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eriellesudario · 8 years

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How To Meet Your Fave Celebrities in Events

Today, this blog post will be a little tutorial on how to and some advice when you meet your favourite celebrities/youtubers/etc in real life during meet and greets and/or after their gigs/events. Reason being is because we can all agree that meeting them in real life may be scary or we end up messing up our meet and greet with them that by the time we leave, we will end up feeling bad on what just happened.

Note… this concept is different on from how to let them notice you on social media. This is more on seeing them IRL. Also, this will be different from meeting them accidentally on the street.

I don’t know about you but ever since I was young, meeting celebrities is a small thing my family does. Whenever the opportunity arrises, they try their best to meet them. I met Kamikazee (a Filipino rock band) when I was around 6-9 years old because my relatives had connections. I also met a few Filipino celebrities in the airport (by accident) and in a photo studio (once again… family connections).

But the first time I have ever met a celebrity without any family connections is when I met my favourite gaming YouTuber Slyfoxhound in his Minecraft server in 2013. He was having an online meet and greet and I was lucky that I was able to go see him!

I then get to see him again a year later… but this time, it was totally random. I was playing in this Minecraft server where there was a game in the server called ‘King of the Golden Monacle‘ which is a near-Hunger Games type of game. What happened was, I was at the top 10 in the current game then I was killed. But I saw the username and it’s slightly said ‘xXSlyfoxXx. Even the avatar was the same. Luckily, the game shows who killed who and such and I can confirm that it was Slyfoxhound himself who killed me, and took away my rank (I have no photos thou since it was intense gaming session at 2 in the morning).

I know it’s a meet and greet in a video game but this was one of my favourite moments in my gaming life and it kinda counts as a meet and greet since I had to travel around the server for hours just to find him (I used to have a video but it got deleted).

Fast forward to mid 2013 where meeting my heroes and fave celebrities IRL is my main goal in life. ‘I will not be satisfied until I meet them’ I told myself.

I’ve met:

Bajo, Hex and Goose – the host of ABC’s show Good Game/Good Game Spawn Point (EBGames Expo 2013),

Sheppard (2014 & 2015),

Far Away Stables (2013 & 2015),

Mychonny (Screening of Sucker – 2015),

Evan Edinger (Evan Edinger’s Sydney MeetUp 2016),

Hachioji P (SMASH! 2016) and

Dan and Phil (TATINOF Aus 2016)

and I know there will be more in the future. And even if you are experienced in meeting celebrities or it’s your first time, all of that would not matter since in the end, we would still be nervous af and chances are we will end up messing up.

Due to this, I will give you some advice on how to meet your fave celebrities!

1. Don’t Prepare on what you want to say to them

Trust me from experience, preparing what you want to say to them… will just make things worse! I know because I basically created a script when I wanted to meet Dan and Phil in TATINOF but in the end, it just froze and lost all of my words. Thank goodness I wrote a letter to them.

The best advice is to just make it up as you go! When you see them, just improvise on what you want to say to them. When I was meeting Evan Edinger and my fave bands, I was spontaneous and I was able to pull it off, saying everything I wanted to say and I wasn’t nervous.

2. Know more about the event/meet and greet/signings/etc

You need to know if the event will have a meet and greet session just to save you time. Most of the time, the celebrity will tweet or tell their fans that they will be able to meet them after the show or during the event and etc. Some requires you to buy a VIP ticket and some will just spontaneously do it without warning.

TATINOF Australia was the worse thou when it came to knowing before hand about the meet and greet due to a clash of information and huge misunderstandings from the tour manager and venues.

This is what happened:

1. They said that the Meet and Greet is not happening

2. The meet and greet is an additional add on ticket (so if you are a bronze ticket, you have to pay an extra $100 just to meet them)

3. The venues sites and Ticketmaster got so confused that they were unhelpful and everyone was spamming Dan and Phil and the venue just for answers

4. Everything was soon fixed and that VIP is it’s own ticket.

*Note: most of the tweets from official sources may have been deleted that I had to resort to other sources just to find tweets relating to what’s happening

3. Follow their social media… all of it

An obvious advice but it’s really useful, especially if they plan to have a spontaneous meet and greet or if they post news about upcoming tours and such. Also good if they retweet contests to be able to meet them in a ‘secret location’.

