comes out and starts to let people back into the studio lot to wait in the holding area. One problem... Rich is still on his way from work! We fibbed a bit and told him he went to the bathroom. He asks us to stand to the side and will need to wait for Rich to get there. As I'm on the phone with Rich... we're worried that he might not make it because of ridiculous L.A. traffic. I'm stressin'.... but trying to still stay excited. Luckily the guy from the show radioed back to a girl in the holding area and told her that he had four people that were still coming in, and we were just waiting for one in the bathroom. He told us that once Rich arrived we could head back and still be in our original spot in line. He was a really nice guy, and I appreciated that. Actually, I can't think of anyone that wasn't nice there. The staff was all pleasant. Which they should be! I would be in a pleasant mood if I worked for Idol too!!!

3:30pm: After what must have looked like the longest bathroom break ever (lol) Rich arrives, running down the sidewalk to get here. Whew! I was so happy were all together and we were going to make it in!!! Pretty awesome. We walk back to the holding area and past the VIP parking spaces for the celebrities of both Idol and Dancing With the Stars. It was pretty cool to see "This Space Reserved For: ______" and see names like Randy Jackson, Julienne Hough, Lil' Kim, etc. We kept walking to the holding area and we were given our admission patch. We were to stick it on our pants by our thigh. At this point, it became apparent that we were going to be in "the pit"... the standing room area that is down by the stage. Pretty darn cool... yes... although we'd be on a feet the whole time. After this we had to hand over our cell phones to security and were given a ticket to pick them up at the end of the show.

We wait in the holding area with a whole group of high school freshmen. They were dropped off by a school bus. I talked with one of the girls and she said that her teacher is friends with the stage manager, so she got the hookup to bring her whole class. Pretty cool teacher if you ask me!!! :-) The kids took up all the seats on the provided benches, so unfortunately the four of us had to stand (which wasn't fun, knowing we'd also be standing through the entire show). I wanted to boot some of the kids off... but played it nice. We waited here for a good 45+ minutes... during the waiting, a 50-ish year-old woman walked around passing out stickers that said "Anoop Troop" for any Anoop fans. Pretty funny I thought.

4:25pm: After the ticket holders with seats are ushered in, finally all of us in the pit get to walk to the studio. We walk through the back... and finally we enter through the side... and THERE IT IS! The OFFICIAL American Idol stage! :-) The neon lights... the giant video screens... the spiral staircases... it was pretty awesome. Besides being taken aback by how small it was, it was a great feeling to know we actually made it in! We took our places in the pit, on the side next to Simon. We were all asked to cram into an area lined off my tape on the floor. Pretty much packed in like sardines, but I certainly didn't care.

4:40pm: The audience prep guy comes out to get us hyped up for the show. He picks a couple people out to do a dance on the stage. I totally would have loved to get up there and volunteer, but he picked a guy who it was his birthday. Damn birthdays....

4:45pm: Now the celebrities start to show up in the audience. Sitting front and center (as many of you probably saw) was Mandisa from season 5 and actor David Spade... interesting combo. lol. Also in the audience were Neil Patrick Harris (DOOGIE!), Carnie Wilson (Yeah Wilson Phillips!), and Lisa Rinna with husband Harry Hamlin. Justin Gaston (Miley Cyrus's boyrfriend) was also there... which was interesting because a couple ladies we were talking to in line heard that Miley was doing a surprise performance. With her BF there, it seemed apparent... but didn't happen.

4:50pm: At this point, the audience prep guy also informs us about the fake boo'ing and applauding... and tells us that we have to be overly excited throughout the whole show. If people from the show find that we aren't being energetic, they could take us out. There will be no problem with me being energetic! :-)

4:55pm: They announcer brings out all 9 contestants to the stage and the crowd goes wild!!! :-) It was cool to actually see them live in the flesh. I proudly hold up my sign for Matt to see and he immediately sees me! He smiles big.... points and me and waves.... then.... he HELD UP HIS HAND AND POINTED TO KALAMAZOO ON HIS PALM! :-) SOOO awesome! That's how we do it in Michigan! :-) Definitely a highlight for me! It was worth it to make the sign.

