If you have read my previous
post about my unbelievable trip to Los Angeles, United States of America to
attend the 2007 American Music Awards and thought that would be it, well guess
what…USA or should I say I was not done with USA yet!
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| Whoop there it is!!! |
As mentioned in the post,
I was given visa approval for 10 years [expiring in 2017] (*raise eyebrow) that
got me thinking…yeah right as if I’m gonna go again before I withdraw my EPF
when I’m 55 and then only travel all across Land of Sam.
Little did I know that Music
God had another plan for my music loving life! Two (2) years later (2009), Hitz.FM had
a contest I’ve always dream of joining and winning! This time it was an all
expensed paid trip to Los Angeles (Although I wish it was New York instead) to
attend the 51st Grammy Awards! Say whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?
Muruga. I can’t remember when exactly I started watching The Grammy but every
year I would glue my arse to the TV and anticipate the results. Some made me
happy, some annoyed me but important thing is I got ‘see’ music’s biggest name
all under one roof. Now, who in their right mind would not enter this contest ey?
I waited for the first two (2) days to ‘study’ and conduct my ‘research’ on the
method of the contest. [If you think it’s easy to participate and win then you
are wrong yo!) It was a guessing game. The DJ’s will play five (5) songs
mashed-up into a 5-8 seconds sound clip and you gotta guess the song titles and
artist who sang it. Hmm…well, I was born with headphone stuck into my ears so I
thought I had a shot. The trick is to be calm enough to recognise and write
down the right answers or else gone.
On day three (3), Wednesday, I
go thru and managed to guess four (4) out of five (5) songs (not bad ey?) but
there lies the ‘heart attack’ part because if in the next two (2) days. Anybody
was to get five (5) songs correct then I would be out of the running. Thank God
Thursday and Friday callers didn’t manage to beat my score except for the
caller on Tuesday who also got four (4) songs right. Cilakak! On the final day
of the contest (Friday) we had to go against each other to see who gets the
most right guesses to make our way to La La Land! Good mother of Lord, my hands
are still shaking thinking about ‘that moment’! I was just getting off the lrt
at Masjid Jamek station when I received the call from Ray, Hitz Morning Crew
Producer telling me that I gotta stay on the line and guess the songs in
another 5 minutes time (new clip)! FARKKKKKKK!!!! I’m in the middle of the
escalator lar dey. I quickly got off and went inside the toilet for staff at
the station. Ray came back on the line and played the clip. DAFUG??? I can’t
hear anything properly because it was noisy outside even though I was inside
the toilet. I got him to play it one more time. Again…adoi…my hearing sabo me! I
could only make out Lily Allen's Smile and the rest of the four (4) songs was a
blur to me. Told him my ‘answer’ and tears start to fill up.
I wanted to throw myself in
front of the oncoming bus. One in two chance to attend my life-long dream event
and I could only manage one right answer? What an embarrassment! *sob sob sob.
I somehow made my way to the office and pretty much zone out till it was almost
10 am before the change of shift from Morning Crew to the next announcer. All
the while listening to JJ and Ean going on and on about the result soon. Adoi hampir
meletup otak aku tau! Finally they called me up and put both of the finalists on
air. They have already pre-recorded our answers meaning they already know who
is the winner…they played the clip and my competitor went ‘on’ first. She
guessed like so many song titles (It was the same clip as mine) and I kept
track and noticed she didn’t get any titles right. Eh….hang on a second…did I
make a mistake? Did I salah dengar? SHE DIDN’T GET ANY SONG TITLES RIGHT!!! Soon
after my clip was played and I know I got at least one song right and GUESS
WHAT??? THAT WAS ALL THAT I NEEDED!!! LILY ALLEN GOT ME TO GO TO THE STAPLES
CENTRE TO WITNESS THE 51ST GRAMMY AWARDS! MAK DATUK NENEK MOYANG
AKU!!! YEEEEEEEEEEEHAAAAAAAAA!!! The boys were congratulating me on air while I
was sobbing and thanking them. Who would have thought? GRAMMY WEY!
GRAMMYYYYYYYY MUMMYYYYYYYYYY!!!
