Sometimes you just do crazy things. Like stand out in the cold for a couple hours to hear an artist perform two songs. In the rain. But as long as you enjoy it, it’s worth it, right? Oh yesss.
I must say this was probably the craziest thing I’ve done for a concert in awhile. I’ve been on crazy long lines and waits, but this was the first time I’ve risked getting a cold for it (editors note: no cold acquired. :))! It took about two hours before we were settled into the small set at Rockafeller Center. I was cold, wet, and shivering. I was about to call it quits when Ariana Grande stepped out!
The current world sensation stepped out waving and flashing her beautiful smile as she jumped around from the cold. Her down-to-earth self that’s still adjusting to the exponential increase in fame broke the superstar wall by telling us that yes, she forgets her lyrics and the prompt behind our heads is just wonderful!
The sweetheart may forget her words, but she never lost her voice. Even in the rainy cold she was able to sing with all the beautiful whistles and power that only she has. I was blown away seeing her live. I had seen her once before when she performed in Broadway’s Thirteen and it’s incredible to watch her popularity, style, and accomplishments grow!
She performed her two Christmas songs from her weekly Tuesday releases. I love her remix of Last Christmas, one of my favorite holiday songs! It sounds fresh and new with her special R&B/90s twist. Watch below to see her perform her original Love Is Everything! See her full performance on Wednesday, Dec 4th!
Stay tuned to NBC’s Christmas in Rockefeller Center on Dec 4th 8/7central when her performances of Love is Everything AND Last Christmas will air! 😀
THE FEELS! I’m still jittering from the excitement of 11.12.13’s Fashionably Late Tour stop in NYC!
Matching with the Texas, flannel-loving boy with a smooth strong voice and real feel like a true fan should! #blackandflannel
You may remember Travis Garland from NLT (Not Like Them) [Listen: That Girl] whose run lasted from 2006-2009 when they separated and focused on individual projects. They never released an album, but their small “bandamonium” run spawned two great additions to the entertainment world: Kevin Hale (Glee) and Travis Garland.
NLT may not have made Garland a pop sensation, but he has all the charm and charisma of a great one – plus a voice that is so smooth, raspy, and powerful that you just don’t know what to do with yourself when you hear it! His music, a blend of r&b, pop, rock presences had people from all over going crazy. The frostbite induced by a terribly long wait to get into the venue (caused by a special VIP acoustic performance and Meet & Greet running late) was dispelled as he and opener O’Donis took the stage.
O’Donis started out with a medley of songs he did when he was big back in 2008 with his own single What You Got and features in Lady Gaga’s Just Dance and Akon’s Beautiful. The New York City native, dressed like he was prepared for a night out in the sleepless city, hyped up the crowd covering Drake and giving us a glimpse of what he has in store for the future. I loved O’Donis’ smooth voice back in 2008, but I was honestly surprised how smooth and dynamic it was on stage. With ease he sang while engaging the crowd, including dancing with a girl he picked from the crowd. His new stuff sounds great, so keep an eye out for his release in 2014!
When Travis came out, the crowd went WILD! He jumped right in with his first single, Where To Land and followed by playing music off his Fashionably Late EPs, his full length studio album Travis Garland, and collaboration favorite Paint that he did with JoJo. I was blown away by his vocal performance! It was surreal to see him performing live and sounding just like he did in the recordings, if not better. He is so comfortable being on stage that it felt very intimate. Goodness he has a beautiful voice! I’m telling you, it’s going to take me awhile to stop this concert high I’m on!
One of my favorite moments was his performance of AllSheWannaDo. It was so much FUN! Garland kicks it back a bit with a bass solo, adds drums, then jumps (literally) into an air guitar riff mirroring guitarist, Kenji Chen. At 2:02 he flips around and everything stops until it all starts going again, totally giving us a thrill!
Although there was a good presence of female fans (NLT and later on) screaming their heads off as he took the stage, Travis Garland pulls a lot of fanbase from the dance world as well. You might’ve heard a male voice going crazy before a bunch of the songs in my videos. He and another guy near me are dancers that bonded over their love for dance and Travis Garland’s music as inspiration during the concert. I’m not a dancer myself (I wish!), but I have several friends into it. Through my sporadic YouTube marathons watching choreo, I’ve seen the influence of Travis’ music, especially in Brian Puspos. Puspos, another Texas native, creates vivid emotional pieces that I absolutely love. In particular, he has covered From Adam (see it here), one of my favorites of Travis Garland. When he performed it I went craaazy! So smooth and with so much emotion.
