A Very GaGa Birthday

Starstruck – Lady GaGa

I’m so starstruck, baby could you blow my heart up. That song by Lady GaGa is ironically how I felt on my 19th birthday at Lady GaGa’s after party at Tila Tequila. It was a day filled with Lady GaGa. On March 27th, it was Lady GaGa’s concert at the Bronson Centre in Ottawa. Right after the concert, which ended around 11:30, there was an after party at Tila Tequila that started at 12:00. At 12:00 it would be March 28th, both mine and Lady GaGa’s birthday.

I rushed from the concert to Tila Tequila. It wasn’t very far by walk but wasn’t that close either. I luckily got a bus that helped me reach Tila faster. The minute the clock turned 12:00, I got bombarded with phone calls and texts wishing me Happy Birthday. At that point I was about a block away from the club. It was a little after 12:00 and my roommate was in line waiting for me. I started running towards the club when I hear a voice call “KHIZER?!” I looked back and it was one of my friends who I invited to the party. With a sigh of relief that I wasn’t the only one who was a little late, I slowed down the pace and we made it to Tila Tequila around 12:20.
Thankfully because my roommate was waiting in line, we were able to jump to the front and didn’t have to wait much longer. The bouncer was looking at us and was like “Are you all 19?” They answered yes, and my roommate was like “It’s his 19th birthday today!” The bouncer looked at my I.D., said Happy Birthday and let us in. It was my first time in a club legal, with Lady GaGa, on both of our birthdays. It was very exciting.

As we went in my roommate said she was there when Lady GaGa went in, and that she was tiny, gorgeous, skinny, and just beautiful. I was excited to get in and see her for myself. After getting our coats checked, we make our way through the crowd and get into the general area where Lady GaGa is partying. When we first got in, we were considerably far from her near the back of the crowd. Slowly, we danced our way all the way to the front where there was nothing but a table between us and Lady GaGa. It was so cool and exciting. We couldn’t take our eyes off her and we still couldn’t believe that we were partying with her.

Lady GaGa stood up and started giving us all cake. Eventually, she opened up a bottle of Vodka and started pouring it in our mouths. Because I don’t drink, I moved away and let the vodka pour over my hair, clothes and body. Yes, it was a little disgusting, but it was coming from Lady GaGa herself. That added a lot of stimulation. The night continued on as such; music played we danced, Lady GaGa danced and interacted with us. I was literally in arms reach of her. I wanted to ask for an autograph or a picture, but since there were so many people behind us and because it was her birthday, I didn’t want to impose. Being that close to her and partying with her was good enough.

The night goes on and the DJ plays Lady GaGa’s hit single “Just Dance”. The crowd went crazy as did Lady GaGa. She got her mic and started singing along and dancing. I thought I’d get some video footage so I started filming. She held her mic out so people could sing as well. I tried to bypass their horrible voices and focused on GaGa. As the song went on she eventually brought the mic right into my camera. I was Starstruck. I couldn’t hold my camera straight because of all my exhilaration. She moved away, the song continued and she was just dancing with us at this point. I reached out my hand, trying to get her to hold mine. She sees it. At the end of the song when she sings her last line, “Just Danceeee” and it echoes out, she looks me in the eyes and reaches out her hand to grab mine. I was on cloud 9. If I had to leave the club right now, I’d be satisfied. The night was amazing. It was a birthday like no other.

Soon after, Lady GaGa left. My friends and I continued to party for a bit before we called it a night. We picked up a taxi and head home. The whole ride home all I could think of was the amazing night we had. It was still only the start. It was around 2:00AM on March 28th and I still had the whole day left to enjoy my 19th. To be honest, the after party was more than enough for me. The night was marvellous and I could ask for no more. As Lady GaGa puts it in her song Starstruck, she really did “blow my heart up”.

Concert Review: Lady GaGa [The Fame Ball Tour]

The Fame Ball Tour

March 27th, 2009; Bronson Centre (Ottawa, Ontario)

Lady GaGa featuring Chester French & The White Tie Affair

Lady GaGa’s concert on March 27th, 2009 at the Bronson Centre in Ottawa, Ontario was more than just a concert. It was an entertaining show displaying this generation’s pop princesses strong vocals, energetic dance routines, fashion trendy dresses and overall ability to put on a completely live and entertaining concert. There aren’t many singers these days that can complete all those tasks and still sing live.

