My Memories Of The American Idol After Party In Toronto Canada

By Karen (Masterclass Lady’s daughter)

I was fortunate to be able to attend the after party with my two daughters, Karen and Maria. They were extremely excited to meet the singers and felt fortunate to have been given the privilege to do so.

Even though all three of us brought our cameras, Maria was the designated official photographer for the evening. Karen and I were the “gab masters” and she (Karen) brings a more youthful perspective to the party recap.

So, here we go with one last look at the Toronto meet and greet event through Karen’s eyes. Enjoy!

We were told to meet at gate 221 and then, after sitting for a bit, were herded like cattle down the corridor toward the “meet and greet” room.

Along the way, my sister, Maria, and I bumped into Carly in the hallway and I nudged my sister and said “Hey, there’s Carly!” (like she was one of my friends).

Then we entered the room and saw an assortment of people, not realizing that in the middle of this mixture stood David Archuleta.
MCL note – I had already established Archie contact. I had my radar set just right!

So, once again, I turned to Maria and said: “Hey, there’s David – OMG!”

Thankfully, they organized this whole meet and greet in such a way that I didn’t even have a chance to become giddy and nervous. I just kept bumping into these singers! No time to work myself up into a fanatic frenzy.

Anyway, we immediately introduced ourselves to David Archuleta and chatted, took some pictures – we were one of the first people to get to him and he was so very friendly and down to earth. He never stopped smiling and was genuinely grateful that we loved him so much.

I believe my Mom (MCL) kept talking to him while I did a quick scan around the room. It was then that I noticed Michael Johns, but he was busy talking, so I kept looking and then noticed Jason! I stared at him for a bit because he was just as beautiful in real life as he was on television. He was “attacked” by three teens who wore “I love Jason” shirts and they spoke with him for a bit.

Then my Mom came along and eventually the teen girls left. We talked quite a long time with Jason and to my surprise he was quite shy, but he knew who my Mom was – the Masterclass Lady. He was so nice!

But he looked a little uncomfortable. It made me think back to an interview that he did, where he said all he wants to do is sing and play for people. He doesn’t like all the other “stuff”- the talking, interviews, the photo shoots etc. So I can understand what he was feeling (that and probably a little tired from the busy schedule that day).

My Mom kept talking to Jason, and then I bumped into Ramiele and found her very easy to talk to and our conversation made me realize that these singers are just young kids. She sounded and looked so vulnerable and young – like one of my teenage students.

And she was saying how embarrassed she was about her mike kicking out. She said that she’s always scared about her voice not working for her and tonight it was the mike. I told her it was better to have the mike kick out than her voice! And she laughed and agreed.

Also, she was the only singer who asked about ME. What’s your name? Are you from Toronto etc? Cute girl – tiniest girl I have ever met!

By the end of the meet and greet she was sitting on the counter endlessly voicing how tired she was-just another reminder that these singers are not larger than life, like we always assume they are. They are just regular young adults who happened to win the musical equivalent of a lottery.

After Ramiele, I said a quick hello to Kristy, but was immediately distracted when I saw David Cook across the crowded room wearing his red ball cap. And once again I was hit with a dose of reality – he’s just a regular guy!!

And I turned to Maria and pointed him out so we walked over there and, of course, there were many people around him and, just when I was about to talk to him, some more people came out of nowhere and spoiled my moment!

First, they took one picture at a time with him, then a group shot, then two at a time -man!! He finally said okay one more then it’s your turn (to me).

Then I said: “Hi David, you’re amazing” (couldn’t say much more because there were so many people waiting for him). My Mom and Maria took pictures, and then I turned and said thanks and bye!
MCL Note: I was literally pushed out of the way. No picture for MCL and no time to introduce myself. What can you do? Who wants to make a scene? This is supposed to be a dignified “meet and greet”. Oh well.

After that, I saw Syesha, but she was talking to someone else and she didn’t stay long at all. The next time I tried to look for her, she was gone.

