MuchMusic.com | Blog

I have been waiting for a moment like this for a really, really long time. I entered two other Taylor Swift contests getting second in BOTH, even though inside I knew I was the biggest Taylor Swift fan… and MuchMusic obviously knew too!

My love for Taylor started in 2006 when I saw her debut music video for “Tim McGraw”. I ran to the computer and typed in “country singer blonde curly hair”. At that point Taylor had about one picture on Google, and look at her now! Everyone who knows me knows I am Taylor crazy. She has been so inspirational in my life, to the point where I have given up everything to make my own dreams come true like she did. I have Taylor everything; all her CDs, posters, magazines, bracelets, and merchandise.

So it started off with a video showcasing why I am Taylor’s biggest fan. Thanks to Amy who told me about this upcoming date with Taylor contest, I entered this contest online within the last hour before the deadline, HOPING MuchMusic would see it. A few days later I got a call saying I was in the Top 20. I had been down this road before and didn’t want to get my hopes up, but to my luck it was MuchMusic’s choice and not some crazy month long voting thing! I then kept my fingers crossed, until I found out that I was in the TOP 4 and that MuchMusic was coming to my house! My first thought: OMG YESSS, and ..crap… I don’t have a house, or a crazy amount of friends to be screaming in the background. I had just moved to Toronto from Prince Edward Island a few weeks before, knew about three people in the city, and was living with friends until my apartment was ready. But thanks to them we decorated the place and they even let me borrow some of their friends for the night! If I had won I was going to take my sister Deidra who lived in PEI. The night of the reveal, we had to Skype Deidra in for all the action.

The night MuchMusic came to the apartment I was so nervous because I didn’t want to be disappointed again and lose on national TV. From being sneaky and watching previous “My Date With” episodes I realised that the VJ only goes to the winner’s house. So we were watching the lobby like a hawk from the camera that was hooked up to the TV. What did we see? A MuchMusic camera guy and two producers…..I knew right THEN that I lost, so I wasn’t even excited for them to come, and when I lost.. I pretended to not be that disappointed because I didn’t want to look dumb when really I was crying inside. Once everything was said and done and I opened the envelope that said I “lost” they said “oh wait, we want to give you a consolation prize”. And I totally believed it because I was saying earlier that day that if I lose hopefully I’d get a t-shirt or something. So they left, and 20 minutes later came back. I opened the door and who was it? SARAH TAYLOR…. what did I do? …. cry.

I don’t think that I have ever cried that much over happiness, it was an incredible moment. She gave me the envelope, I was sobbing, I dropped the envelope, I opened it, and it said I WON!!!!!

So the trip: When we got off the plane in Chicago there stood a limo driver with a sign that said “Alli and Deidra Walker”. This has always been a dream of mine; it was like in a movie! We were then whisked away to go shopping with nope, not our money, but MuchMusic’s generous money! When we got to the hotel that night, which was absolutely beautiful by the way, I walked in my room and my eyes lit up like it was Christmas, A Taylor Swift Christmas. There, on the bed, sat dozens of Taylor Swift memorabilia, posters, t-shirts, CD’s, a note FROM Taylor herself, chocolates, balloons, and a Flip Camera with a MuchMusic logo! It was absolutely amazing and way more then I had ever expected.

That night we were told to go to bed early because we had a big day ahead of us - more Rockstar treatment, and a DATE with Taylor Swift. But did I go to bed early? Nope, I went to bed at 3am and woke up at 5am. How can you sleep when something that amazing was going to happen the next day?

So when we woke up we were again whisked away in a limo which we got to ride in all day around Chicago. First stop was a salon where we got our hair dyed, cut and styled. It felt like we were Rockstars… and it was nice because I needed my roots fixed up anyways but couldn’t afford it haha! And a bonus: the girl who did my hair works for Oprah!!!

All that day we got the chance to tour around the city of Chicago. I absolutely fell in love with this city’s architectural beauty and warm nice people. Every time we came to a new tourist spot in our limo everyone would stop and stare thinking we were celebrities coming out of the limo… nope.. just Taylor Swift fans! We did so much in one day, that when we went back to the hotel to get ready, we had TEN MINUTES to prep for seeing Taylor… uh oh.

On the limo ride to the arena I had a little nappy nap to get ready for the BIG event! When I opened my eyes and we were behind the arena parked by the buses, I started to panic. What was I going to ask Taylor? What if she doesn’t like me? … holy moly those are all her buses.. oh lord that’s HER tour bus. We then got our all access backstage passes and started trucking backstage. First stop “T-party room”. What did I do? FREAK. I have seen this room on TV and the internet before but never ever expected to be in it. This is a room that Taylor has set up the exact same at every venue and designed it precisely how she wanted it.

We were then told that we weren’t going to see Taylor for a little bit so for now we were going to have a backstage tour with her mom Andrea.. YESSSS I love her mom!! I got to chat with her one-on-one as well. We then got to eat in Taylor Swift’s catering, how cool! I felt like I was on the tour with her! It was amazing. I got to see all her band mates and who else did I see while eating? Taylor Swift and Taylor Lautner!!!! That was a fantastic bonus!! He also went to the concert that night and the fans were going crazy.

We then went back to the T-party room and waited anxiously for Taylor. I was planning on playing my songs for Taylor when I met her, but found out I wasn’t allowed to as there wasn’t enough time. So I was kind of freaking out because I had NO idea what I was going to ask her now and I had butterflies from my stomach to my throat. I couldn’t believe that this was REALLY going to happen. When Taylor walked in the door I surprisingly got calm. She was so welcoming, giving me, my sister, and Sarah all hugs. She then gave us a little tour of her room and I somehow thought of questions to ask her. She was so much more unbelievably beautiful and elegant in person then I thought. Her talking voice freaked me out though because it wasn’t what I pictured from all the interviews I had listened to and what I remembered from when I saw her three years ago. But it was her!!! She was so intelligent, well spoken, and friendly. She also signed my guitar which I will cherish forever. One thing I totally forgot to get…. the most important of all… a picture with Taylor! I pretty much cried after she left. I couldn’t believe I didn’t get a picture with Taylor Swift. But then I realised, heck I just saw and met Taylor, I don’t need to prove anything to anyone.

After meeting her we were immediately given tickets to her concert and were escorted to our front and center standing spots in her pit. We had the best spots in the house being incredibly close to the stage, almost feeling like we were onstage with her. Her concert was so much more incredible than I had ever expected. She put on an almost two hour show, changing outfits more than 7 times, set changes, and amazingly talented backup singers, dancers, and instrumentalists. It was an amazing and magical night.

When we left the concert and were out in the parking lot and Sarah was getting our final thoughts on the weekend, I found out some other incredible news. I was already hyped up from finally seeing my idol and this news was about to blow my mind. I was chosen out of 4000 people to be in the Top 16 to be MuchMusic’s next VJ. It was an incredible finish to an amazing magical weekend.

Thank you so much to Amy for telling me about this contest, Kristen, Mike, and Shawn for letting me use your home, Deidra for coming along on the ride with me, Sarah for being such a great friend for the weekend, the whole MuchMusic crew for choosing me to have this amazing experience, and of course to Taylor for giving me the chance to finally meet you, you were amazing! This was a weekend I will absolutely never forget, and I will cherish these memories for my entire life.

Tags: my date with, taylor swift, tv

Posted on Friday, November 13th, 2009 at 2:25 pm by Wendy and is filed under Blog.

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