Parts 1, 2 and 3
The big day finally arrived. To some it may sound ridiculous, but the past 13 years, since I first heard "...baby one more time" I knew I've needed to meet this woman. She's had some hard times, sure, but don't we all? Maybe our problems
are less severe than any Britney has had, but she's under a magnifying glass, for one. I can totally understand how things can just become too much. She's an entertainer and is doing what she loves to do, and HAS been since she was 8 years old. I admire her. I do.
Never in a million years did I actually believe I would get to meet Britney- let alone sit down and talk with her....yet today it was all coming to fruition. It still hadn't totally hit me. I had had my moment of weakness and emotional release the day before, but I still was pretty composed when I woke up this morning!
I didn't sleep very well the night before-tossing and turning- and waking up too early. Thankfully, I didn't need to do my make-up or hair, as told to me by Audrey (producer). The reason was because I was getting my hair and make-up did!!
I was taken to
Andy Lecompte hair salon! Britney gets her hair done here, among many other celebs. Angelo did my hair for the day and I had my make-up done. I wanted to tell the make-up artist that it
was kinda useless to do my make-up now, because it'd all be off by the time the interview rolled around, but I just enjoyed the moment.
Thank you Angelo, for your sweet Aussie accent and swift, gentle hands, for doing my hair so sweetly the day of my Britney meeting.
Sitting in the star chair. Film crew behind me. All on their phone, which cracks me up.
During the process, Lindsay decided to spring on me the very last surprise! She let me in on the fact that I'd be interviewing Britney backstage at The Ellen Show where she was appearing that day.
We had lunch before heading to the studio lot...which was about the time I started feeling sick. Not from nerves, but just nauseous. I think it had a lot to do with the car ride and being in the VERY back. I apparently get car sick sitting in the very back of a stretch SUV.
I felt awful and for about an hour and a half I just wanted to lie down- I wasn't nervous, no desire to see Britney, nada. It was weird...
After a can of ginger ale and getting the hell up OUT of that SUV, I felt better- I had an overwhelming sense of sadness right before I was about to meet my idol and I didn't like that ONE bit. I think dread was setting in, knowing this was my last day in L.A. and I would have to go back to reality- that's never fun after any type of vacation.
On the back lot of Warner Bros. Studios where The Ellen Show is filmed!
Last minute question changes with Lindsay...Travis filming. He got his crying moment from me, so he's all good.
Fanning myself backstage at The Ellen Show- bring on the sweat and nerves! This was right before I started crying from seeing Britney on TV. heh heh
Fixated on Britney. Watching live backstage as she interviewed with Ellen. Nerves setting in. Yikes.
Our greenroom/holding area.
I’m getting butterflies typing this-
remembering what those seconds and minutes felt like leading up to meeting her.
Of course, I kept replaying in my mind how I imagined the meet-and-greet
happening: Me crying hysterically, but somehow pulling myself together to ask her
questions. I drop cards at her feet, but she laughs and say’s it’ll all be OK.
LOL. I’m so weird.
As I said, I was told I had about 5-6
minutes with her and two of her bodyguards came up to meet me when we first got
to the studios. Understandable. The woman is very well protected, that’s for
sure. Not being used to being a possible “threat” it kind of made me uneasy,
but it’s probably something you get used to when working with celebrities.
After Britney got off stage from The
Ellen Show, there was about a 20 minute lag and then I was told to go with Travis
(camera crew) down the hall. It was about that time!
I waited with Travis down the hall from
our greenroom for what seemed like forever. Psy, the Gangnam Style guy, was on
the show that day also (As you all probably know. Britney did the dance live. Lol)
and walked by a few times. He was very nice and cordial by the way. Hahaha
Meanwhile, Travis was getting some film
of me hanging out in the hallway- I can’t wait to see THAT footage because:
#1. I started crying. Again.
#2. I was nervously shaking my cards,
fidgeting, etc. and
#3. He apparently got a great shot of me
in the forefront and Britney behind me as she was entering the green room.
There were a few rules, I found out
later, that were given to everyone from Brit’s manager. There could only be ONE
photograph taken (thank God for video still shot!) and no one else could speak
to Britney except me. HEY! I’m cool with that! But having so many rules the
interview I’ve dreamt about having for 13 years changed a bit. I honestly
wanted to sit down and joke with her and just casually talk. The one thing I
love about Britney is her goofy personality- especially in documentaries you
can tell, when cameras are “OFF” so to speak, that she’s a normal human being
who loves a good laugh. Me too, girl! Me.
