Thursday was my dad’s birthday so when I told him about the Carrie Underwood special he was excited to go. My mom and I had been to DWTS before so we knew it would be a long day of standing around, but this was worse. Don’t get me wrong, it was all worth it in the end.

We got in line at around 2:45 pm with only 11 people in front of us. I was so glad to be under a tent with chairs (which we brought). Around 4 pm they finally came around and numbered our confirmation ticket print-outs and at 4:30 pm we were finally able to move our car into the parking structure. At the same time we were moved up to the 2nd level and taken through security and metal detectors. I think it was little after 5 pm when we FINALLY got actual hard tickets in our hands. Mine read Row E Seat 505.
I admittedly was a little pissed since we were so close to the front of the line, but I knew from past experience (DWTS) that they put the pretty young one’s down front. We did however, end up with excellent seats where we could see everything. Anyway…

At around 6 pm they told us it would only be another 15 minutes. Well those 15 minutes turned into another hour and a half. We were standing by the wash, not the best view but at least we were out of the sun! Then the sun disappeared and we all got cold. Finally they walked us through the CBS studios back lot. Right before walking into the sound stage I saw Tyce Diorio (SYTYCD choreographer) literally 3 feet from me. I got a smile and a wave back. I think we finally sat in our seats at 7:45 pm (yep 5 hours later)! We never did find out what the delay was. But, let me tell you “the natives were starting to get restless”.

Cory (the same guy that does the warm-up for Idol, SYTYCD & DWTS) got up on stage and got the crowd excited. He announced the different people who would be there. David’s name got a really loud response. The first number was Carrie, Kristin Chenowith, & Christina Applegate doing a 60's medley in full costume with big hair and big poofy pink dresses (thanks for helping me remember Scott). We didn’t know it but Christina’s dress had split up one whole side at the top of the song! I thought she was a little awkward and nervous during the first run through. The 2nd run through was much better and I thought she did really well being paired against the 2 powerhouses that are Kristin & Carrie.

Cory was asking who in the crowd had birthdays. My dad was one of them. I think there were 3 people who actually had their birthday that day. More on that later.
Then we saw Sons of Sylvia (formerly the Clark Brothers who won America’s Favorite Band or something like that). I thought they did an excellent job for being an unknown band to most of the audience. They did a Christmas song of which I cannot remember the name either. Sorry, but everything is really a blur (except for David and the boys). I do remember the teenage girls down front talking to Cory about how gorgeous the Sons of Sylvia boys were. That was pretty funny. One of the girls was even told to keep her screaming to a minimum because she was so loud.
Finally David walked on stage. The crowd actually gave him a standing O just for walking on the stage to which he promptly said “Quit it.” After the crowd got quiet someone yelled “Andy”, I think. To which David swept his hand toward the band. There was lots of “I love you David” coming from the crowd as well. One of which was “crying girl” from Sanjaya’s season. She was 3 seats away from me. David replied to her in a shrilly voice “I love you too”. To which she of course started crying. She’s quite the actress. LOL. The boys warmed up their guitars. I think I only saw Kyle for a split second before the lights went down. From what I can remember all the boys were in jeans. David was pretty much in all black, leather jacket and cool boots that looked like they weren’t laced up all the way. David’s hair was also darker than I ever remember it. Monty was sporting a fedora. I think Neal had dark jeans and vest on. Andy just looked good. My photographic memory is not helping me now. LOL. David was out front with the Anthemic back about 5 feet and to the side. Kyle was in the drum pit. Andy, Monty & Neal were up on the stage (in that order).

The lights went down. And then we heard the first few notes of Lie. I tried to be calm, but I got so damn excited. Lie is my favorite song from the album. They did this cool lighting affect on David with beams of light. It was kind of similar to Permanent on AI8 Finale only it was black and white. Does that make sense? The audience was silent just taking it all in. The acapella portion gave me goosebumps. The crowd cheered and then the boys joined in. It was simply gorgeous. I was a little disappointed that I couldn’t hear Andy singing back up very well. I’m hoping the televised version will pick it up more. Standing O before the last note! David was thoroughly surprised by the crowd’s reaction. He looked behind him and said “I was looking for the “Applause” sign. Cory came up on stage and said “You know when something is really, really good when you don’t have to ask the audience to applaud. They just do it.” David was obviously humbled by that.

Once all the cheering stopped and everyone sat down someone from the crowd shouted “Nice zapatos!” to David. To which he said “What?” So they said it again. So he held up 1 foot and said something like “They convinced me not to wear my cowboy boots and put these on me instead.” Then he smirked. At this point Cory asked if David would take questions while we waited to do the second take. He said sure, of course. Someone down front said “My Spanish teacher really like you on Idol.” To which he said “Gracias.” LOL Cory walked around the room letting people ask questions. Our very own @janesixtytwo asked something like “Your fans are dying to know when your last tour date is? Do you know and can you tell us?” To which he replied “I think in early December. But, I told them I would do shows through December, so we’ll see. Otherwise I really don’t know.” None of this is word for word, BTW.

