American Idol!

Today I was privileged to attend an American Idol full dress rehearsal! I put my name on a waiting list back in January and my name finally came up! I could have gotten tickets for the actual show, but very few people get in because there are lots of VIP's and family members that take priority. So, it would have meant camping out all day just to hope that I'd get in. I opted for the dress rehearsal because it was more of a sure thing.

There was still some waiting around before we actually got in to the show, but it was so much fun! They run it like the actual show, including commercial breaks and everything. Everyone is in their clothes and the singers really give it their all! The fun thing was that it was a little more relaxed because most of it wasn't actually going to be aired. Ryan Seacrest interacted a lot with the audience and joked around and the contestants were able to interact some too.

I was sitting four rows back on the aisle, so I had a great view! Actually, Taylor walked right by me during his song and Ryan did his little clip about downloading the songs standing right next to me. So we made some small talk and shook hands. I know you're all jealous! (Just kidding-I don't really have a thing for Ryan Seacrest.)

The other difference is that Randy, Paula, & Simon are not at the dress rehearsal. They had three people sitting in for them and they kept us laughing with their impressions.

The two things that will air from this afternoon's dress rehearsal are the recaps of each contestant's songs and a clip of all four contestants up on stage. I'm anxious to hear what the judges have to say tonight. They all did pretty well, except Katherine forgot a couple lines. Hopefully she'll get it down for the real thing!

You aren't allowed to bring in cameras or cell phones, so the only pictures I have are my ticket and the line to get in!