I figured this might be my first and only chance of ever meeting Justin so I sprang for the VIP package. Justin himself was definitely worth the price, but if he hadn't been there I would think I had been way overcharged. The concert was on an outdoor stage and there was seating on both sides. Also on of each side of the stage was a small dining room with glass walls. One side was for VIP (me!) and the other side was for friends/family of the performers. From what I understood, there would be a buffet and meet-and-greet at 5 p.m. and the concert would be at 6:30. Dinner would be served first, but it was unclear how much time we'd have with the idols. The buffet (awful!) started closer to 5:30 and we didn't meet the idols until a quarter after 6.

There were about 20 of us VIPs, about a third of them *serious* Anthony fans. They came decked out with "I Love Anthony" shirts and buttons. About four or five us were Justin fans dressed regularly but just as hard-core. The rest were a couple of Melissa fans and general AI fans with a few good-natured husbands thrown in. So it's getting close to showtime and we're all hanging out in the dining room since the idols were supposed to come in through the back entrance. Some of the VIP were hanging outside the back door to get a first glimpse which was kinda of annoying. Suddenly, everyone's gathered around the back door and...it's Anthony! I peeked over someone's shoulder and saw...Justin! Holly was close behind him. I'm sure Melissa was there but with all the commotion I didn't notice. We file back into the dining room to give the idols room to enter and things go very fast.

Justin was simply beautiful. A bit more scruff than usual--a beard really. His curls were slightly looser and longer so I think his hair hadn't completely dried yet. I'm sure I screamed when I first saw him, I know I jumped up and down a little bit. Lots of pics, signing things and excited chatter going on. Even though only a few of us were big Justin fans, everyone else wanted pics and autographs from him too, so I didn't get as much one-on-one time with Justin as I'd liked. I've never been to a meet-and-greet before so I thought the setting would be a little more intimate so we'd get a chance to talk and ask questions. I hung back from the crowd at first, I was too timid to approach him. Until a fellow Justin fan (Maria!) gave me a push and was like "You better get up there girl!" So got up the nerve and Justin smiled and gave me a warm hug (I was so nervous I forgot to smell him!) then posed and we took a picture. Then I asked him "Do you mind...signing my...my cd?" And I took out my copy of STHH, and Justin looked at it and said "Cool! Who do I make this out to?" And I say "Sarah" and he says "Sarah...with an H?" And I go "Yes!" and inside I'm so flattered that he knew there was another spelling and asked to make sure. And while he was signing it I said excitedly like a dork, "He's left-handed just like me," and Justin chuckled. What struck me most about this whole encounter is that even though it was brief and the room was full of people, I felt like I had Justin's undivided attention. He made me feel that at that moment, nothing was more important to him than what was happening between us. I mean, when he looks at you, he really *looks* at you with all of his concentration. He was looking at me so intently that it was difficult for me to even look back at him, if that makes sense. And though I realize that part of the meet-and-greet is for pictures and autographs, I was still uncomfortable asking for them, as if I were intruding somehow. But Justin just gave me a look like "Of couse I will, silly! I'd LOVE to," and it felt genuine and sincere.

By now video and recaps have been posted all over the place so there isn't too much more I can say without being repetitive. Justin opened the next song with "Who's heard of Stevie Wonder?" Yay! If he had to sing anything Stevie, I was hoping for Ribbon in the Sky since I've been dying to hear him sing that again. It turned out instead to be FOIML, not really my favorite song. He didn't really dance to it this time around like he did on AI, but his vocals were FLAWLESS. Just when I thought I couldn't be impressed anymore, I was.  For Sexual Healing, Justin started out with the disclaimer that he realized were kids in the audience but he wanted to sing a song for the grownups because "they just don't write songs like that anymore. Now it's 'my neck, my back....' " Now I've heard SH before, but I never actually *listened* to it. Hearing Justin sing it and paying attention to the lyrics for the first time-- wow that's er, pretty explicit, lol.  And I had to laugh at the unlikelihood of hearing such a, um...stimulating song at a supposed family event. The audience didn't seem to mind, though. The cheers were loud and enthusiastic and I think we were all appreciative that Justin sang a song just for the grown folk. And he stayed back behind the mic so we had the best view we'd had all night. It was during this song that I started to lose complete control of my digital camera! It was getting darker and I was trying to adjust the flash because my pics were coming out dark and grainy. I'm not sure what I pressed but I screwed up the focus and for the life of me could not figure out how to undo what I did.  Grrr! So I gave up trying to take pics after that.

