My Favorite Moments from The AMAs

Last night some of the biggest names in music took the stage at this year's American Music Awards to perform and accept awards voted on by fans. I was watching the show last night and I also watched E!'s Live From The Red Carpet coverage. Here are my top five favorite moments from the red carpet and the show.

Lady Gaga's red carpet entrance on a horse! She definitely stole the scene the moment she walked out. Then she went straight to E!'s Giuliana Rancic for an interview. She looked very beautiful in her Versace dress and over the weekend she was named the new face of Versace.

Jason Merritt/Getty Images
Lady Gaga arrives on a horse on the red carpet

Imagine Dragons' performance was pretty awesome, I loved the instrumental break during their hit "Radioactive". The lead singer of the group was so into it the performance.

Jennifer Lopez brought some Latin flavor to the show with her tribute to Celia Cruz.  I found this number to be quite entertaining from beginning to end. The costumes, the dancing, the singing, and when she was thrown into the air made this performance one to remember.

                                                            Kevin Winter/Getty Images
                                                                           Jennifer Lopez performing.

Ariana Grande's performance was another performance that caught my attention. She has an incredible voice and she sounds so much like Mariah Carey. She took home the AMA for Favorite New Artist.

Justin Timberlake's acceptance speeches for each of the award he took home were pretty hilarious. He was so cool and confident each time he walked up there.

I'm going to continue to blog about my favorite moments as the award show season approaches in January, so keep looking out for them!

Jason Mraz at Ball State

 

Jason Mraz and Raining Jane performing at Emens Auditorium at Ball State University

Last night my roommate James and I went to see Jason Mraz at Emens Auditorium here at BSU. The energy at this concert is so different than what I am used too. The vibe was very chill and relaxing, I guess I shouldn't have been surprised since it was advertised as an acoustic evening with Jason Mraz. At a random point during the show a huge section to my left actually sat down and just enjoyed the music.

Raining Jane, a rock folk group, opened the show and also performed with him during his set. Mraz explained to the audience that he and Raining Jane having been working together and creating music the past couple of years. Also that their show here at BSU, was their first time performing together on stage.

They are all extremely talented and they played a variety of instruments on stage. I lost count on how many times Mraz switched guitars. Another thing that stood out to me is that Jason Mraz is so hilarious. Between songs, while he was having a conversation with the audience and Raining Jane he was cracking jokes and saying things that had everyone laughing.

He closed the show with his smash hit "I'm Yours" which you could see part of it below in the video I recorded.

Radio Shows on Sound Cloud

You can now listen to The Out Of This World Super Awesome Deluxe Strikingly Handsome College Radio Show on Sound Cloud. We will post past shows incase you missed it. I'll post links on our Facebook and Twitter pages. Just a reminder those are @OTWradioshow and facebook.com/otwradioshow.

Here is the Lady Gaga Show from September 5, enjoy!

Radio Show, Front Page, and More!

 

 

 

Hey everyone I know I haven't been updating my blog lately, I've just been so busy with the radio show, writing at The Daily News, my many other activities, and  homework of course. There are a lot of exciting things coming up that I am excited to share with you.

First off today my story was featured on the front page of The Daily News! This is so exciting, because I believe this is the first time one of my articles have appeared on the front. So of course I had to take a picture. It is a very interesting piece about how students feel about guns on campus. Click here to read it.

Tomorrow is week 3 of the radio show I am on. James, Elena and I have all been having such a fun time on the show so far. The first week was 1960s rock and roll. Last week was all Lady Gaga, and tomorrow is songs that start with the letter "W". I hope you all can listen sometime. You can download the tune in radio app, listen on wcrd.net, or listen on the radio 91.3 FM. Since I am the social media coordinator please also follow us on twitter @OTWradioshow and like us on Facebook

Another exciting thing is that I have joined Instagram my username is raymondagarcia

Lastly Jason Mraz is coming to Ball State University in October. James and I got tickets to see him so watch out for the story, photos, and videos here on my blog.

I'm going to be on the Radio!

Hello everyone! Huge announcement I will be co-hosting a radio show on 91.3 WCRD which is Ball State University's radio station. The show will air live Thursdays from 10pm to Midnight on Eastern Time.

A little bit of background first. My friend and now roommate James Bullard has been in radio for about 3 to 4 years now. We lived across the hall from each other our freshmen year. Last year I got involved in his radio show by handling the twitter page and live tweeting during the second semester of school year. Now that we are back I will be taking a full time role as social media correspondent for the show.