4:59pm: The director of the show is calling for Ryan and he is no where to be seen. We can see the clock counting down by the second in the back of the studio and there is less than a minute with no Ryan. The director is like shouting for him to get out on stage! Finally, with seconds to spare, Ryan emerges up top by the band and runs down the spiral staircase to take his spot. By the time he hits the floor, the camera's are rolling for his dramatic opening....

5:00pm: ...and with a "THIS......... is American Idol", the show begins! The audience dances during the theme song and the judges have their over-the-top entrance. The crowd goes wild of course.

(now that the show has started, I'll stop with the times... lol)

Ryan announces the theme 'Top iTunes Downloads"... which I had seen from doing some research before the show. What I didn't know is that the theme should have been called "Sing Whatever The Hell You Want". I don't know about you, but last time I checked iTunes didn't exist in the times of Bob Marley and Wild Cherry. Anyway....

After some banter between Ryan and the judges (where Kara continues to overuse the word "artistry") they announce Anoop is the first to perform. During Anoops video package, I look over at the judges and Kara sees me. I smile and she gives me a wink. Pretty cool! :-)

Anoop performs Usher's "Caught Up", and from my perspective I thought he did pretty well actually. Maybe it was just because it was a fun song and one that made me want to dance. That combined with the adrenaline of the show, and being in the pit... I was feelin' it! Then the judges panned it. I was confused. Then I watched his clip back last night and I understood why. It wasn't all that good. I guess I was caught up in the moment. Ha ha... I made a funny.

It was very hard to hear the judges comments too.... I'm not sure if its just because of where we were standing... but it was like straining to hear what they said.

First commercial break after Anoop... and the judges immediately get up and leave and go backstage. I still find this kind of odd. The audience prep guy does some interviewing of audience members and gives out an iPod Touch to a kid that came all the way from Florida with his family. Pretty cool.... Seconds before the show is coming back to air, the judges make their way back to their seats. And action!

It's now Megan's turn. She's singing a Lauryn Hill/Bob Marley song. At this point, many of us in the pit kind of turned our heads slightly diagonally to the side like a dog does when its confused. I could tell many of us were like "this is a top download?". That started the confusion amongst the pit and the audience as to what songs were eligible for this week. Meh.... whatever.

Megan's performance was, just as Simon described, pretty boring. I'm not sure if she was having an off night, but even in the studio she came across as very disconnected. Her little "but my fans will like it..." line at the end is getting kind of old. I really have wanted to like her, but after seeing her live in the audience, I'm kinda over it. Several of the other contestants interacted with the crowd and she came on, sang, and went off. Meh.

Next up is Danny. He had his little interview segment on the stools with Ryan right in front of us! During commercial he talked with some of the high schoolers in the pit with us... mainly the girls that were fans of his. He seemed nice... but it was almost like "canned nice". Like "put on a show nice". I still give him credit for talking with them though. She seemed very uncomfortable in his outfit as he kept adjusting himself and checking to make sure he looked alright.

Danny's performance was good.... but I'm still getting bored with him. He's doing what we know he can do every week. I just want something a little different. The Rascal Flatts song was a good choice for him though.

Ryan introduces Allison from in front of the judges desk, and then walks down the steps right by the pit. Lauren is standing out the outer rim of the pit and as Ryan comes by she smiles big. He extends his hand out to shake her hand, and Lauren went in for the hug!!! :-) It was awesome! Lauren got a hug from Ryan Seacrest! You have to know that Lauren is a HUGE Ryan fan.... mainly because of his radio show out here in L.A. She listens to him every morning. So for her to get a hug from him, it was awesome. The look on her face was priceless! LOVED IT. Definitely a highlight of the night!

Allison's performance was pretty decent... although the outfit WAS hideous. It's funny the judges commented on it, because I thought it as soon as she walked out on the stage. The high school boys in the pit by us really like her... so maybe thats where a lot of her fanbase is.

