The first thing I noticed about this concert as compared to last year’s is that there was a lot less energy both in and out of the arena. I didn’t hear nearly the buzzing about the Idols that I did last year. And there didn’t seem to be as many shirts, signs and other outward expressions of love for the Idols…
As we came onto the plaza, we were greeted by the Oscar Mayer Wienermobile (for the jingle contest), the “Idol Chat” van and a Pop-Tarts bus. Inside there was karaoke in the lobby, although I’m not sure the guy running the karaoke ever shut up long enough to let other people take a try. “TV Guide” also had a booth on the other side of the arena where you could pretend you were on the red carpet.
Inside the arena, we were greeted with copies of this week’s “TV Guide” on our chairs, along with a special “Idol” tour magazine stapled on the outside. The text messaging on the big screens was replaced by music videos of Carrie Underwood, Kellie Pickler, Fantasia and Daughtry. In fact, the site of Chris Daughtry on the screen ignited the first buzz I’d heard since I walked in—a perfect illustration of why this may have not been a good idea. After all, you don’t want to remind anyone that this group (that we paid good money for) may not measure up. In between the music videos, we saw some of the Pop-Tarts webisodes, trivia about the top 10, and commercials for tour merchandise and the “So You Think You Can Dance” tour.
Just before the concert began, we were greeted by a giant Pop Tart Splitz, who was nice enough to pose for this picture for me.The concert begins…after the break…
