Justin Guarini Travels to Warminster
Lorraine Sciuto-Ballasy
Doylestown Patriot, June 27, 2003
www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?BRD=1685&dept_id=45280&newsid=8778369&PAG=461&rfi=9
 

Guarini chats amiably with Jennifer Graham of Morrisville, letting her touch his hair while he signs her CD jacket.
With his recently released self-titled CD in hand, nearly 1,000 fans waited for hours outside the Warminster Wal-Mart on Saturday, June 14 to meet American Idol runner-up Justin Guarini.

Scheduled to make his appearance at 2 p.m., the crowd grew thick and impatient when at 2:30 p.m. he had not yet shown his face, although the word was he had been in the building for over 45 minutes. Ten minutes later, as the line wove through the center aisle of the store, to the entrance, along the front of the building and around its Street Road side, Guarini, 24, finally made his way to the "signing area" with publicists and security in tow and anxious fans, surprised shoppers, and members of the various media outlets there to greet him.

"Wow..." he exclaimed as his wide, sparkling eyes roamed the mass of people hollering his name. Smiling, he stood up on a nearby chair, took a moment to point and coo at an infant perched on a rack to get a better view, and motioned palms down for the crowd to settle.

"Whoa...whoa. Shhhh," he urged in a whisper, attempting to quiet them. "I'm going to try to get everyone a signature," he promised aloud. "I'm supposed to have two hours, but forget it."

(True to his word, he wrapped it up around 8:15 p.m., almost seven hours after he arrived, having met with Wal-Mart store management and associates before being taken to the sales floor where hundreds of fans welcomed him.)

With that said, he jumped off the chair and sat on it, ready to get to the business of shaking hands and signing CDs.

I was the first in line. My 7-year-old tightly held our CD jacket in his sweaty little hands.

"Can I go? Is it okay?" he asked me, his face flushed with excitement.

"Hi. What's your name," Guarini said cheerfully, looking my son straight in the eye. "Justin," was his soft-spoken, one-word answer. He appeared transfixed by the idol superstar. "Hey, get out. Cool..." Guarini muttered as he signed the CD for him. "Oh, hello again," he said, recognizing me from the premiere the night before.

Here's where I artfully slipped in a few unanswered questions.
As I explained last week, now that I am an official Justin Guarini "groupie" - or whatever you call someone willing to sacrifice time and energy, and possibly risk life and limb, to meet up with someone they hold in high regard - you can expect to find me anywhere Justin is when he comes back home.

For this, I will not apologize, nor will I rationalize. It goes far beyond logic and reason. It's just fun.

Maybe I will feel differently at some point. Right now, it's impossible to say for sure either way. It all depends on what the future holds for Justin. Then again, even if he doesn't reach mega-stardom, I'll still like him anyway.

So will a lot of other people.

"He's super-sexy," said Caitlyn Smith, a Tamanend Middle School eighth grader from Warrington, who was near the front of the line with a few friends.

"I still think he should have won," Jennifer Graham, 29, of Morrisville, told me as she waited in line with her friend and former co-worker Peggy Maliborski, 38, of Hamilton, N.J., who stopped for Graham on her way to Wal-Mart that morning.
This pair was truly the first in line at 6:50 a.m. - and thought they would be the first through the doors when they opened at 7 a.m. sharp. Instead, they were asked to form a line outside the front doors. That's where they remained until 1 p.m., baking in the sun (yes, it was warm that day) and heading up the droves of fans later taking their place behind them.

These women are BIG Justin fans. They said Justin-talk became the office discussion every Wednesday and Thursday morning while he competed on Fox TV's American Idol show. Justin's photos decorated their work areas, desks and computers, and they voted for him "several times," all season long. What do they love so much about Justin?

"His voice. He's a performer, not just a singer," said Maliborski. "We want to try to touch his hair," she added tentatively.

"He's just got such a great personality, too," said Graham.
Their favorite song on the new CD is "One Heart Too Many."
When her time came, Jennifer did indeed muster up the nerve and asked Justin if she could stroke his golden locks. I heard him say, "Sure" and saw him drop his neck and place his mop-like head directly before her. At the exact moment her fingers became immersed, her expression turned radiantly incredulous. If he thought this was at all strange, his demeanor never betrayed him.

What a guy!

There's a whole campaign out there pivoting around that central idea. It's called, "Pick It Up For Justin," inspired by his afro-style hair. A large group of fans, from teeny-boppers to retirees and grandmothers, known as the Justin Guarini Street Team, have launched a well-planned campaign to "Pick it up for Justin," "it" meaning his CD. The idea is for fans to "dig a little deeper" to purchase one extra CD and a purple afro pick, and then give the CD to a friend, co-worker or a stranger with a note attached reading, "Justin Guarini - Best New Artist. Pick it up again and share it with a friend."

The Street Team distributes flyers, lobbies the media, and writes to radio stations to promote Justin's music. They consider it their privilege to appear and promote Justin wherever he goes. Members were at Wal-Mart for the signing.
"We have all listened to some of the songs on-line and we can't wait to share this wonderful CD with those who might not otherwise have a listen. We are so excited this CD has exceeded our expectations," said Lori Dengler, a campaign organizer, prior to the CD's June 10 release.

According to the group's promotional materials, the hair pick symbolizes "uplifting Justin" and his trademark "natural" hair and personality. They refer to him and his album as "a cultural fusion, ethnically and musically - it's original, soulful music to move and mellow out to."

Last week, Guarini's CD stood on the Billboard charts at no. 20, while the week before it debuted in the top 10.
When asked about the "Pick It Up" campaign, Guarini said he knew about it.

"Can you believe that? My fans are really wonderful," he replied.

Guarini said he was more than ready for his stint on American Idol to end because he "could not wait" to get in the studio to begin recording.

"I was anxious to show people what I could really do," he explained.

As a new artist, Guarini has said his most memorable moment, besides performing live on a TV show with 28 million viewers, as well as on a sold-out nationwide tour, signing with Simon Fuller's 19 Entertainment, landing a record deal with RCA, recording a debut album with executive producer Clive Davis which features production work by multi-platinum, multi-Grammy winner Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds, and starring in his first feature film, "From Justin to Kelly," with American Idol winner Kelly Clarkson, the "incomparable" experience of his lifetime was meeting his idol, legendary R&B singer and songwriter, Stevie Wonder.

"I grew up listening to albums like 'Songs in the Key of Life' and 'Innervisions' and 'In Square Circle', says Guarini.
"He's been a huge influence on me. I even sang a few of his songs, including 'Ribbon in the Sky' on American Idol. So you can imagine how I felt when we were introduced at a birthday party for Quincy Jones and he actually thanked me for singing his songs on the show. Then he said, 'You should come by the studio. We should work on something together.' I was speechless. I will never forget that."

Guarini said his mother encouraged him to try out for American Idol, and his whole family cheered him on during the season.

"I've been singing for a long time, but never experienced anything like the feeling I got after my first performance in front of that live audience," he says.

"I really felt something going on. I immediately felt at home and knew that this was where I wanted to be."
 

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