interview: grace vanderwaal talks about overcoming mean girls

One thing I like to talk about with most artists: What they were teased for or the crap they had to go through growing up. It happens to all of us in one way or another, and I think it's good to hear about how these people that you may look up to have coped with it in their life.

Grace VanderWaal, who won America's Got Talent in 2016, is a girl WAY beyond her years. She's confident and sassy and crazy smart... so she's already got it figured out [mostly] at the age of 13. It wasn't always that way, though.

Grace said overcoming the things mean girls would say was the hardest thing she's ever accomplished... but that she thinks the word "bully" is overused. I think that's important to note. A lot of times people say they're being bullied, and it's a new synonym for teased. I still haven't figured out if it's the way people are raised now or if it's the Internet or what, but we're fast to cry "BULLYING!" That's not to say people AREN'T being hurt by what other people are saying or doing... there are just levels of it all, and somehow we need to be able to figure out a way to differentiate between them, AND how to teach people to deal with all the different levels.

Anyway, hear it all from a 13 year old who probably has plenty of it coming her way in the future, but it seems like she'll be able to handle it just fine:

Also, if you haven't listened to her music, you're missing out. It's really good, and there's no way you'd know it was a 13 year old if you had never heard of her. 

love,

elizabethany

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interview: playing urban dictionary with ne-yo

When smart people come into the studio... I could try to be as smart as them... or I could bring them down to my level. The level of Urban Dictionary terms.

That's what happened with Ne-Yo! I wanted to inspire him to write some songs with these new terms!

Do YOU know what ABC sex is? What about masturdating or hiberdating?! Jesus jeans and party socks?! We went over all of these things, and had way too many ADD thoughts/side convos in there as well.

Because we kept going on so many tangents, that's pretty edited down... but the full video from a live stream is here for you, too.

BTW... DO YOU SEE THAT FANCY iHEART WIDGET?!?!? THAT'S BECAUSE I HAVE MY OWN PODCAST CHANNEL ON THERE! FINALLY! Just search "elizabethany" and follow it so you never miss one! Plus, they'll think I'm cool and probably give me a hefty raise if people like me.*

love,
elizabethany

*probably not

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exclusive interview: charles esten AKA nashville's deacon claybourne

Are you a #Nashie?! Because I'm OBSESSED with the show Nashville. There are so many likable characters and enough drama to make me crave the next episode but not drive me crazy during the week between.

From the beginning, I've always loved Deacon. He's one of those characters that goes through a lot of s#!*, and makes some really bad decisions, but you still root for him. You see YOUR soulmate in him.

FINALLY... I got to meet him. In my head, we've already been best friends for a long time, and I told him that. He found it pretty funny. Then I told him my name and he had some difficulty with it so I guess maybe the friendship was one sided... UNTIL TODAY.

He was just as awesome as I've always imagined/hoped. Sounded great, was humble, appreciative, friendly, warm, and funny. I was smitten... and also freaking out.

I only had two minutes with him on selfie-cam, so I had just a few very important things to bring up:

• What he does when he comes home to NoVA
• If he and Chris Carmack have a battle of the DMV territories on set
• How incredible Lennon and Maisey Stella are in real life

Yeah, it's shaky and stuff but like WOULD YOU BE ABLE TO HOLD A CAMERA STILL WHILE TALKING TO YOUR FAVORITE PERSON ON YOUR FAVORITE SHOW?! No. So stfu kthanks.

Here's to a lifelong friendship!

love,
elizabethany

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interview: aaron carter still brings the party

True life: Aaron Carter and I had a handstand contest this past weekend. We'll get to that later, though.

For a few months, I've been trying to get him to come into the studio for something... anything! His new music is surprisingly great, and rivals all the other "current big names" right now. Really.

We finally booked a pool party and it ended up raining all weekend because OF COURSE IT DID. After punching things and trying to make sure those things weren't my coworkers, I made sure we brought the outside in to our Southwest Soundstage downstairs so we could still take advantage of him. Cue the frozen drinks, Hawaiian food, beach balls, etc.