Our third co-host is Elena Sullivan who lived in our building last year. She is one of our friends and she will be a great addition to the show.

Now get ready for it here is the name of our show: "The Out Of This World Super Awesome Deluxe Strikingly Handsome College Radio Show". I know its a mouth full but its awesome. This has been the name of James' show since he did radio in high school. He just added "College Radio Show" when he arrived to BSU.

The show is a pretty cool concept because each week will be a different type of show it maybe artist based, genres, decades, album, etc. We mainly pull ideas from our listeners and we ask them what type of show they want to hear and we will make it happen. So if you have any suggestions or ideas please tell us on Facebook or Twitter.

If you are in the Muncie, Indiana area you can listen on 91.3 FM WCRD. You can also listen live on wcrd.net. If you have a tablet or a smart phone, you can download the Tune In Radio App search for 91.3 FM WCRD and listen there too. If you live on Ball State's campus turn on the TV to channel 57 and listen there too. There are many options!!!

Our twitter handle is @OTWradioshow
Our Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/otwradioshow

Thank you so much and I hope you listen!

Throwback Thursday: Meeting Tom Felton in July 2011

Tom Felton and I at Hollywood Palms Cinema

Back in summer of 2011, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 was set to premiere. Tom Felton who played Draco Malfoy in the series, made many appearances at The Hollywood Palms Cinema in Naperville. Note this is the same place where we met Ashley Greene and Kellan Lutz if you're keeping up! We arrived to the theater around 11am or 12pm and we got in line, which wrapped around the entire theater. Mariola was unsure if we would be able to meet him because it was so crowded. I would say that we waited around six hours in hot weather before we finally met him. It was so awesome that we got to do this considering this was the last Harry Potter movie. Fans had the option to get an autograph, a picture, or both. Please make sure to share, like, tweet, or comment you know the drill. Thank you for reading!

Mariola and Tom Felton at Hollywood Palms Cinema

Grand Opening of The Fashion Outlets of Chicago

 The line outside Prada, located on the second floor of the mall.

Today I made my way out to Rosemont for the grand opening of The Fashion Outlets of Chicago. This is the largest retail project to hit Chicago in two decades. Thousands of people came out for the opening festivities and of course to shop! Here are my top five reasons this mall is AWESOME, one of the reasons being its potential to attract celebrities.

 

1. Unlike most outlet malls, this one is fully enclosed. So during the winter you don't have to run in and out of stores when its below zero outside.

 

2. FOC is much closer to the city than Chicago Premium Outlets which is in the far western suburb of Aurora.

 

3. With about 130 stores (Gucci, Gap, Armani, Forever 21 and more), there is something here for just about everyone and at decent price points. Some of my favorite stores at this mall include Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger, Nike, and Guess. Just to name a few.

 

4. The parking is easy. As soon as we entered the parking garage this morning we found parking very easily. Our parking spot was literally just 20-30 feet from the nearest mall entrance where we were greeted and began our adventure through this crazy mall.

 

5. Lastly this brand new mall has the potential to attract celebrities. Rosemont Theater and Allstate Arena are both located in Rosemont which book some of the hottest artists in music. Some famous singers could easily hit the mall if they have some down time before their show. All summer long Ashton Kutcher and Mila Kunis have been spotted around Chicago and considering one of their sightings was at Chicago Premium Outlets back in July, this new mall could possibly be a future sighting.

 

Just FYI parking is FREE all weekend for the grand opening festivities and make sure to look out for all the perks the stores have to offer. Thanks Helzberg Diamonds for our free gift!

 

On the second floor.

 

 

 

View of the Food Court.

 

Throwback Thursday: Meeting Tiffany Thornton in June 2009

Meeting Tiffany Thornton at Brookfield Zoo

 I know it has been a while since I updated my blog, I apologize there have been some technical difficulties. Anyways, back in the summer of 2009 Mariola and I had a chance to meet Tiffany Thornton from "Sonny With A Chance". She was making an appearance at BrookField Zoo just outside of Chicago. We got there early in the morning and waited outside the gated entrance along with other people. As soon as those gates opened, I remember we all ran down the tunnel and towards the ticket booth in order to receive wristbands guaranteeing us to meet her. She was only signing autographs and she held a Q&A session. There were about 1000 wristbands handed out to people so there was no way she would able to pose with every single person.