Justin said next he was going to sing a song he'd actually never sung before. Huh? I think we were all scratching our heads figuring out why he sang What I Like About You. Especially since he needed to use a "cheat sheet" with lyrics. Not even two lines into the song, fellow Justin fan Maria remarked that he'd already screwed the lyrics up, lol. Still, it was a fun song, and J really got the crowd into it. He moved around the most during this song, dancing on the brick wall that ran along the front of the stage. If you've seen some of the pics, you can see that this is a *very* narrow wall, couldn't have been more than a foot and a half wide. And Justin's dancing on this thing--in boots! I couldn't even enjoy the performance fully because I was so scared he might fall.  From the stories I've heard about his antics on the idol tour--jumping down flights of stairs and such--I gathered that Justin was a risk-taker, but still! Justin agreed to sing one more song but he'd do it "Acapulco" (I don't think everyone got that joke) and started the intro to "Who's Loving You. "When.." Then he stops. "I don't think that's a good key." Yeah, right! So he "tries" again in a lower key, the boy really knows how to tease. The whole song was just unreal, unbelievable. Smooth, sexy, and that one note he held for almost FOREVER. To all the nay sayers out there, you can have your glory-notin' divas because Justin can belt with the best of them when he wants to. He left the stage to thunderous applause and tons of screams, and just that quickly the concert was over.

After Justin left the stage, Maria told me that Justin said he'd be back later. It wasn't a guarantee, but we figured if Justin said it, he'd do his best to keep his word. So a few of us stayed around the VIP area to chat and wait and watch the fireworks show which in all the excitement of seeing Justin, I had forgotten about. My view was somewhat blocked by trees, but the fireworks show was still dazzling and the accompanying music was very moving. I'd never seen a fireworks show before, strange, huh? I wondered about Justin, where he was and if he was enjoying it too. After the fireworks show--or maybe during, I'm not entirely sure--the rest of the crowd started gathering off the side of the stage where there was a little tent set up for their own meet-n-greet.  It was truly night by then and with so many people, it was looking very unlikely that Justin would be able to make his way back to the VIP area. An assistant with the event, I'll call her Angel since she *was* an angel, said she'd see if she could do something. Around maybe 15 minutes later(?), Angel comes back and escorts what's left of us VIPs down to the tent for another meeting with the idols. From left to right, Melissa, Anthony and Justin were seated at a table under the tent signing all sorts of things taking pics. Holly was under the tent too, right behind Justin. Security was trying to make the process as quick as possible, asking people to take a pic and keep moving.  "Are these the VIPs?" one security guy asks Angel, and we all held up our arms and flashed our yellow wristbands.  So yeah, we basically cut to the front of the line, lol, still it wasn't the private one-on-one I'd been craving all evening. Honestly, I don't know that I would've had that much to ask Justin anyway, I just wanted to look at him for awhile and kinda absorb his presence. It still didn't seem quite real to me that he was actually there.

It's nearly 6:30 and I've taken a picture with Justin *and* he's signed my cd. Score! Now I'm just watching Justin interacting with the other fans and admiring, lusting, basically in bliss. I take a pic of Justin and one with him and Holly too. Holly, btw, looked gorgeous. Kind of retro, hair in an updo, hopefully there's a full-length pic floating around somewhere because her dress was beautiful. All of a sudden Justin looks up and over towards the center stage. Anthony and Melissa are already out there and now they starting Justin intro! He quickly scribbles one last autograph and runs out and the rest of us go outside back to the seating area. I hadn't noticed Melissa before and I realized her hair was a lot darker and I just hadn't recognized her. She looked good, though I thought her shorts were maybe a little *too* short, but I guess that's the way kids are wearing them these days.

So J, F, and M are seated on stage with Justin on the end sitting closest to us. There's a Q & A from the audience and I'm wondering why we (VIPs) didn't get that chance? Some questions were for specific idols but most were general in nature and for all three of them. I was a bit distracted trying to get a good pic of Justin so I only remember a few bits. His favorite part of the idol tour: performing. Least favorite: being *so* tired. It's not like Justin to complain about anything so it was a bit of a shock. He wasn't bitter or resentful about it, just honest. It was kind of refreshing in a way to hear him say that. So, he's human after all, huh? Then there was a question about biggest influences (or maybe it was inspiration): women...huh? Justin tried to explain what he meant, that he'd been raised around strong women, he loves women, young men wouldn't quite understand because at that age they're a bit stupid (his word). Honestly, I still didn't understand what he was getting at but I guess the point is...Justin loves women. He also mentioned soul and funk music as influences too. Who does he still keep in touch with: Kelly (yeah, I know). Someone asked him about his next movie and Justin plugged Fast Girl, which should be out by the end of the summer. He assured the audience it wasn't about promiscuous women, which got a chuckle from the crowd. He was making little jokes like that all throughout the Q & A. He was also shaking his hair a lot with his hands, so I'm pretty sure it was still a bit wet. Overall he was charming, witty, and gracious as usual. And I may be biased, but there's such an ease with which Justin communicates, of the three of them he came across as the true professional. The Q & A ended, Justin and Anthony leave the stage, and Melissa is the first to perform.