When Aaron got there, he was a dream to work with [and no- it wasn't the frozen drinks that brainwashed me]. He was enthusiastic, helpful, talkative, fun, and showing me a bunch of things he was working on... all BEFORE we brought anyone else in, started the interview, etc. He was just genuinely excited to be there and showing off his new music.

The people came in, we talked about each of our recurring dreams, some records he set back in the day, and how that music was "him performing someone else's work." I asked him who beat Shaq then... turns out it was some dude in his 30s named Josh Schwartz. Damn.

It's pretty obvious/known that Aaron has been through some s#!* in his life, so we touched on that, how he's staying positive now, and how it's fun to shove all of his awesome beats in his haterade-filled family's faces.

Check out the ENTIRE event, with the interview [although lacking audio for the first minute] being first.
Other highlights: a flip at 12:40, and a 2017 remix of I Want Candy at 23:05



His energy is so contagious in all the best ways! I was feeling high on it for the rest of the weekend, for sure.

Or maybe it was the high of winning the handstand contest against him. Really. Proof is in the Instagram.

Here are @aaroncarter and I being VERY EXCITE about a handstand contest that I won. Sucka. #soonerorlater #iwantcandy

A post shared by elizabethany (@luvelizabethany) on May 28, 2017 at 6:45pm PDT

And just in case you haven't listened to any of his new stuff, this is the current single:


Welcome back, Aaron. It is SO lovely to have you and to have met you and to make another one of my "never could have even dreamed this would happen" mindblown preteen moments.

love,
elizabethany

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interview: niall horan talks manchester, tough times, and how his guitar gets him through

Niall Horan [formerly of One Direction but we don't really say that anymore or something] came in to the studio and as expected- it was silly.

Girls had been going nuts on Twitter, getting 1200 RTs in a few hours just to get a pass in.. they were messaging me trying to get his hotel or dinner plans, and one even jumped in front of my moving car to get my attention and win her way in.

Note to anyone ever trying to win: Jumping in front of a moving car is not winning. You will die and lose.

Luckily I didn't kill anyone that day. Or any day, I mean.

He came in to join the Kane Show live, then answer a few more questions with Toby and me. Intern John put him on the spot by asking how you describe what the song "Slow Hands" is about if his girl's dad is asking. It got awkward.

It wasn't nearly as awkward as when one mom blurted out that she had made her daughter, who was there, while listening to R Kelly's album.

Toby and I asked him about the first time he picked up his guitar [it was his brother's but his brother never played], the toughest time in his life [realizing his life would never be normal again] and his thoughts on the event in Manchester earlier this week.

Here's the entiiiiire thing: [The explanation of the song happens at about 5:10, the R Kelly word vomit convo starts at 17:44.]



And a clip of the Manchester convo for easy access. You're welcome.



Being a human who is really good at facial expressions and getting caught in them, I mostly enjoyed this look that I relate to when your boo is telling a completely made up story but you don't wanna interrupt or call them out so you try and keep quiet:

It's fun making little girls scream.* And talking to people who are already a big deal but are kinda starting over again.

love,
elizabethany

*only females can say something like this.

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interview: jay sean is really freaking cool

You remember that bomb song from Jay Sean, "Down," right?! Duh.

Well after a couple years of being quiet, he's back with a new song with Sean Paul, which means he's willing to do some radio interviews. He came all the way to DC, JUST to talk to me on my birthday. Real life. I felt really effing special.

As soon as Jay walked in, it felt comfortable and fun and vibey, and that makes for a really genuine chat. We talked about the risks he's taken and the ridiculous things people post on Instagram. We shared stories about Sean Paul and did you know he has an accent?! Turns out there's an explanation for that too.

Then the REAL fun came, and it's all thanks to my mom for sending me this Urban Dictionary game for my birthday!

It was educational and ridiculous as we learned what different terms meant.

Seriously, Mother Teresa sex.... that's a game changer.

I'm so thankful for artists who come in to have a good time and just wanna be two people hangin' out for a bit. Jay Sean, you da bomb. And so is this song of yours.

love,
elizabethany

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elizabethanytv: learning magic from the naked magic show

A couple months ago I found out I was giving away tickets to some Naked Magic Show with Australian men. I did a quick search and decided one thing needed to happen: An interview/video with Chris and Mike.