Too.
Things didn’t go quite as planned.
When I walked in the room Britney was
supposedly going to be sitting down in the chair across from mine and we would
greet each other, but her people seemed to really be rushing and wanted me down
there in the room NOW. So, with Travis trailing behind me, I walked the
short 25 feet to the green room……On the
way in I caught a glimpse of all of her “people” huddled around the door but
only recognized Larry Rudolph (manager) and Jason Trawick (her to-be hubby).
Thanks for making me feel less nervous, y’all….NOT.
So, I walk in and Britney is RIGHT at
the door almost, and all I see is her perfectly coifed blonde up-do and
gorgeous pink dress. I kinda panicked inside, because I was told she would be
sitting. As a Public Affairs professional myself, I’m a coordinator and
facilitator of interviews, so I get that things don’t always go off as planned,
but for some reason I freaked out somewhat. I guess mainly I just wasn’t sure
why she was still standing up. Sit down, Britney! SIT yo self down, girl!
Once I stumbled in, she turned around
and I started crying. Dumbass. Lol
The first words spoken to me from
Britney Spear’s mouth were, “Aww, don’t cry sweetie.”
Great.
Then she put out her hand.
I had read somewhere (probably Perez
Hilton. Bah!) that she’s very particular about her personal space. Could be
true, could not be true, but I wanted to make sure I didn’t violate any of her
space by tackling her with a huge awkward hug right off the bat…So I did the
polite thing and asked if I could give her a hug.
“Of course!” was her reply. Thank God. Hahah
When I hugged her I got caught on her
hair bun. Shit. Luckily it didn’t fall out of place.
She asked me my name and asked where I
was from.
Mic’s were put on us and as she was
being mic’d up she made one of her now infamous faces. Loved it! I laughed.
Probably a little too much.
I didn’t notice the cameras, but I could
FEEL her manager and people behind me. Later my friend Nathan told me that they
were staring holes into us. Gheesh.
I asked her questions I had come up with
and don’t remember a damn one of them.
I remember a few of her answers, but most
are a blur. The one answer I was most surprised about was when I asked what she
does with her free time, since she is so busy. One of the things she said she
loves to do is “hang out with her girlfriends.” I just thought that was super
cool- When you see Britney on TV, you don’t see her with her girlfriends. You
see her with a bunch of dudes who are surrounding her for her “protection.” It
was so nice to hear about her “normal” lifestyle.
I could have asked her 1,000 more
questions, but I didn’t dare go over my allotted 5-6 questions…although I did
sneak one in about her sense of humor. I wanted to ask her about her future
music career and where she’s headed with that, but I totally forgot. The one
thing I regret!
The ending of the interview was a bit
awkward. I wasn’t sure when or how to end it because I just felt rushed,
honestly. So I said, “Well, that’s all the questions I have today,” and we
shook hands.
Afterwards I felt as though a 100 pound
weight had been lifted off of me and I was suddenly extremely tired.
It was over so fast.
Later while waiting for our red-eye flight
from LAX, I received an e-mail from Audrey (producer) saying she had spoken to
someone on Britney’s team after the interview and they all agreed I was very
sweet and genuine. Britney even commented that she, “loves her southern girls.”
The experience was truly the best thing
that has happened to me- it was a fun time with wonderful people.
It also made me re-evaluate my
professional life.
The entire weekend I was surrounded by
the PopSugar team obviously loving what they do every day. And talking to some
of them I realized they have an educational background same as mine. I’ve
always wanted to write and edit for the entertainment industry, but never
thought it was possible. Why is that? I’m not sure. I’ve gotten stuck in a rut
in my “safe” job. Now, I have a new professional goal that includes doing
something I LOVE to do, and not just something I do because it’s good money and
safe.
It’s going to take a few years before I
reach this goal, but now that I know what I want to do, I’m very happy and have
a new outlook on reaching that goal.
Hope you guys enjoyed reading about the
whole experience and are as thrilled as I am to see the video footage from the
weekend, so check back around October for that!
Britney Spears and I after the interview :)
The show's over folks. NO pictures, please!!!!
