After I attended the MTV VMA’s, I made it a personal mission of mine to take advantage of as many free NYC events as possible. After all, what’s better than attending cool TV/music shows for free?
First came the YouTube Music Awards. I received an email saying there was an opportunity to attend the YouTube Awards on November 6th. Being the huge music & YouTube fan that I am, I immediately applied and received a confirmation email a few days later. As the event neared, I mentally prepared myself for what was to come. Since I had gone to similar events prior to this one, I knew that the check-in process was going to require a lot of waiting and standing in line. Sure enough, when my friend Shannen and I showed up three hours earlier than our call-time, a long line had already formed with people waiting to be let in. After a few hours of bracing the freezing cold, we were finally ushered through security and let into the venue. Once we walked in, there were many different stages set up in various locations throughout the venue, and a VIP section that was clearly meant for any celebrities or special guests that were going to attend. To be honest, everything was very chaotic. We weren’t sure where we were supposed to stand or what we were supposed to do; the lack of organization was apparent. When the show started, we moved from stage to stage for every performance. Even through all of the chaos, I was able to see performances by Arcade Fire, Lady Gaga, Eminem, M.I.A, and various popular YouTube Acts. In the end, it was a really cool experience, and it was clear that everyone had a lot of fun.
Next came MTV EMA’s. Although the Europe Music Awards took place in Amsterdam, the pre-show was going to be filmed at the Intrepid Sea, Air, and Space Museum in NYC. Hundreds of people applied for this event, yet I was lucky enough to be one of the fifty people to obtain a “pit” ticket, meaning I would be let in a few hours early to film the opening credits and stand near Cher Lloyd, Andrew Schulz, and Darren Criss as they hosted the show. This experience was completely different from the YouTube Awards – because the EMA pre-show was going to be filmed live, I was able to be there behind the scenes and watch everyone rehearse their lines. We even got to interact with the hosts and the rest of the crew – everyone was so nice and welcoming. Before they started filming, some of the crew handed out posters and signs for us to hold so it would be on camera, some of which said, “I love MTV”, “Marry Me Jason Derulo”, and, my personal favorite, “Mrs. Mahone.” After we filmed the opening credits, we were ushered to the main performance stage. My friend Emilee and I managed to score a spot in the front row for the performance where we saw Fall Out Boy, Jason Derulo, and Austin Mahone perform one song each. Although the performances seemed short, we still had a great time and were grateful for the opportunity!