That happened to me when I won tickets to a secret Sheppard gig for Vevo Lift and you are able to see me in their video! All I did was follow their twitter and I saw a link to a contest.

(Let’s play Where’s Cutiejea as I can be found in this video 3 – 5 times! (Hint… I was at the front) And when George pointed during the video seen here, he was pointing to me… )

youtube

And even if we hardly use Facebook now, just follow them there since anything can happen. The Evan Edinger meet up was announced on Facebook first so I was able to figure out when it’s happening and plan my entire day (and get to meet Evan ofc!)

4. Arrive early… but not too early

During the 2013 EBGames Expo, I was 70th in line to meet the host of Good Game and supposedly, 200 were allowed to meet them but due to time constraints, only the first 100 can meet them. Also in TATINOF, if you arrived early, you had the chance to meet Martyn (which didn’t happen to me because I arrived too early).

The idea is that you need to be their early to get the best spot and have a really high chance on meeting them. But not too early thou since they may not be there yet.

Most of the time during signings and meet and greets, you need to be at least the first 50 depending on the event.

5. Walk in slowly… don’t rush

“Even if you are scared to be interviewing someone, it’s mostly the interviewee who is more nervous than you“ – Amanda Chloe Bailey (Channel 7 Journalist)

Before you enter, just close your eyes and take deep breaths. In your mind, just have clear thoughts and remove the clutter and the panic. Also, don’t be the first to enter since you’re more likely to be rushed by staff. If it’s behind a curtain or a signing table, you just need to breathe and remain calm. Reason being is due to the initial shock once you see them for the first time outside of the screen. Once that shock comes, it is up to you to fight it since it will determine if you are able to speak to them clearly or just freak out throughout the entire thing.

To be honest thou, I prefer the signing table or somewhere where we can clearly see them when lining up rather than behind a wall so that I get a clear view on them and in my mind, I can focus on what I plan to do (this does not contradict the first point). And at the same time, my sanity is still intact and I can still be calm throughout the entire signing.

And remember, it’s the celebrity who is more afraid than you since they need to remain calm throughout the entire event.

5. Volunteer in Events!

(For those who don’t know, Hachioji P is a music producer. He’s well known for using using the program Vocaloid to make songs with and is one of the most popular along with Super Cell in the Vocaloid fandom)

I met Hachioji P during SMASH! 2016 since I was a volunteer photographer for the event. And with my Staff badge, not only I get first priority (I’m not joking… but it does mean you need to go first), you will be allowed to follow them throughout the event them until they have to leave.

And if you are part of the staff, that means you’re part of the event and the celeb will more likely be more calmer with someone who is associated with the event (as long as you’re still doing your job as a volunteer staff… you’re there to work, not to fan girl).

And as an introvert who can’t speak advance Japanese, I was able to say thank you to him and take a few (actually… it’s a lot) of photos of him… especially a photo of him holding Vegemite… I’m not joking.

(Photo wont be posted until SMASH! post theirs first)

When I first saw him on Saturday, I came towards him and showed my staff badge and asked if I can get some model shots of him. And on Sunday, I was able to stick around after the signing (and get the remaining limited albums) to take more photos.

I basically just too a lot of photos of Hachioji P and got to follow him around.

6. DON’T F****** STALK THEM!!!

“Don’t stalk me at airports”

-Danisnotonfire in YouNow

There is a difference between meeting them randomly in the park because they are filming a video of them playing Pokemon GO and you just happened to be waiting for them in the airport for hours.

DON’T WAIT FOR THEM AT THE AIRPORT OR THEIR HOTEL OR ANYWHERE!!!!