If you have a great genuine performer, you have to have a great support team and Travis Garland has just that. After the show his band (many of whom double as his producers) came out to talk with us. I got the chance to talk to his bassist Ray in particular who was so nice and ever so graciously took a photo of Travis and me when my phone died! (If you’re reading this Ray, thank you again!)
Travis Garland isn’t starting off safe with the music he releases, but at the same time he isn’t forcing his music to be spread without a dedicated fan base. With the independent release of his album and an incredible North American tour under his belt, there is so much opportunity out there for him! Look out world, Travis Garland is stating his ground and he won’t be leaving for a very long while. (And hey, Travis! Will we get to see some dance moves like back in your boy band days?!)
See all of my videos in the Playlist below. ENJOY! 😀
I love going to college in the city! Last Tuesday, I woke up at the most ungodly hour (for a college student), travelled to Good Morning America’s studios…and THIS happened!
Avril Lavigne in the flesh! After her Good Morning America Fall Concert Series performances, she was gracious enough to take a few selfies and sign souvenirs from the 50 or so fans huddled into GMA’s concert studio in Times Square.
My goodness, she was the sweetest and prettiest thing in person! It’s been over a decade since she stepped into stardom, but she looks just as fresh and punk as back then. I feel so blessed to have been able to take this picture with her. I’ve been a major fan of hers ever since Sk8er Boi and it was a dream come true seeing her perform it just a few feet away from where I stood!
She only performed two songs, but it was worth being able to hear the comments from the producers, camera men, Avril, and anchors in between shots and what it takes to pull the show off! At the end of the show, Avril exclaims something along the lines of “that was so much fun! I’ve never performed [Sk8er Boi] in heels!”
Let’s put this out there: I’ve been a fan of Hot Chelle Rae since before the went mainstream and Tonight Tonight was a pop hit. I don’t find knowing a band since the olden days to be that big of a bragging right, but for Hot Chelle Rae, it’s pretty cool to see how they’ve grown especially in their sound. I’m partial to their old stuff (listen: Bleed), but you definitely cannot help but dance and sing along to their new stuff which all have a greet feel-good vibe (listen: Hung Up).
I’ve seen Hot Chelle Rae once before at Z100 JingleBall in 2011, but they only played a short set and while it looked amazing, they were so far away. The concert was at Madison Square Garden and I was on the second tier section all the way on stage-left. Needless to say, when the opportunity came about to see them live in a small venue at none other than a pre-VMA week concert, I definitely jumped on the chance! And omg, was it worth it!
The night started off at around 8pm when Darling Parade went on. The audience, crowded into Williamsburg Hall of Music, had Poptart inspired goodies to munch on as they bobbed their heads to Darling Parade’s alternative rock/pop sound. I had never heard of the band before I listened to their stuff on Spotify, but it was very easy to get in their groove (listen: Ghost). They have that sound that’s enjoyable and my goodness, they’re great performers! Very down to earth, with a great live sound. (Plus, they were so fun hanging around upstairs all night long and signing their EP after the show!)
Up next was 5th Harmony — plus their dedicated fans! Tricked out in personalized tees, these girls bawled their eyes out when the quintet went on stage and performed their hits. I wasn’t a big fan of them last X Factor season (Team Carly Rose!), but no one can deny their cutesy, catchy sound! They were surprisingly pretty good live, especially in their acoustic performances!
Lastly, Hot Chelle Rae came on! The crowd dwindled a bit as the 5th Harmony girls and Darling Paraders left. It was bittersweet as I would have imagined more people loving HCR, but it gave me the chance to be second row! Although it had been awhile since I heard their latest album, but surprisingly I remembered all the words and sang along! They have SOOOO much energy! I loved it! I hoped they would play some more old stuff, but it was fantastic just to see them live and so close!
Thank you MTV & Poptarts for hosting an INCREDIBLE show and Gotham Events for letting me attend!