After two opening acts (Chester French & White Tie Affair...I didn't like the latter band), GaGa finally claimed her throne: the stage. Starting with a cool video intro that ended with “My name is Lady GaGa and this is my hausss…”, Lady GaGa appears on stage in a big costume performing future single, Paparazzi. In this costume, GaGa was almost pinned to the spot, but delivered a breathtaking performance of the song. Immediately after Paparazzi, GaGa performed a snippet of Starstruck before jumping into LoveGame, her third North American single. Using the aid of a disco stick, backup dancers and cool costumes, Lady GaGa gave this song more than justice with an amazing performance. The show continued with Beautiful Dirty Rich, The Fame, and Money Honey, which were all energetic and heavy dance and routine oriented performances. In between these performances GaGa told the audience, “People say Lady GaGa is a lie. That’s true, I am a lie….and I fight to make that the truth every day”. This was not only a message to the haters, but a way of showing her humbling personality. She slowed it down a little with the next performance of Eh, Eh (Nothing Else I Can Say); a song about moving on. For the performance, she rides on a old fashioned Vespa , which fits in with the old-school tone of the song and the accompanying music video. Upon completion of the song, GaGa left the stage to take a break and change costumes and left Parisian DJ, Space Cowboy to do an instrumental interlude. For those unfamiliar with Space Cowboy, he is a UK based DJ who has produced tracks and remixes for Nadia Oh, Fergie, as well as Lady GaGa on her songs Starstruck and Christmas Tree.

GaGa’s return in a bubble outfit that was not only remarkable, but also genius. It was time to slow it down for an acoustic piano performance of Poker Face and new song, Future Love. This not only showcased Lady GaGa’s amazing vocals, but her connection with the fans. Before performing Poker Face, GaGa told her fans it was the last time she would perform the song when she is 22 (her birthday was a day after the concert).Before she could continue (or finish) her sentence, the auditorium began to sing, (in a perfect chorus ),“Happy Birthday”. GaGa began to cry and could not sing her song without choking on her tears. She told her fans that she would play the piano, and they could complete the song, “I can’t even complete the fucking song”. As the fans sang the song, she remained in tears and finally got it together for the performance of Future Love. The song, which does not appear on any album or release, is a sweet but crude song where she sings, “I wanna f-f-f-f-fuck you Japan”. At the end of the song, she told her fans that she doesn’t care if they came to see her or to criticize her, or whatever, but as long as they have a good time at the show, she’d be content. She went on to sing her hit #1 single, Just Dance before ending the show. It was evident she saved the best for last as; the performance was filled with energy and enthusiasm. After leaving the crowd anticipating for more, GaGa returned to perform an encore featuring her dance oriented Boys Boys Boys and the original version of her second #1 single, Poker Face. Both of these songs were given incredible performance and gave a conclusion where everyone longed for more.

Overall, the performance showed what a pop show should look like. GaGa successfully delivered a lively and energetic concert that’s only flaw was too short of a set list. Combining fashion, heavy choreography, live vocals, and crowd interactions, GaGa showed that she is an artist that is here to stay.

Live MY Life

Live Your Life – T.I. featuring Rihanna

Live your life. No tellin’ where it will take ya, so live your life….my life....my life. Similar to the song, I lived my life on Friday March 6, 2009. Arguably one of the most unforgettable days of my life, Friday was filled with excitement, joy, anticipation and thrill.

We’ll track back a few days to Tuesday March 3, 2009 when everything started. Off a Hilary forum I visit, I found out that Hilary Duff was coming to Toronto on Friday for her Blessings in a Backpack tour. She would be attending a charity dinner for Blessings in a Pack at Ultra Supper Club in Toronto. Exciting enough already right? Well, I then found out that I could attend that dinner by simply calling Ultra and making a reservation. I was in class, Politics to be specific, at the time. My heart was beating very fast and I rushed out to call and make a reservation. After a phone call and a short conversation, the reservation was made. Step 1 of 2 was done. It was now time for me to find a way to get from Ottawa to Toronto. It was easier than I thought, as my dad was willing to let me come back home for the weekend provided that I’m up-to date with school. I agreed and booked my ticket. Step 2 of 2 was done. Now all I had to do was wait for Friday.

Friday came surprisingly quick as I was so busy with school that I didn’t have time to think about how long till the big day. The day started off bad as I missed my 5:45am train to Toronto. I’ll skip the details of that but thankfully I was able to catch the next one at 8:30 and still make it in time for everything. A few long hours later I arrived in Toronto and took the subway to Yorkdale where I surprised my mom with my appearance. (She didn’t know I was coming and my dad told her to conveniently go to the mall at that time…again I’ll skip the details). My mom was shocked but glad I was home. I explained and by the time I was done we got home.