After a lot of trying and drive to Baltimore, we made it happen. Now I'm in love and moving to Australia once their tour is done.

That last part may or may not be true.

We had a lot of inappropriate jokes and they told me I suck at spanking, AND I guess I was distracted by them because I called them musicians instead of magicians in my video... but it's still a good one.


Now that I've seen the show allow me to confirm that it is one of the funniest things I've ever seen. I don't wanna ruin anything, but you will be impressed by the magic AND their humor [and their entire package, if you will]. If they're coming to you this summer, SEE THEM.

I swear I'm not being persuaded by this naked picture OR the fact we got to hang with them for a while afterwards....

Follow Chris and Mike and the whole show! And enjoy. 

love,

elizabethany

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exclusive interview: ally brooke of fifth harmony

Fifth Harmony's girls split up and traveled the country to promote their single "Work from Home," which is ironic cuz they were not at home at all... but they are THE ABSOLUTE NICEST girls I've ever met, and it's always great to have them in.

Ally is who got to come to my stations, which I was pumped about. As much as I hate prying about things they clearly don't talk about, I still wanna know the same things everyone else does! There have been rumors that her three year relationship with Troy Ogletree ended before the holidays, but they don't talk about it.

Since I recently went through the hard times and revelations, and I also like to keep the always-happy attitude, I figured we could bond. That we did, in just 2.5 minutes. Turns out Lauren deserves the biggest thank yous for helping Ally cope in the last couple months.



I seriously love realizing other people are ENFP's and helping them. I also just love my job and talking to people and asking questions... not to be nosey, but because I'm genuinely interested in how they're doing.

Keep being beautiful in all the ways, Ally!

love,
elizabethany

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elizabethanytv: harassing artists backstage at jingle ball

When you work with a bunch of radio legends, you gotta find a way to do your own thing and get your own content. Now that I'm also music director around these parts, I have a little more credibility and decided to get my hands on some artists while they were in their dressing rooms, walking down the halls, or doing press.

It's basically everything we're told NOT to do. It's the most unprofessional thing I've ever done... yet it's probably the video I'm most proud of to this day.

Enjoy a different look at Jingle Ball:


The way it works back there is crazy. Everything is so specifically timed. They'll do an interview at 6:48, meet and greets at 7:04, and perform at 7:27. Squeezing in extra PLANNED time was impossible... so sometimes you just need to demand some attention and pray you don't get in trouble. [I definitely got in trouble. I always get in trouble. This time it was a scary bodyguard for a certain band made of four certain male humans.]

love,
elizabethany

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exclusive interview: danni and i talked to kevin hart

This job really knows how to make sure I'm on my toes sometimes.

This morning was a struggle after a long weekend, and I was in the studio talking to Danni about some real serious ish when suddenly the phone rings and "Hi, I have Kevin Hart on the line for you."

Oh. Mild panic set in, and we obviously went forward with the interview someone else had set up while Googling like maniacs trying to figure out what he could be calling to promote.

What ended up happening was a conversation about why there is brail in drive thrus, his habit of walking into other people's hotel rooms, and what he's most proud of. The dude is clearly awesome.


Radio... throwing curveballs when all you [think you] wanna handle is a straight down the middle slow pitch.

love,
elizabethany

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etv: talking bodies with tove lo

I've been really excited about meeting Tove Lo for a while. She seems like a great bleeping time. Finally, I got the chance last week.

Because of her newest single "Talking Body," I decided to print out naked pics of different celebs and have her guess who they are. Surprisingly, it wasn't so easy. I put in a good surprise for her at the end, though.

She was definitely super chill, and I really wish I could just party with her! I wanna see if she's the chill or the crazy type while out... that answer wasn't getting answered. Sigh. 

love,

elizabethany

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truth or dare with magic!

Ya know that song "Rude?!" Well, the four guys who bring us that go by the name MAGIC! and stopped in the studio for an interview and Truth or Dare.

I had to thank them for being responsible for the resurgence of boy bands [seriously, it's all thanks to the lead singer Nazri], and I've decided to bring up the bullied past of artists because I think it's something they all go through growing up and even today.