I tuned out much of season 5 so I don't know much about Melissa, but I thought she did well. I'm not sure what her sound is though. First she sang I Love Rock and Roll, but the next song sounded kind of country-ish. Halfway through her set, Anthony came back for more pics and signing so Anthony's fans left the stage and went back into the dining room. I really wish they hadn't set it up that way. It's like you had to make a choice between which idol you wanted to pay attention to. Then again, if Justin was signing autographs while Anthony was performing, that'd keep the Anthony fans outside and I'd have a better chance of getting my one-on-one time. If it sounds like I'm coming down on Anthony fans, I don't mean to. They were all *very* nice and were of all ages. But they are quite devoted to their guy and let everyone know it. It was quite funny, really.

Unfortunately, Justin never came back into the dining room. I think he started to because he and Holly were around the back door and he was taking more pics. No one told me, I just happened to look back into the room and saw the crowd gathered around the door. Anthony might've been there too, I can't remember. But he never made it fully inside. They didn't hang around long, I think maybe it was too close to his time to go on stage. I forgot to mention that during the meet-and-greet, Justin would squat down for some of the shorter fans so they could pose cheek to cheek. It didn't even occur to me to ask him to do that, so in my pic you've got tall Justin and little me who barely makes it past his elbow. So I was hoping for another chance to take a pic where I didn't look like such a shrimp and you could actually, you know, see me in the picture. Soon I hear the beginnings of Justin's intro and it's his turn to perform. The Anthony fans have all but disappeared (probably stalking their boy). So I get to sit--or rather stand-- in the front this time. Justin comes out with a lot of energy, greets the audience and questions the pronunciation of Ocala. "Is it Oh-cah-la?" No, Justin it's a short "a". I think he must've been joking. Justin really works the crowd and you can definitely see his dad's political skills rubbing off on him: "Those are the cutest babies I've ever seen." Really, Justin, lol? There was a member of the Air Force in our VIP section and Justin mentioned that he told Justin the patch on his butt of his jeans was an Air Force patch. Justin quipped, "That must make me a 'rear' admiral." Wah, wah, wah. At some point--can't remember exactly when--Justin got a request to sing Happy Birthday to someone. Then another, and another. So Justin sang it to everyone. "Happy birthday dear, everybodywho'sbirthdayitistoday..and you..and you too.." It was hilarious! The first song he sang was Easy. Weird choice but kinda nice since I still had nightmares of Jim Verraros' lackluster version. During the guitar solo Justin goes "And this is a part I have *nothing* to do with." So he's walking around shrugging his shoulders and judging by the crowd's laughter, making some pretty funny faces. I couldn't really tell because Justin had walked so close to the front of the stage he was facing completely away from us. He stayed at the front of the stage for the majority of his set, which was really frustrating. There were also two massive columns on the side of us and at times Justin would go so far off to the side he'd completely disappear. The few pics I took are either of his side or his back-- which depending on how you look at it, may not be such a bad thing.

So soon it's my turn to meet Justin. I had one of Justin's promo fliers the park was giving out, but when I looked back at the long, long line of people behind me and back at Justin, I was imagining the writer's cramp he'd surely have in the morning, and I couldn't bring myself to ask him sign the flier when he'd already signed my cd earlier. And I even had my picture, albeit with half of my body missing. Instead I told him I loved him and shook his hand. He looked right at me again with that intense gaze and smiled back at me and then I got all disoriented again. I moved on to Anthony and gave him a flier that one of the park employees had asked me to get signed for her. And then I walked slowly away, with my feet shuffling a bit. I didn't want to go! Justin had some magnetic pull. As long as he was around, I wanted to be near him. But there was a huge crowd and security was trying to discourage loitering so I gave up and left the park and drove back to my hotel. I had the hardest time sleeping that night which was a problem since I needed to be on the road at 6 a.m. in the morning. Even now I'm still on a bit of a high. I've caught myself grinning like an idiot for no particular reason. I can't imagine what my co-workers must think, lol.

Tidbit: I think someone yelled out "Watch out, Akon!" or something like that, and Justin is like "I know who Akon is," and did an Akon impression. "Convict music.." I don't listen to Akon, but I know who he is and Justin's impression was spot on, and funny!