 

 

 

  

Jonas Brothers Play Volleyball at North Avenue Beach in Chicago

Jonas Brothers at North Avenue Beach.

The Jonas Brothers are kicking off their summer tour right here in Chicago on Wednesday July 10. But first they were on hand at North Avenue Beach on Monday July 8 to play volleyball with some lucky fans. Of course my sister, some friends and I were there for all the action. It started in the morning when 1035 Kiss FM organized a scavenger hunt where people had to go around the city and replicate the same pictures the Jonas Brothers took in front of some iconic Chicago spots (The Bean, Buckingham Fountain, and The Ferris Wheel at Navy Pier). We showed the judges at Kiss FM our pictures and we each received raffle tickets for a chance to play against the Jonas Brothers. Unfortunately we did not win, but we had a fantastic view of the entire game. Plus we had Kiss FM's ErikZ who did a great job entertaining everyone through dance offs, races down the beach, and prize giveaways.

A shot of the volleyball court as the game is about to start.

The Jonas Brothers arrived to the beach around 2:30pm. They played 3 sets with the winners and after the game they shook hands with everyone along the barricades watching. Even though it rained in the morning, the sun came out in the afternoon and it turned out to be a great day at the beach. As always thank you so much for reading and make sure to follow me on Twitter @raymondagarcia

                                 Check out this short video I took of them playing volleyball.

 

                                                                  Kiss FM's ErikZ and I.







Blackhawks Parade 2013

 

The view on Washington and La Salle in downtown Chicago.  

Millions of fans descended upon downtown Chicago for The Blackhawks Parade and Rally on Friday June 28th. My friend Mateo and I situated ourselves at the corner of Washington and La Salle around 9am as the parade started at 10:30am. Team captain Jonathan Toews, who was boarded on the first double-decker bus, hoisted the Stanley Cup and the crowd went wild.  There were about 6-8 double- decker buses carrying the players. Check out my raw footage of the parade in the video below.

After all the buses and trolleys passed, we made our way to Grant Park to get near the rally. Of course we knew we were not going to get into the section of the park where the rally was being held, but there was a jumbotron located on Congress and Columbus near Buckingham Fountain. We made our way there to watch the rally, along with thousands of other fans. It was such a great day and everyone was having a fun time. I love how events like this really bring the city together! Did you go to the parade or watch it on television? What did you think of it? Leave a comment and let me know! GO HAWKS!

Jumbotron live streaming the rally on Congress and Columbus.

 

 

Throwback Thursday: Meeting Ashley Greene November 2009

In November 2009, Mariola and I met the beautiful Ashley Greene who plays Alice in The Twilight Series. This was the same weekend we met Kellan Lutz just at a different movie theater. The event was held at The Hollywood Palms in Naperville who's sister theater is Hollywood Blvd. in Woodridge. It was very nice of her to be in town that weekend and meet all the fans considering she was under the weather. The night before, Ashley also made an appearance on a float at the annual Magnificent Mile Lights Festival. Thank you so much for reading and be sure to follow me on twitter @raymondagarcia

Throwback Thursday: Kellan Lutz meet and greet 2009

Back in November 2009, Mariola and I met Kellan Lutz who portrayed Emmett Cullen in The Twilight Series. He appeared at the Hollywood Blvd. Cinemas in Woodridge, IL to promote New Moon. People had the opportunity to either get an autograph or a picture or both. Since there were so many people, this was one of the events where everything moved very quickly. So you had to be prepared with everything once it was your turn.

Throwback Thursday: Alyssa Milano Meet and Greet September 2009

Back in 2009 I met one of the actresses from one of my favorite TV shows ever, Charmed. Alyssa Milano, who played Phoebe on the show, was in Chicago to promote her sports clothing line "Touch by Alyssa Milano" at the FansEdge store in The Shops at North Bridge. I saw a tweet from Shops' Twitter account and as well as Alyssa's Twitter a couple weeks in advance. I definitely was not going to pass up this amazing opportunity. I remember the event took place on a Friday from 5-7pm. My Dad and Mariola both came to meet Alyssa as well. In order to meet her we had to purchase an item from her line, which was not too expensive fortunately.
The event was very relaxed and laid back, it wasn't rushed at all. We got a chance to actually talk to her, take several pictures, and she personalized each autograph. She also tweeted me back later on that night:

You & your fam were sweet too! Thanks for coming! RT @raymondagarcia: OMG!!! I met Alyssa today @shopnorthbridge!!! She was so sweet!!!
— Alyssa Milano (@Alyssa_Milano) September 11, 2009

Make sure to check every Thursday as I revisit past celebrity experiences!

