20. Be a Member of a Studio Audience

Hey y'all!

I haven't posted an update on my 30 by 30 List in a while, even though I've crossed off a few items, so it's time to post about one of them! I've ALWAYS wanted to be a member of a studio audience. Growing up we got to watch "The Price is Right" and I just loved the excitement of the audience! Seriously, when asked in an interview if I could be one TV personality, I said Bob Barker. You see the energetic audience in shows like "The Voice" and "American Idol" and it seems like it's contagious! I just knew I wanted to see what the excitement was like in person. 

While in California for a business trip, our team stayed the weekend. Most shows only tape on week days, but we found out that "Rising Star" was recording LIVE only 40 minutes from where we were staying! At first, I honestly had no idea what Rising Star was, but quickly found out it was because it was brand new! The taping we would be going to would be their fourth episode.

We reserved tickets, but were told that it didn't guarantee us an "in." About 20 minutes before we were told to be there, we were in line. Slowly, they started letting people into the studio. Almost two hours later, we were STILL waiting! We were told the only seats left were VIP and they wouldn't know until 15 minutes before the show if there would be any more seats at all. If you know me, you know I got all antsy about it! We were SO close, but so, so far.

Then, they started taking more people in, and they stopped right in front of us. REALLY?! About three minutes later, we got really lucky and were taken in! It was worth the wait and extra anxiety because we got AWESOME seats. I was literally less than ten feet from Ludacris, another five feet from Kesha and another five feet from Brad Paisley and Josh Groban kept walking around (he's the host). You should know that I am mildly (okay, Ryan would probably say MORE than mildly) obsessed with The Fast & The Furious movies and I listened to a lot of Ludacris in high school, so this was a big deal. I could have taken like three steps to where he was at. And Brad Paisley?! Um hello, I'm obsessed with country music and Brad is one of the big names out there these days.

Let me explain the show really fast - This is a singing show where the public votes on who goes forward. Sounds familiar right? (Hello, American Idol and The Voice), but here's where it's different. It's LIVE! And really, the "judges" aren't really judges. They're actually experts who give their opinions and their vote carries a little bit more weight than yours or mine, but they don't really have a final say at all. There's a lot going on with how it works, so I'll point you HERE to learn more if you're interested. 

Anyway, I loved it. You do feel like you have to be smiling ALL the time in case the camera lands on you. The celebrities were a lot of fun and interacted with the crowd during breaks and the vibe of the room was definitely energetic. Unfortunately, no phones were allowed inside at all so we had to leave them in our car, so the only picture you get is the official logo.

I still want to go to a filming of The Price is Right one day, but had so much fun at Rising Star! If you could be in a studio audience, what show would you want to be on?

Until next time,