Then someone asked who David’s favorite band was. Andy, Monty, & Neal put their arms out as if to say “us”. David said “I really like Our Lady Peace” and some of us were yelling “The Anthemic!” So David turned around and said “But I really like the Anthemic, although that could change at any time.” Which cued Kyle to do a drum beat. Then David said “Just kidding. Just kidding.” LOL

This time Carrie came out and introduced the song saying something like, “Up next is my friend David Cook. I asked him to come sing my favorite song off his album.” Then they played Lie again. I couldn’t believe I got to hear it twice in one day. It was just as gorgeous as the first time. Flawless, perfection. Then the Antemic left the stage.

Cory took more questions. One little girl who I think said she was 7 asked if she could sing with David! He pretty much said sure if we have time. So, Cory mentioned all the birthday’s in the house and told them to sing Happy Birthday. David asked for a starting note and they started singing. This little girl can “sang”! LOL When they got to the part where you usually say someone’s name the little girl belted out “dear PEOPLE.” To which David started laughing because it was just so cute. So, can I say, since it was my dad’s birthday that David Cook sang Happy Birthday to my dad? He, he.

Then Cory told us that David and Carrie would do a little skit and then start a rockin duet. They brought out David’s white guitar (sorry I don’t know the brand name). Carrie walked out on stage saying “Ladies and gentleman, David Cook!” I don’t remember the skit word for word so I’m going to try to remember it! Carrie: “It’s so nice to have you hear David. I consider you a friend.” David: “Yeah it’s so nice to be here. With the whole Idol thing we kind of have a little club. Thanks for letting me come on and pimp my record.” Carrie: “Well if 19 hadn’t forced me to ask you at the last minute….” David: “Hm, maybe we should just sing this next song.” Carrie: “Um yeah.” Yes it was awkward and a little corny, but I think it will come off as funny on TV. Fingers crossed. Then they started into “Why Can’t This Be Love” by Van Halen. OMG, it frickin brought the house down. David’s guitar solo with a steady cam right on him is going to be so frickin sweet on TV. I personally can’t wait to see it. Carrie was rockin out and they sounded really incredible together. Their harmonies were spot on, of course. Would we expect anything less? Standing O, again. He and Carrie whispered back and forth to each other looking very pleased with the crowd’s reaction. Carrie was sporting some sparkly “booty shorts” and long black boots, quite the female rock star outfit.

There was time for some last questions before they did the number again. A teenage girl just down in front of me got the next question. She was literally shaking. She explained how she had wanted to go to the Newport show so bad but no one would go with her. So she locked herself in her room all day and listened to David’s songs over and over. Then her friend called and said that she was only 10 rows from David and how upset that made her. So, Cory took her to the stage where she got an autograph AND a hug from David. All the while she was crying and shaking. Cory told her to call her friend when she got home and tell her what happened. LOL

The last question was from a guy in the audience. He said “David I loved you on Idol. But, can you introduce me to Carrie?” David laughed and said “I don’t know. I had to win a TV show just to meet her. She’s in pretty high demand. But, if she’s up for it, absolutely I will!” Unfortunately it never happened, but I could tell David tried. LOL

David and Carrie did the skit again. Not sure if the first run through was better than the second as far as the skit goes. The song was just as awesome the second time. And then it was over. David left the stage.

Carrie sang one of her new singles “Mama’s Song” with background dancers one of which was Lauren from SYTYCD. Absolutely gorgeous. The big screens also had pictures of Carrie while she was growing up. Brought tears to my eyes. That one was choreographed by Tyce Diorio.

The last song was another one of the songs from Carrie’s upcoming album. I don’t think anyone has heard this song before. It was definitely a country number. There were I think 8 guys dancing, 1 of which was Mark (who was partnered with Chelsea Hightower for most of the season) from SYTYCD. It was a fun song to end the night with. They only performed it once. That one was choreographed by Tabitha & Napoleon (Nappytabs) from SYTYCD.

On a final note, for any SYTYCD fans. As we were walking through the studio back lot to get to our cars I noticed Nappytabs walking next to me. So, I took my chance and just said “Can I just say I think you guys are awesome.” They looked over and said “thanks.” I said “I always love the number you choreograph on SYTYCD.” They said “Thank you.” I said “You did that last number right?” They said “Yeah and we’re also doing 1 for tomorrow night. Cowboy Cassanova. Are you coming back tomorrow?” I said “No, I’ve got a 4 year old at home and it was hard to get away just for tonite.” They said “Oh, I see. This was a long night huh?” I said, “Yeah, but it was so worth it.” They said, “Yeah Carrie was so great to work with. Its really cool to see this in a small setting.” I said, “Yeah it was really great. Well, it was great to meet both of you. Thank for chatting with me.” They said “You’re welcome.” And walked on. They were very sweet. Made my night! If I've learned anything in life its "you only live once", so I take my chances whenever I can. As long as I'm not making anyone unfcomfortable and I do it in a respectful way!

ETA: My dad turned to me at the end and said "David was the best performance of the night!" And that is coming from a big Carrie Underwood fan who has never seen David live!