Upon reaching home the first thing I needed to do was go to the library to check my e-mail. Ultra wasn’t the only place Hilary was going….she was also going to MuchMusic to appear on the show MuchOnDemand. The relevance this had to me was the following: I’ve signed up to be a Webcam Correspondent for MuchOnDemand where I talk to the hosts of MuchMusic via phone and webcam to fill part of their show. The hosts aren’t the only people I talk to. When celebrities appear on the show I get to ask them a question. As Hilary Duff is my favourite artist, I emailed the MuchMusic team asking if I could webcam with her and they said they’d try and get me on. I went to the library to follow up and they told me to make questions and come on at 3:30 to check my camera. This gave me so much excitement, happiness and God knows how much joy and thrill. I was not only going to have dinner with Hilary, but before that I was going to talk to her via Webcam!

I didn’t have internet at my house so I went to my cousin’s house. At his house I put up my Hilary poster and brought some of the many Hilary CDs I wanted to show her on webcam. I was ready to get my cam checked. A few angle adjustments later, I was ready to be on cam with Hilary. The time was around 4:15 and Hilary was to appear on the show around 5:30. The waiting made me restless. I was going to be talking to my favorite celebrity who I’ve been a fan of since the 8th grade. Now in first year University I was no less of a fan.

The time came. MuchMusic called me and my cam was on. It was only a few minutes till the host Leah would cue to the webcam question.

“We’re now going to get to a webcam question, Khizer from Ottawa, Khizer are you there?” asked Leah. “I’m here,” I exclaimed. Right then it was the moment. I was star struck but held my composure. Hilary was excited that I was from Ottawa as her boyfriend just got drafted for the Ottawa Senators and Leah was raving about the huge Hilary poster I had in the background. I told Hilary how I was a huge fan and showed her a bit of my CD collection that I’ve worked so hard on. “Aw, thank you”, is how she responded. She seemed very grateful. I proceeded to ask my question (not the question that I would’ve liked to ask but Much told me it was the best one I came up with): “You’ve become a huge threat to the industry as you are part of film, fashion, television and music. If you could choose one to do for the rest of your career, which would it be and why?” I had put her on the spot, “Oh no!” she exclaimed. She answered the question with acting. I knew she was going to say that but a part of me hoped it would’ve been music as that is my favorite aspect of her career. She answered and said thank you for the question and unexpectedly shouted, “Go Ottawa!!”I laughed, and it was over. All I could think in my head was that she just said Go Ottawa. Could I ask for anymore? Of all the webcam questions I’ve done with celebrities, this was by far the best and most enjoyed.

After finishing the Webcam question, I went home and got ready for the dinner at Ultra. Within 20 minutes I was ready to go: I had my camera, the CDs I wanted signed (one for me and the other for a friend), a marker for the signing, and of course my best smile and favorite outfit on. My dad dropped me off to Yorkdale and I took the subway from there to the stop where I needed to get off (Osgoode). I was restless, excited and had butterflies in my stomach. After arriving at Osgoode station, I began to walk towards Ultra Supper Club. It was about a five minute walk and was just across from MuchMusic. I saw the red-carpet and the Ultra Supper Club / Blessings in a Backpack back drop for pictures. It was crowded with about 30 people consisting of fans and photographers. Since I had a reservation, I went up to the guard and told him my name and information. There were a few complications (apparently they put me under some other girls name whose table I was sitting at). I finally got in, when some disaster struck.

As I entered I bumped into some forum friends and one of them was like, “Khizer, if you have a camera they will take your batteries away.” The minute she said that, one of the employees of Ultra Supper Club came up to me and said, “Oh you have a camera, I’ll need your batteries.” I was so excited to get a picture with Hilary and at the event in general, I was disappointed that this happened. I would have snuck it in, but I lost that opportunity. I explained to the hostess that I came from Ottawa solely for Hilary and she explained that a professional photographer will be taking pictures and if the time is right I can try and get him to take a picture with Hilary. I was glad there was a string of hope I could hold on to.

I get into the restaurant, get my coat checked and go inside to find a seat. I see my friend’s mom and she talks to me about how the earlier dinner service went and told me about the food. After talking to her and finding a dinner table that I was assigned to, I went to the door of the restaurant waiting for Hilary. A few long minutes later, she’s coming down the gateway of Ultra into the restaurant. OMGSPAZATTACKHALLELUGAHOMGAHZZZ! Everyone is crowding around her, she’s full of smiles taking pictures and signing autographs and I wait patiently for her to come past me. A few seconds later, she’s right in front of me.