There was no need to ask if the song was about a true story, they let me know that it wasn't as soon as they walked in the room and introduced themselves. They were very adamant about avoiding questions other people have asked.



Then we did a pretty quick Truth or Dare. I REALLY need to come up with some new ideas for these. I tend to think of things relating to the band/artist specifically, but I think I should start getting more random. Still, it's hilarious to see the duet every time.

[Sorry about the quality. We were working with different equipment and to be honest, it's the reason I took a couple weeks to get this up. but... I spent time kinda editing it, so might as well share it, right?!]

If you have any idea for a good dare for upcoming artists, holler at a girl!

love,
elizabethany

PS here's their performance of "Rude"



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interview: jeff timmons of 98 degrees and men of the strip

I had a major life moment today, y'all. I got to talk to Jeff from 98 Degrees. If you woulda told me back when I went to my first ever concert [which was theirs] that I'd one day talk to them, I woulda hit you or something for being ridiculous.

He's heading a new movie/show on E! that airs this Sunday.... all about the real life Magic Mike [and he says it's also part Sex In The City]. A group of hott guys, learning how to strip... hell yes you can count me in.

We talked about the Package Tour [when I saw them last year], how the guys on the show come from all different backgrounds including the NFL, WWE, and MMA... and how his wife and family think about this whole new career of his.



He was SO awesome to talk to! Normally I chop up my interviews pretty good, but I felt like it was a fun and casual conversation.

Jeff also said that a lot of the guys are using "Men of the Strip" as a platform to get into another career, and he's fully supportive of that. That's pretty freaking awesome.

Here are the clips I referenced in the interview:

I'm pretty pumped to watch Sunday night. Feel free to live tweet it with me [and Jeff]!

love,
elizabethany

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eTV: truth or dare with 5 seconds of summer

I finally found [or re-found, really..] something that seems to work and be fun and be "me" when it comes to visits from artists... a little Truth or Dare, duh!

Way back in the day, I played it with Raini and Rico Rodriguez [of Austin and Aly/Modern Family]... but now I've started doing it with the groups that come in while also getting their fans involved.

Yesterday we had 5 Seconds of Summer. They toured with One Direction and that's the same kinda fanbase they have. Imagine screaming girls showing up at 7am for a 3:00 event, then chasing the black cars into a major roadway or jumping into moving cars to chase them that way. Yeah. It's crazier than any stalking that I've done.

Watch as the guys have to do impressions of celebs, sing duets with listeners, and try to dodge truth questions like it's the okay thing to do.

It's fun, right?! I laugh a lot and die a little inside every time I watch the twerking and moonwalking... but we'll blame it on the carpet.. or... something.

Clearly I'll have to lay down some ground rules like "no trying to get out of answering a truth question, even if you can't think of one." I also wanna start getting everyone involved in picking out what the cards/options are... so start thinking!

love,

elizabethany

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video: my interview with icona pop

Icona Pop came in to perform for some of my "DC VIPs" [AKA listeners who won] last week, and I got to ask a couple quick questions before they performed.

I took out all the awkward answers, but I would never omit my two favorite questions to ask: What it was like the first time they heard their song on the radio and when they've had a fangirling moment. We also talked about dongs, of course.

Somehow.. there weren't really any ridiculous screenshots than I came across! That's gotta be a first.

If you wanna see their full performance, and a more in depth interview with Toby, click here!

I was really impressed with their performance! And for only having about 10 people in the room, they were all having a great time! I was also impressed that I never had to ask them to repeat themselves because of their accents.

love,
elizabethany

PS I'm still very much in a transition period here. It's hard to find your niche in a legendary station! I've got some more ideas to try out [specifically talking about interviews here], but in the meantime I'm playing the role of extremely tough coach on myself. And this is probably one of those paragraphs I should normally leave out of a blog, but... well... here we are. So thank you for following me through so many transitions through the years. I freaking love you.

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interview: eight questions with my bff's of karmin

Seeing as Amy and Nick from Karmin have been my favorite artists to hang with in the past [well, besides Trey Songz, of course.... yum.], I was SUPER pumped to get to talk to them again! Except this time was the first time I was actually sitting down with them and just chatting... not playing a game or doing a music video with them.

