While my encounters with celebrities will be fully discussed in Phase 2 of this blog (which is going to be WAY in the future, so don't hold your breath), I thought I'd post all the stuff I did on YouTube surrounding my getting to meet KPOP group Apink.
It all started on Saturday, 11/21/15. I had done a Twitter search on Apink and discovered that the day before, they had announced a tour of North America. After finding the promoter's website, it showed that they would be in San Francisco on 01/08/16 at the Regency Ballroom. I immediately tried to buy tickets, but found out they wouldn't go on sale until the next Saturday. Looking at the details, they were selling 150 Meet and Greet tickets. These tickets included a photo with the group (along with 9 other fans) and a Hi-Touch pass, in which I'd be able to high-five all six members of the group. There would also be 300 VIP tickets, 50 of which would be randomly drawn to take part in the Hi-Touch. I did not want to take a chance with regular VIP, so I knew that I had to have the Meet and Greet, or nothing at all.
In the next to last video in this post, I go into detail about how I managed to acquire a Meet and Greet ticket, which I could not procure when the tickets initially went on sale. But before I got that ticket, the promoter offered a contest in which someone could win two VIP tickets. Entrants just had to post a video of them performing a dance or vocal cover of one of Apink's songs. The winner would be determined by popular vote. I figured the tickets would automatically include a Hi-Touch and if I was lucky, it wouldn't have anyone else from the Bay Area entering the contest. I went ahead and planned a video. In the meantime, I did manage to get my hands on a Meet and Greet. Since I had already planned the video, I decided to see if I could win anyway and maybe bring Ms. Ogolon to the concert. So I produced this:
I had hoped that doing lyrics in English would set me apart from everyone else, and it did. I posted the video about a week before the deadline and started getting views almost immediately. However, the promoter announced a change in the contest. They said that the winner from each city would get to share the stage with Apink. Later postings clarified that the winner would be on stage during the time the group was changing into their outfits for the second act. In addition, it would no longer be a popular vote that determined the winner. It would be a panel of their staff making that decision. After they announced the winners, I posted this video:
I should add that even if I had won by default, I wouldn't have gotten up on stage to sing. I would have been chased out of the venue.
During the time that I was waiting for the big day, I'd noticed a lot of stuff happening in which people planning to go to the show were getting really frustrated with the promoter. I posted this video a few days after the concert to put it all in perspective, even though it really didn't affect me:
Leading up to the day of the concert, I encountered major issues with my Meet and Greet ticket:
But in the end, I got what I came for:
And here is the photographic proof:
In reaction to the photo, one person posted on the event's Facebook page "smh at the guy who covered his face LMFAO." I responded and identified myself as that person. I explained that I did that because of the nature of the photos I post of myself on Facebook. (This post has since been deleted.)
The whole experience was certainly unforgettable. It's going to be a long time before I get to do something like that again. I had no choice but to enjoy it.