 

Last Friday Night Meeting Billy Dec

Last Friday night, May 31, Mariola and I attended "Talk Hard" at The Comedy Sportz Theatre thanks to Billy Dec who was also one of the guests on the late night show. In case you are not from Chicago or aren't familiar with Billy Dec he is the CEO of Rockit Ranch Productions and has a segment on Windy City Live called "What's On Dec. He runs some of the hottest clubs and restaurants in Chicago which attract local and national celebrities. He was a guest on the show to talk about his new venture "AY CHIWOWA" a new taco and tequila hot spot. The show was hosted by comedian Jamie Campbell and featured many hilarious segments. Billy Dec is such a cool guy and we watch his segment every Thursday on Windy City Live. It was awesome meeting him!

Throwback Thursday: Demi Lovato Meet and Greet 2008

Starting every Thursday I'll be sharing some past adventures, this week is Demi Lovato who is the first celebrity I had ever met. I met Demi back in June 2008 at Six Flags Great America in Gurnee, IL where she had a concert. This was the same weekend that Camp Rock premiered on Disney Channel. She came to promote Camp Rock and her debut album. My sister, her friend Sandi, and I had heard that Demi was having a concert, so we decided to come out for it. It wasn't until we got there that we heard there was a meet and greet, so we found out that it was $25 to meet her, get a picture, an autograph, and sit in the VIP section during the concert. I thought that was a pretty good deal if you ask me! The meet and greet was also limited to the first fifty people.
 

 

Mariola, my sister, remembered that,"For being so young at the time Demi seemed super excited and grateful for her fans coming to see her, she really wanted to be there all day and meet everyone." I think she truly is very talented and has an amazing voice. I complimented her on that when I met her. During the concert she performed songs from her upcoming album and from Camp Rock. It was such an exciting day and one that I'll never forget! Also don't forget that Demi will be one of the headliners for the B96 Summer Bash this year on June 15 at Toyota Park in Bridgeview, IL.

  Here is a video from the beginning of the concert. This is from Mariola's YouTube, check out her channel she has videos from a few concerts.

 

This is part 2 where she performs "Don't Forget" and "This Is Me".

 

Thank you so much for reading and make sure to check on Thursdays as I revisit past encounters. Please share on Facebook and Twitter as well!

103.5 KISS FM Fantabuloso- Icona Pop and The Wanted

Last night was the final show for Kiss FM's Fantabuloso at the historic Aragon Ballroom which featured performances by Icona Pop and The Wanted. I got a call from Kiss FM five days prior telling me that I won a pair of tickets to the show and a meet and greet with Icona Pop. I took my friend Jazmyn with me. The meet and greet took place about an hour before the show, they were so nice and friendly! We had professional pictures taken for us and we got autographs. In case you guys aren't familiar with Icona Pop they are a Swedish DJ Duo who sing the hit song "I Love It".

Below is part of their performance for "I Love It"

 

British Group The Wanted was the final act of the evening. The whole room went crazy as soon as they came out. They opened with "All Time Low" and covered a few songs such Coldplay's "Paradise" along the way. Of course they ended with their smash hit "Glad You Came". They delivered a great show despite that one of their members Nathan Sykes was absent because he is recovering from his throat surgery. Over all it was a great night!

Tom and Max from The Wanted

 

 

 

WELCOME!

Hello everyone! My name is Raymond Garcia, I am currently studying Journalism at Ball State University and I am proudly from Chicago. I am an aspiring entertainment reporter. During the past few years I have had crazy adventures and experiences meeting celebrities and going to their events, so I have decided to start this blog sharing all my encounters and stories. Along the way I will be sharing tales about some of the events that I have attended around Chicago such as concerts, movie/TV show filmings, store openings, charity fundraisers, social events, and of course celebrity meet and greets.

Also you will read about my awesome sister, Mariola who is my partner in crime during some of these adventures. I'll even share some tips on how you could meet your favorite star! Thanks for reading and hope you enjoy!

-Raymond