This is not just for Dan and Phil but for all celebrities as well. Don’t even dare stalk them to their hotel, that’s even worse!!! Remember, these guys are also people too. You can’t just follow them wherever they go because they also need their privacy. I don’t care for the argument ‘They signed up for this‘ or ‘My chances are really… really low so I have to meet them there!‘ and all that jazz,

YOU DON’T HAVE THE RIGHT TO STALK THEM AND PINPOINT THEIR CURRENT LOCATION!!!

According to the Australian Stalking and Resource Centre, in NSW, this is what counts as ‘stalking’

(1) In this Act, “stalking” includes the following of a person about or the watching or frequenting of the vicinity of, or an approach to, a person’s place of residence, business or work or any place that a person frequents for the purposes of any social or leisure activity.

And the penalty varies from 5 years in Jail or just a simple fine or warning (and this is NSW… I’m not sure for other states and countries).

7. Stay back in the location

Most of the time, celebrities will come out right after or hours after the event. This was proven in TATINOF when Martyn (Phil’s brother) went out hours after the Sydney TATINOF Tuesday show ended. (I wished I stayed back… I lost my chance to meet him!)

This is also confirmed by my journalism teacher as well as she told me how she stayed back in an event she went to in the past just to interview the guest speaker. This does not count as stalking but more on ‘determination patience’ since you’re were willing to wait till they leave just to thank them or say goodbye for one last time (remember… my journalism teacher did this so this is legal!).

However, you need to understand that they will freak out they see you waiting outside the location, especially if its late at night! But there are some people who do allow you to stick around after the event and are cool with you hanging out with them.

I went to a Far Away Stables concert last year in October and the fans were permitted to stick around after the show for selfies, signings and a chat or too. I managed to meet the entire band and got them to sign my Atlantis CD and have selfies with them.

8. Just have fun

It doesn’t matter who you’re meeting or where you’re going to meet them or how the event is ran or if you’re just an attendee or staff. As long as you are relaxed and having fun, you’ll be alright! During the Evan Edinger meet up, I was able to confront to him for calling me ‘Canadian’ for after responding to him with ‘Box of Milk’ in my tweet.

He still thinks it’s Canadian…

During the Far Away Stables concert, I was able to talk to the drummer since he was an ex student from my high school. We talked about our music teacher (who is still really cool… not gonna lie) and Brendon (the lead) calls me my my first name since I’ve been following the band since they had their gig in my high school.

When I went to the Sheppard Gig in Luna Park, I met George, Amy and Emma’s dad again. During the Keith Urban concert when they were the opening act, I was willing to wait till the end of the Sheppard signing for a proper photo (which didn’t happen due to time) but while I was waiting, I had a really fun conversation with George’s dad and just had fun bants about how long have I enjoyed them (which wasn’t that long).

I met him again and the bants continued…

In the end, these people who we idolise, they are all still normal people with just a label of ‘famous’ attached to them. The key is just being yourself and just enjoying the moment you have with them. If it’s just for 20 seconds to 30 minutes of being with your idols, it’s going to be ok.

So these are just some friendly advice on how to meet your favourites but this is from my perspective. I’m sure the other writers have their say on what it’s like to meet their idols so looking forward to that. And you may be wondering why I also reference their family members in this and reason being is because they know how the celebrity is like outside of the spotlight. If you can be cool with their family members, then there is a high chance that you can be friends with them or at least be associated with them in some way! Also, it also leaves a good impression to both the celebrity and the family (if you are doing it right!).

But tell me, have you met your heroes before? When and where was it and how was it like. I would love to know and I’m sure others will do too!

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Source:

Australian Stalking and Resource Centre (n.d.) Is Stalking a Crime, Retrieved From: http://www.stalkingresources.org.au/is-stalking-a-crime/

Armstrong Legal (n.d.) Intimidation or Stalking, Retrieved From: http://www.armstronglegal.com.au/criminal-law/offences/sexual/intimidation-and-stalking

#2016 #advice #events #Youtube

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