We didn't get to do it on camera, but I brought some spiffy audio equipment from 2002, we got real close, and talked about some fun things.

Some highlights: 

• I asked what color my maid of honor dress needed to be.. turns out they've already had to cancel one wedding, and another one is not even being planned yet. 
• They're in the middle of fixing up a house they bought from the inside out, thanks to their addiction to HGTV that I can totally relate to. 
• Paul McCartney once "pimp slapped" Nick, and Brandy made Amy cry.
• The moment they knew they were a thing was while joking about cheese at a college party.

Amy also told me my outfit was impeccable... which.. WOAH! Coming from her is pretty neat. Guess I'll need to post that soon.

I'm not sure why I keep doing boring smiles with these artists I interview... I need to quit that. Luckily I got a second chance with them.

I'm really excited that I'm going to be having more interview opportunities again. Most of them will be over the phone, but as you may know- my favorite part about my job is just interviewing people and asking questions.. whether they're famous or not. I still have a lot of practicing to do [and laughing to calm down with..], so I'm hoping the regular drop-by's and calls and co-hosts will put me on Ellen's level in no time! [or... a couple year's time...]

love,

elizabethany

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interview: catching up with tim halperin for his new album

If you've been a follower of me/my blog for a while, Tim Halperin is no stranger.

BUT... if you're a little new to these parts.. you might need to get to know the guy. [He did an awesome music video that went viral, then appeared on American Idol, was on my show a few times, partnered with Susan G Komen, and now just does really awesome things.]

Tomorrow he's releasing a new album and I couldn't be more pumped!

Unfortunately I haven't had a good catch-up with Tim for a while, so before I even hit record we talked about how both of us have been making big moves, the incredible loss of fellow radio guy and Tim's mentor Kidd Kraddick, and the importance of networking with people in the entertainment world. I love that I was able to consider Tim a friend from the day I met him, and it's exciting to see him grow and get more recognition throughout the world.

Once I started rolling, we still had a lot of fun! We talked about this video he released for his album "Heart Tells Your Head"...

We also talked about his silly "groupie/fangirl" moment with Ben Folds and the *interesting* things about Texas and leaving the gigantic state.

One of the most awesome things about Tim is he's always giving back. With this album, he's helping Kidd Kraddick's legacy live on and giving 15% of the album sales to Kidd's Kids. That's huge.

So whether you've followed his journey from the early stages or you're just finding out about him, give him a listen and definitely buy the album! This guy deserves so much success and recognition... even more than he's already worked his ass off to get.

love,
elizabethany

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watch: interview with mike posner and ke$ha performs in hampton roads

This week has been packed full of fun things at work. First I helped a listener video chat with Demi Lovato, and yesterday I got to go to the Mike Posner/Ke$ha concert!

Like I said on What Ya Wearin Wednesday, I freakin' loved the fans that came out to this show. They were dressed fun, and they acted fun. There were glitter bombs everywhere, people dancing like they're Miley, and even grown as people sittin' in the second row.

But before the show began, I got to meet/interview Mike Posner. Walking in, I expected him to be fun, outgoing, etc... All the made up conversations I had in my head to prepare for the interview were of us goofing around. Boy, did I prepare for the wrong interview.

He was super soft spoken, calm, and just a nice guy. It kinda threw a lot of my plans out the window, but I tried to warm him up and make it fun. Turns out, he needs a pop culture lesson.

[Watch out for the quick change of expression after I mention his BFF Justin's antics...]

Genuinely shocked that someone could actually be clueless to Magic Mike. WHERE HAS HE BEEN HIDING?! I had also asked him some other fun questions, but they ended up being pretty boring.

He definitely loosens up when he's on stage and puts on a pretty good show. Unfortunately for him, all the mics stopped working while he was up there... When he came back, he ran all the way back and through the lawn to make up for it.

Though I don't have anything to show for it yet [some people take their time getting pictures up from a big event!], I got to meet Ke$ha! Holy bajeezus. I thought this was gonna be one of those moments where I got star-struck, because she's such a big personality it almost doesn't seem real. Well, she was real.. real freakin' awesome.

