My 'fan' London diaries

We are the crowd, we’re co-comin’ out

Got my flash on, it’s true

Need that picture of you

It’s so magical, we’d be so fantastical

I’m your biggest fan

I’ll follow you until you love me

Papa,

PAPARAZZI

Paparrazi — Lady Gaga, Rob Fusari, Stefani Germanotta

I’ve been working non-stop for the past six months and I’m very thankful. But after my first intense “marathon” taping week which happened because we finished Nasaan Ka Maruja? and started the new Primetime Bida show Dahil May Isang Ikaw, I knew in my heart that it was time for a well-deserved vacation. And right on cue, I flew to London. Upon landing, I had rehearsals for a concert with Tito Martin Nievera that same evening. The very next day, we had a Philippine Independence Day concert at Lampton Park with an estimated 30,000 Filipinos.         

Since we were in a park, the tents backstage were enclosed by fences and some of the audience members took photos while the show was ongoing. I happily took photos and felt bad that the very strict policies abroad call for safety measures like fences. After the concert, we had a little “meet and greet session” and Tito Martin was clowning around with the audience taking the wackiest photos. I’ve never had such a memorable picture taking session. After meeting the London TFC subscribers, I crossed over to the other side of the fence from performer to fan.

Fan Diaries Day #1      

To give you a clear picture of what I mean by the word “fan” let me start off with this confession. Okay, okay. It is my secret shame that I go on celebrity gossip website Perezhilton.com everyday. Perez Hilton is a blogger who has dubbed himself as the “Queen of all Media” and he transforms into Queen Elizabeth I to welcome the audience to the Britney Spears Circus World Tour. It is from the Perez website that I started following the Circus tour on-line with videos, photos, and Britney’s occasional “tweet” or twitter update.

I love Britney so much that I’ve been following her career ever since she rocked the schoolgirl outfit in Baby One More Time post Mickey Mouse Club days. My fan obsession rose to an all-time high around the time of her unfortunate MTV VMA performance because it was a very interesting time in her life. She shaved her head, supposedly fell in love with paparazzi photographer Adnan Ghalib, the Spears family intervened, and K-Fed got sole custody of her two boys. Drama, drama, drama! When everyone thought that it was all downhill from there, I rooted for Brit, the superstar turned underdog as she climbed back to normality and soon back to No. 1.           

After the resurrected Britney’s new chart-topping hits, she toured America and then Europe. I was on britneyspears.com when I suddenly transformed into a high school teenager saying OMG at the speed of 180 letters/minute (I’m sorry but it seems to be fitting for the topic and it’s the only way that you can imagine my utter joy) when I found out she was going to perform in London the same time as me! What are the odds?! Alas, the concert was sold out but as luck would have it, Chi Donato my block-mate from Ateneo got me tickets on eBay after she watched my first show in London. So, after our Sunday concert at Lampton, I rushed to the O2 Arena via the two-tube trains, one bus topped off by mad dash to the stadium. We got in after intermission and there she was — Britney lip-synching her way through the concert but that didn’t really matter. After all, the ringleader of the Circus of the Bizarre was hanging upside down clinging onto two guys without a harness. The show was such a spectacle! It was complete with circus acts and images like the man on stilts, clowns, rings of fire and acrobats. In one much talked about performance, Britney sang a line apt for her concert’s theme I see you looking at me like I’m some kind of freak after which she ran to her next blocking and blurted out “Merry Christmas!” Oddly enough, that happened sometime this March. You have to hand it to her, the amazing Britney definitely knows how to put on a show. I may have seen only half the concert but I took loads of photos and videos. I also spent a lot of money on tour T-shirts, pins, posters and the souvenir program. I was giddy and all happy as we took photos at the 02 Arena and made our way home with all the Britney fans on the bus.

Fan Diaries Day #2      

My fan luck continued the next day because we walked past Leicester Square just in time for the premiere of Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. I felt the anticipation grow as I stood outside the Odeon theater with a growing crowd of fans. I was pushed around by a guy with an enormous paparazzi camera. I pushed him back and surprisingly held my place, a clear sign that my fan skills were increasing. I felt victorious when I finally got to stand at the front by the railing only to realize that the stars: Shia LaBeouf, Megan Fox, Josh Duhamel left through the back exit. Even if I didn’t see any human stars, I saw the very handsome Bumble Bee, the yellow Chevrolet Camaro that got disassembled right in front of me.

Fan Diaries Day #3      

From pop concert to mega box-office movie to musical theater. On day three, my theater buddy Jordan Aguilar who played Baby John in West Side Story Manila and Tam, Lea Salonga or Kim’s son in Miss Saigon took me to watch Wicked at the West End. Wicked is the popular back story of the witches of Oz who we know from the children’s classic The Wonderful Wizard of Oz by L. Frank Baum. It was great fun seeing the “wicked witch” Elfaba, the unlikely heroine of this story and her ever perfect blonde beauty roommate Glinda “the good” during their adolescent years before Dorothy’s house landed on Elfaba’s sister Nessarose. The musical also gives the best surprising explanations on how the beloved characters from Oz such as the cowardly lion, tin man, and scarecrow became the way they are. After the show, we stood outside the stage door to wait for the cast. I had a bit of a headache because I cried so much after the songs For Good and I’m Not That Girl but the pain vanished when I met the cast. We took photos and got autographs from each of the cast members which was a far cry from what happened in the Transformers premiere. I was so excited that I forgot to put the cap of my black marker back on and as Sam Kelly who played the Wizard of Oz moved away from me, I accidentally wrote on his coat. I was so shocked at my faux pas but I guess I can now claim that I made my mark in the west end.

Fan Diaries Day #4      

I wasn’t really planning on watching more than one play but after getting goosebumps when I entered the theater the day before I knew I had to go back and relive that inexplicable happy feeling. I went to see Avenue Q which is pretty much “Sesame Street for adults” because the puppets do some things you wouldn’t expect them to do. I loved it in Manila when I saw it played by Felix Rivera, Rachel Alejandro, Aiza Seguerra, Frenchie Dy, Joel Trinidad, Richard Everly and Teenee Chan on its first run. This time around, I watched my West Side Story buddy Joanna Ampil as the delightful Asian character Christmas Eve. After the show, we had backstage passes and went to Joanna’s dressing room through the magical stage door! Joanna is one talented stage actress making us Filipinos proud as she’s been working non-stop, starring in musicals one after the other. First came Miss Saigon (Kim) followed by a string of successful performances in Les Miserables (Fantine and Eponine), Jesus Christ Superstar (Mary Magdalene), Hair (Shiela Franklin), Rent (Mimi) and finally West Side Story Manila where she and I worked together alternating as Maria.

Fan Diaries Day #5      

On day five, I passed by the theater where the premiere of Bruno (Borat is so 2006) was being held. As someone in our Pinoy London group said, “sobra na ang suwerte mo Karylle.” With that said, we didn’t see anything because the premiere was done when we walked past the theater.           

So we just headed home and I found myself dancing in the middle of the wide brick road on Leicester Square wearing a headband with a huge black bow. I felt nice, silly and incredibly happy. It was nice to get away from Manila, step out of my sky-high stilettos and into my sneakers. On the double-decker bus headed back to the hotel, I reviewed the photos in the camera which I wore around my neck like a typical tourist. I smiled as I saw my huge grin in the photos checking out the sights, the shows, and even the underground. Picture by Big Ben-check! The Westminster Abbey-check! The London Eye-check! Shopping at Harrod’s and vintage stores-check, check! I didn’t expect it but I became a big fan of London and I think I was able to thoroughly enjoy the experience because I was able to unleash my “inner fan” in London.