As we go to commerical, the back screen opens up and the crew wheels out the grand piano. Must be time for Scott to perform. They also usher Scott's family into the front row right behind our pit. This is when I realize that they have been shuffling the "friends and family" to this front row on both sides throughout the whole show. This explains how they can always get good footage of the family during the performance.

Scott performs alone with no help from Ricky Minor and the band and I think it was probably the smartest decision he's made in the competition so far. He did well... and this solo version mixed it up a bit, giving him some originality. The performance itself was pretty good too. But... my favorite part was watching his family behind me. They really are super proud of him. His mom especially was geting very emotional... I think because he was singing a song by the legendary Billy Joel, AND doing it solo. His sister (also blind) was also very moved by the performance. When Paula made her comments about being so proud of him, his family was also beaming with pride. SO cool to see that. Definitely the most touching moment of the day for me. I haven't even been that big of a Scott fan, but it was cool to see him do so well and have such great loving support from his family.

Another commerical break... more iPod's given away.... and next up is Matt. He is also interviewed by Ryan right in front of us on our side of the stage. Pretty cool! He looks down at me, and remembers me from earlier with the sign and he gives me "hey" head nod. Pretty cool. :-) Then... they have him perform on the it on the OTHER side. Darn... would have been cool to be in his pit. Oh well.

In terms of his performance.... I actually liked it, although I don't think it was his strongest. It kinda reminded me of the Coldplay he did before. He still sang it very well though... just could have picked a better song. I was really hoping he would have picked "What Goes Around Comes Around" by Justin Timberlake... because its a dramatic song... plus he has a JT vibe about him. I completely disagree with what Kara said about picking a genre though. He can be rock when he wants to and R&B when he wants to if you ask me! There are several established musicians that have crossed those boundaries... off the top of my head I think of Janet Jackson singing the rock-ish "Black Cat" and then doing R&B songs like "That's The Way Love Goes". It can be done. Look at all the country crossovers like Shania Twain or Taylor Swift! Also examples of not being pigeonholed into a certain genre. Let Matt do what he wants and see what the public thinks. With that said... I think he could be in trouble tonight.

Next Up is Lil Rounds... how cute is her family?!?! Seriously? I love the hug to Randy. Randy hug + Lil's tears probably equals safety this week. I didn't like the song choice at all though. Celine? really? I 100% agree with Simon's suggestion of "One" by U2 as a great choice. Not many people know the Mary J. Blige version of that song, so she could have rocked it out without being a copycat. Which brings me to another point... when Kara and Randy were suggesting that Lil sing a Mary J or Mariah song, I think it is almost setting Lil up for other bad critiques because I can hear them saying in that case that she would be too "copycat" and not showing who "Lil really is". So, what gives?!?!

It's time for another commericial and at this point I am about to jump out of my skin because Adam is up next and I can't wait to hear what he has to unveil to us this week. Also at this point, some people from the audience got up to leave, so Rich got asked if he wanted to be a seat-filler. Pretty awesome! Relief from the standing... plus, he was right behind the judges... so if you check out the show, you can see Rich in the background during Adam's performance. My question is though: who on earth would leave the show right before Adam is coming out to perform? Idiots!

Back from commercial and Adam takes the stage to sing Wild Cherry's "Play That Funky Music"... (again... was this iTunes top download in 1976? What? This theme is confusing me...). As the song starts, the crowd is already up on thier feet dancing. You can definitely tell that collectively as a group, the audience had the most support for Adam. Some of the high school boys shuddered when Adam was shaking his hips... lol... but to be expected from pre-pubescent straight boys (same boys screaming their faces off for Allison, of course). But other than those boys, the crowd was digging the performance. So much so, that it was often difficult to hear parts of the song because the crowd was cheering. It was nice to be able to watch back the clip later to hear all his riffs. Everything that has been said about Adam in terms of his comfort level on stage and the way he commands a performance is even more true in person. It's like you can feel the energy in the room while he's up there. Pretty awesome. I definitely plan on downloading this from iTunes when it's released tomorrow. :-)

Now, judges comments. I know one thing is for sure... I'm not letting Kara do my taxes anytime soon. She is HORRIBLE with numbers! First it was the "six words" that were actually 8 words last week... and now she says "Studio 57"?!?! I was laughing so hard and how ridiculous that comment was. So many people in the audience were looking at eachother going "57? Isn't it 54?".... LOL. Rich said that from his seat he saw her turn around and say to the audience "54! I'm sorry!". LOL.