She's one of the few people to ever thank us for playing her songs, and genuinely mean it. I also thanked her for being the reason Corey has a beard, because otherwise he'd still be hella awkward looking.

As for her show- AMAZING. I figured it'd be good, but she really puts on a show where you gotta keep watching. Plus- she's so damn sexual about everything, it makes me feel like a prude! Her dancers were also fantastic... so fantastic I felt the need to make some gifs.

Yeah, those are dudes. I thought I had gotten them while doing the splits and ish, but apparently I was way too mesmerized by that point. I did get some good pictures of it, though.. and the whole show: 

Ke$ha at nTelos Wireless Pavilion, a set on Flickr.

[Also: Here's a video from one of her songs!]

I honestly don't think I've ever sat that close during a show. It was a perfect one to get lucky with. [And by lucky I mean one of her record reps helped us out and gave us her tickets.]

Now if you'll excuse me, I need to go listen to her whole album again and dance around the room like a D-class stripper.

love,
elizabethany

beyond the real world cameras: grit and loathing with nia

Wheewwwww boy! This season has been a little all over the place, eh?! I feel like I've had mixed feelings towards everyone in the house at one point or another [with the exception of Marlon, I think...]. I hated Nia in the beginning, then I liked her, then I decided I just really needed to talk to her.

I'll be honest, like I always am... I'm surprised at how easy it was to talk to her and how genuine she really seemed. Sure, she had a lot of awful things to say about other people [saying one of her former BFF's is weak and has serious issues], and she doesn't regret a damn thing she did in the house... but somehow it almost seems justified... maybe.

She's well aware that Real World makes stereotypes out of people, and instead of trying to "prove the stereotype wrong," she embraced her inner angry black woman and made a show everyone's talking about. Nia knows that to make it in the business you have to be a Kim Kardashian or a violent biotch, so she went to violent route.

Our entire chat was over 30 minutes, but I had to cut some things out and also took out some redundancy.. She really wanted to let these things be known:

• She's not a slut, and it was when Jordan tried to make her look like THE Atlanta prostitute that she started to attack him
• Averey is as fake as fake can be, even buying a bunch of her Twitter followers
• "It's not my fault they think I'm better than them. I didn't tell them I was."

Goodness, I feel like I'm really stirring ish up on here, but you haven't even heard the beginning of it. I've never had to bleep so many F- and S- bombs in a podcast before! So take a listen and get ready to catch your jaw. 

If you're fiending for more Nia, here's that first episode of her web-series.

And let me know your thoughts on this one! She's always been the source of a lot of tweets you have sent me, so I'm interested to hear what you think now. Tweet or comment below!

love,
elizabethany

PS check out all of my Real World podcasts here!

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exclusive interview: cher lloyd

One of the cool things about the HOT Summer Fiasco [full re-cap video and post will be coming up as soon as it's done!] was being able to touch up on my interviewing skills with different personalities. Each celebrity is so different, as well as the situation.

Some celebs will let you walk right in with a camera, sit down and start asking questions. Others don't allow cameras... and some even pick out which questions you can and can not answer. Of course with those people, I try and make the best out of the couple [four this time] questions I have and expand as much as possible. It's not easy. It may even be one of the more difficult situations for me because I like to have a conversation... when anything in my life becomes scripted, I tend to freeze up a little bit.

I got to go into Cher's dressing room before her meet and greet and chat it up a bit. If I could describe her off-stage in one word, it'd be fragile. She was so small, gentle, and a little quiet- the complete opposite of what I expected! BUT, she was definitely nice and beautiful.


Her on stage persona was everything I imagined. She was feisty like her brats and her songs. She was running all over the place. She was loud.... Now I'm wondering if she's got two names for these personas like other celebs do!

Also, I need to add "moan" to my vocabulary and use it the way she does. It was like a replacement for complain or whine. Sure, I use moan every once in a while... but in a very literal tense, and normally in a sexual way. She moans to her dad. [You should have seen my face when she said that.]

love,
elizabethany

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