The American Idol crew made their way to Pittsburgh on Wednesday and Thursday to continue the audition rounds! As we teased last week on the forum, we had an amazing opportunity for a few JLove?rs in the area. After a crazy couple of days with BBers scrambling to get their schedules in order, take days off, etc. we had a final group of three. Unfortunately, quite a few others couldn’t make it, but all BBers were there with us in spirit! All the details and photos are after the jump!
We (myself, fellow admin Tee- all the way from Maryland!, and a fellow JLove?r, Heidi) made our way to the David L. Lawrence Convention Center in downtown Pittsburgh at 10:30 AM. We were escorted inside to wait for Jennifer, because she hadn’t arrived yet. We hung around waiting with occasional updates on her status, and then we spotted Jennifer filming her classic walk to the audition room a floor above us (photo below). That’s when the excitement really kicked in! A few minutes later, we were escorted to the “Judges Lounge” to wait for Jennifer. The “Judges Lounge” is basically were the judges get ready and hang out. The room was large and had stations with mirrors and each judge’s personalized chair. Seeing Jennifer’s chair was another “OMG, this is really happening moment!” There were big couches and a huge TV where Jennifer’s team sat watching the auditions. The rest is an exciting blur, but I’ll try to get all the good details!
Benny Medina, Jennifer’s manager, stopped over to say hi and talk to us for a bit, and then asked if we’d like to watch the auditions. Of course! So we moved to the audition room, behind the cameras and equipment and sat down to watch on TVs with various camera angles. It was cool to watch how things actually happen and how much time they give each contestant. We watched until it was time for lunch, and they stopped filming. Jennifer ran to get a quick bite to eat, and then, it was time!
Benny came over and told us they’d be filming our meet and greet (shocker!). We were so excited we didn’t even ask why, but we later found out it’s for American Idol. Ahh! He came out with a bunch of gift bags and set them up on the Idol stage and then led us over. They arranged us and rearranged us, and then Jennifer was ready! Jennifer came out, needlessly introduced herself and gave us each a big hug! She said she always visits the site to see what we all love (and hate). She told us she had some gifts for us, and she stooped down to open the bags and show us! We each got a pair of boots, a gold shirt, earrings, and a purse, from her Jennifer Lopez Collection at Kohls! She told us she heard it was doing really well and she was glad we all liked it so much.
Jennifer was incredibly sweet. After a few minutes, she told them to stop filming because it wasn’t their moment, it was ours, and she couldn’t talk to us while facing the camera, anyway. She turned to the cameras and pretended to talk to us while looking at the camera, as if to say, “See? That doesn’t work!” So they shut them off and we got to chat for a few more minutes. We got a group shot with our bags and then she suggested one without the bags and then individual pics for each of us (again, SO sweet!!).
She said she’s excited about her Mohegan Sun concert and hopes a lot of fans will be there. She told us she gets nervous about doing shows like that and hopes there will be a lot of fans there. We assured her that a bunch of BBers and JLove?rs will be there and everyone is excited to see her perform. We also talked about her iHeartRadio performance and how much everyone loved it. Of course, I had to mention that everyone is waiting for a tour. Sadly, no updates there, but we will see what happens!
She mentioned a few other things, as well. She wrapped her latest film, Parker, a few days ago. She said she loved the script and working with the director, Taylor Hackford, so she hopes it turns out well. She also told us she has been incredibly busy (no surprise there!). She said her schedule is packed for another month and then things will slow down a bit, which, she clarified, means just 2 or 3 days off! Our girl is a trooper! After a few more minutes, we said our goodbyes, she said she hopes she sees us again soon, and thanks for all the support!
We grabbed our stuff and they started prepping for the press conference right away. We watched that and a few more auditions, and then it was time to go. We had a great time meeting all the people Jennifer works with while we watched the auditions. I’ll send a special shout out to Lorenzo Martin, her hairstylist, who told us he always visits to see photos of Jennifer’s hair, haha!
We had an absolutely AMAZING time, so THANK YOU again, to Team Jennifer for making this happen. Next up is Portland, and I know those lucky enough to go will have an unforgettable time!
Here are a few photos and a video of the press conference:
Beyond Beautiful JLo (BBJLo) began as a fan message board in May 2002! In January 2011, we officially transitioned to a full-fledged website and photo gallery. We are proud to be the longest running JLo fansite on the web!
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