After the judges comments, they pan to a quick intro of Kris before the commercial and he is sitting on the steps right in front of us. Let me state this for the record: Kris is MUCH more attractive in person that he is on TV! When I looked over at him, I was like "shoooooooot!". :-) Maybe it was how he was dressed or the facial hair coming in... but he was definitely cute. But I in no way let that influence my opinion of Kris or his singing.... ;-)

Kris takes the stage at the keyboard, and gave what I consider to be the best performance of the night. Kris earned hardcore bonus points from me with this performance. It showed that he's not just a guitar guy.... plus it showed that he can take a song and make it his own. I'm buying this from iTunes too. Kris is really making a run for this! He's a dark horse for sure, but he did come with a bit more confidence this week, as Simon said. Not concietedness or cockiness... but confidence. It was nice to see. Before I thought he'd be one of the first 4 to go home... but now I see him in the final 4, for sure! If he can keep delivering solid performances, he will continue to rise on this show.

The judges wrap on Kris's comments.... and they run the phone number video. As this is going on, the contestants join Kris on stage, and they all come up to him giving him hugs and high fives on a great performance. Pretty cool to see that they are supportive of eachother. As Ryan does the closing of the show, I hold up my sign and Matt points at me again. :-) Yay.

The show is over... but we are asked to stay for a bit because they need to tape a couple additional things. First is an acceptance speech for some reality TV award that Idol won... and they have the judges do the segment. Paula is the only one to talk, although they do fight over it for a bit because they all want Simon to do it and he refuses to. Paula does a great job though... reading from the tele-prompter! :-)

Next is a quick commercial that looks like they will play tonight before "Lie To Me"... telling people to stay tuned for the results show. Ryan does this one, and its done in one take. Such a professional. lol.....

And with that.... the taping is over and they tell everyone to leave the studio. We walk outside and collect our cell phones... and I sit down on the benches to rest my feet and back after standing for the past 5+ hours.

We walk back towards the parking structure... and we were right by a mall called The Grove, so we decided to walk over and have some dinner. We ate at the Cheesecake Factory (deelish!). After dinner we were leaving and sitting in the lobby were a husband and wife that looked familiar. At first I thought they were someone from Michigan because I knew they were from my past... but then I realized they were Bam Margera's parents April & Phil from "Jackass" and "Viva La Bam" on MTV! Another glance back...and there was Steve-O! :-) They must have just gotten out of the Dancing With The Stars taping. I asked them for a picture and they were very nice to oblige! Lauren got one too. Pretty cool.

Then in other reality TV excitement... in the center of The Grove was a performance by The Ballas-Hough Band.... which for those of you that don't know, includes Mark Ballas and Derek Hough from Dancing With The Stars!!! So we watched them for a few. I tried to get some pictures... but they didn't turn out well on my cell phone. Still cool! It was a reality TV filled day!


And with that... my American Idol experience concluded. I went home to find that my DVR DIDN'T TAPE IDOL AGAIN, which was depressing... but thankfully the clips were online (mjsbigblog.com). But it was probably all the better because i never would have stayed awake through the whole episode... I was out on the couch in no time flat from a tiring day. :-)



To wrap up... my predictions for tonight:

The bottom three: Megan, Matt & Anoop

Going home: It's tough... because Megan does have some sort of strong fan base out there. I really hope its her.... but I have a feeling it could be some bad news with Matt or Anoop. But my gut is saying its Megan's turn to go. I think there were other people out there who were fans of her that may have been unimpressed with her last night, just like me.


I know I definitely enjoyed the show... and will never look at American Idol the same now that I know what it's like behind-the-scenes!