“Hey Hilary”, I exclaim, “Can you sign this CD for me.”

She smiles, “Sure, what’s your name?”

“It’s Khizer”

She laughs, “That’s Canadian eh, spell it”

I spelt it for her then asked, “Do you remember me, Hilary?”

She looks up at me in the eyes, and tries to remember
.
I helped her out, “I was on Webcam today when you were at MuchMusic, from Ottawa.”

“Oh yes!” and then she pauses…”Wait, if you’re from Ottawa, how are you in Toronto. YOU TRICKED US!” She had a coy smile.

“Noooo,” I explain. “I actually came down all the way from Ottawa to Toronto just for you today.”

She smiled in appreciation, “Wow, thank you that means a lot to me.”

I smiled back and then asked, “So are you going to be at the Senators game next Friday?”

“Oh my God! What day is it today?” She pauses. She laughs. She thinks. “Yes, I should be at the games, why are you going?”

“Yup, maybe I’ll see you there,” I say.

“For sure,” she says with a smile.

Before she moved on, I asked, “Hilary can we take a picture?”

“Sure!” she says.

So we pose up, I look at the professional photographer and indicate to him that I want a picture. He gives me a little confused look for a few seconds, but then takes the picture. I was so happy!

“Thanks Hilary”, I exclaim so excited.

“No problem! Thanks so much and enjoy the dinner,” she says with a huge smile.

Behind her, Stan Curtis (founder of Blessings in a Backpack charity) tells me thanks for coming and he was also in appreciation.

From then on in, everything went amazing. I was so happy I got a professional picture with her and got to talk to her for more than just a split second! As I made my way inside, the hostess who took my batteries and whom I explained my situation to told me that she cued the photographer to take our picture when he was giving me the confused look. I said many thanks to her and was super grateful. I went to my assigned table and saw some friends over there and we all exchanged our stories about Hilary encounters that day. We see Hilary at her dinner table with Leah Miller and some other VIP people. It was so exhilarating sitting just a few tables from Hilary and having dinner in the same setting as her. Time came to order dinner, and I ordered the "Sweet corn and problano soup, smoked chicken and dried sour cherry terrine" as my appetizer, "Grilled stirling silver beef tenderloin, truffled boniato mash, idiazabal cheese, jalapeno leek butter" as my main dish and lastly, "Mango mousse with tropical fruit compote" as my dessert. While waiting for the dinner to arrive, we went to the back of the restaurant where a silent auction on Hilary signed goods were up for bids. I didn’t bid but it was definitely cool to see. Hilary and her crew come into the back and they do some press pictures with the items. At this point, I’m in awe at how close we are and how we are in the same setting. I had my friends CD that I tried to get signed, but it was difficult and awkward at the time.

We get back to dinner and eat what we ordered. It was fantastic. It was superb. It was so fine. It was so high class. I felt like Fergie in her song Glamorous. During dinner, Stan Curtis and Hilary Duff gave a speech on the charity and the dinner continued. It was good times throughout until it finally came time to leave because the restaurant was turning into a club/bar and I wasn’t 19 for another 3 weeks. I grab my coat and wait for the others to leave. When they are out, I go to Hilary’s table. Her body guard is hinting for me to go but I wasn’t going to lose the opportunity to say bye to her and tell her the awesome night I had.

“Hey Hilary, I was just about to leave but I wanted to say that I had an amazing time at the dinner with you. It was great to meet you,” I say.

“Aw, thank you so much for coming! Have a safe trip back to Ottawa,” she says so sweetly.

At this point all that was running through my mind was that she remembered as well as she wished me a safe trip back to Ottawa!!!

“Thanks! I really support your charity,” I reply not knowing what to say as I was speechless after her last remark.

“Aw thank you! I’ll be at the games next week,” she says.

“Maybe we’ll see each other there,” I reply.

“For sure, have a good night!!” she says.

“Thanks, you too!” I reply.

As I walk away, both Hilary and Leah are smiling and waving at me. I noticed while talking to Hilary that she had ordered the same entrée as me. The feeling I had inside me was indescribable; my night was just perfect. It felt unreal; it felt like something you see on TV or in a movie. I get outside, and meet up with my friend. We take a picture on the red carpet and feel like celebrities. The night was coming to an end as I took the subway home and got picked up by my parents. I’m so thankful that I got to experience such a night. I feel like in this one night, I lived a life. Everything that could have happened did and it all went smoothly. I guess I made T.I. and Rihanna proud as I lived my life, my life, my life….