I moved toward Carly next and there was a lady speaking with her, so I listened. That’s when I noticed how wonderful Carly was!! Her eyes sparkled as she was talking to this one fan and she was genuinely excited to hear what this person had to say. She seemed genuinely nice with everyone! She was talking about how much she loved chocolate – I guess a fan sent her a chocolate cake before the show!

So I moved on to Michael Johns – wonderful guy! And we talked about his early departure in the show and how it shouldn’t have happened and his response was: “Well, someone had to go and I was just looking forward to Finale night.”

And he was talking to some other girl about Simon and he said: “Well, Simon is Simon – but we respect him a lot!” I took my picture with him and said “you’re great” and left.

By then I noticed that Jason was gone, Syesha was gone, and I never saw Chikezie.
MCL Note Neither did I! Too bad indeed.

Then, I noticed the security/ manager person circulating the room by this time, asking the idols if they were ready to go up because there was a crowd waiting for them for autographs. I’m assuming that’s where Jason, Ramiele, Syesha and Chickezie went.
MCLNote: Yes, indeed. That’s when I bid my farewell to Jason. Too quick an evening, unfortunately.

Throughout the evening, I was always looking for another opportunity to talk to David Cook.
MCL Note: You and me both. It wasn’t going to happen! (sigh)

And every time I saw Archie he had more and more people around him. And then the funny moment came when I caught my Mom rubbing his back! Ha! I thought -Oh mom! Always worrying! But hey, I was at the “Meet and Greet” because of the way you are!! He was probably tired or something. Regardless, he never stopped smiling. And I also noticed that his arms were now full of gifts!

MCL Note: Yes, he was exhausted – started to yawn, poor thing

And then Carly! There was finally some breathing room around her so off I went to talk to her. I was just so amazed at how beautiful and tiny she was! I thought she would be much taller, but she is a wee little thing.

Anyway, I know my Mom spoke to her and we took pictures and, once again, her eyes sparkled. I told her that I loved the quality of her voice. It was unique and that not a lot of people could sing the way she does. I remember she said to my Mom that she couldn’t believe some of the notes she was hitting some nights and that even Debra Byrd was amazed.

MCL Note: I know that she told me that David Archuleta told her that she was doing some amazing things with her voice on tour. I forgot to mention this in my recap of the party.

Then the manager came up and handed out water to the singers. It was extremely hot in that room. I was sweating and I remember thinking – these singers have to touch me when they are taking pictures!
MCL Note: This cracked me up! Only my daughter would worry about something like this

Then I went back to David Cook and just stood there and watched him with his fans. He was very personable – much more than I had expected – and patient.

I watched David A some more with his fans and I heard him say he loved Canada. He talked a bit about his song writing. Talented guy!

Then we saw Brooke and she was beautiful of course. And we spoke with her for a short while but she seemed a bit distracted toward the end of the conversation. She said she had to go see a friend of hers from Canada!

I never realized her husband was from Toronto and she lived for a time in Eastern Canada.

Then I went back to David Cook and took some more pictures from a distance and then the manager came up to him and said “Are you ready to go?” By then most of the other singers had left. And then David Cook left the room.

Archie was still there talking and that’s when my Mom pointed out Debra Byrd to me as well as David Archuleta’s father. Then Archie left. Smiling and waving to the crowd. His exit was priceless!! People were even taking pictures as he walked down the hall and he was still smiling and waving. He is VERY GOOD to his fans.

I remember my Mom and my sister, who was the designated photographer for the evening, saying that it was time to go and I just didn’t want to!!! I didn’t want the night to end!
MCL Note: Nor did I

And for the rest of the night and the following two days I felt like I was missing something! I wanted to see them all again and experience this whole thing again because it was one of the best nights EVER and I will NEVER forget it.
Thanks mom. You made a dream come true for me!
MCL Note: My pleasure, sweetie!