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| My dream came true!!! |
My next action was to call my
girlfriend (Ray) to share the good news with her. Ray was having a bad day
because her apartment was broken into few days earlier and she was on emergency
leave. I calmed myself and let the cat out of the bag. She congratulated me and
said I deserved it after putting all that effort. Next up, update kat Facebook
lor! Apa lagi!!! I’m going to the Grammy’s!!! Tonnes of comments flooded the
status. Some even offering money to take them with me but it was for one person
lor…how to bring orang lain? Soon after only I realized that my company (rather
the legal firm I worked for) had already planned a trip to Hong Kong and trip days
were just few days after the Grammy! ERK! How liddet? *Garu kepala. There’s no
way am gonna miss either one of the trip.
I got few follow up calls from
Hitz Fm to confirm my details and that’s when I told the Producer that I
already have visa to the States because of my earlier winning. Then came the slightly
bad news. He said he had to get back to me. I went numb. Waddeheck??? Ray
informed me that I was in breach of their terms and conditions as I had already
won a Grand Prize and I can’t win again. Lerrrrrrr…..you kidding me right? I
won this fair and square maaaaa! Mana pulak datang ruling bengek ni? GRRRRRRR…after
more telephone conversation, I talked to the Morning Crew boys, JJ & Ean.
They asked if I was disqualified (FUCK!), who should take over my place. With
an ache in my heart…I told them the runner up should take it because she came
so close. They asked if I was ok to ‘let go’ of the prize. You kidding me? Memang
ler pedih ulu hati if kena ‘batal’ my winnings but what to do, it was beyond my
control. I was soothing myself praying I will get another chance when those two
‘clowns’ said they were actually ‘pulling a GOTCHA’ on me! Hantuuuuuuuuuuuu!!!
No guess what happened next! I was cussing like mad and they had to censor most
of my words but they were nevertheless impressed that I was being honest about
my previous win.
The triumph started to sink in
after few days till I received another awesome surprise. Naomi, the Star world
chick (she was with me during the AMA’s) was still in charge on ‘this matter’ called
to ask for the details of my partner whom I will be taking along for the trip.
Say whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaatttttttt???? You mean I get to experience this with
somebody else? Gilerrrrrrrrrrrr coooooooooooooooooool! It was a no brainer, I
told Ray to pack her bags as we are heading to Hollywood baby! Let me say it
again…WE ARE GOING TO HOLLYWOOD!
Not before informing our X-Boss
(yes we worked at the same firm) that we had to leave early and will catch up
with rest of the staff in Hong Kong. It came as a shock for my X-Boss because Ray
was the Chief Clerk while I was in charge (don’t laugh) of accounts and admin,
but doesn’t matter as the days grew closer, both Ray and I had to stay back to
clear our work. Hampeh betul! I advised her to remain calm during her visa
interview as I remembered how nerve wrecking was mine. She managed to secure
her visa but it was only valid for one (1) month. Tak kisah lar, janji approved
kan? Together we made plans on where to go and luckily I managed to convince
the organiser (a very kind hearted girl Angelica Diaz – she was damn hot so of
coz I remember her name!) to push the date of our arrival to one day later so
that we could leave a day later than originally planned. I was also grateful as
the flight was changed from MAS to Cathay Pacific which means the transit will
be in Hong Kong instead of Taiwan or Japan. We will arrive in Hong Kong from LA
and stay over in HK for three (3) days to enjoy our company trip and then
return back to Malaysia still on Cathay Pacific while my colleagues had to fly
using Air Asia. Hehehe.
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| Mani the monkey act at Hong Kong International Airport during transit! |
The countdown begun and I was
excited! Finally!!! THE GRAMMY! Can’t be any better than that! I think I was
better prepared this time but unfortunately could not extend my stay. Dang it!
Perhaps 3rd time the charm ey? (*fingers crossed). We made our way
to KLIA, the usual scary ‘boarding plane experience almost put Ray of her excitement
and we bumped into my favourite Editor, Mei Ann from Hot Magazine . She was covering
the event and the best part, she was staying in same hotel as we were but that
was about it because once we reached LA, all our plan went out of the window!
After that seemed another lifetime, we touchdown in LAX. Waiting for us was a
limo and we were driven to our ‘home’, Renaissance Hotel, Hollywood.
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| My home in Hollywood indeed! |
We met
with Miss Diaz (I dono where I put her picture dang it!) and she briefed us with the latest news and we got another surprise.
Each of us was given a gift card worth USD100! Meaning we can use it to buy
food or anything that we want as long as the place accepts the said
card!!!!!!!! Yeeeeeeeeeehaaaaaaaaaaaa!!!
Once we checked in, we went to
get our first meal in Hollywood! I took her strait to Mel’s Diner and apa lagi?
Walap kao kao! I can still remember the ‘taste’ on my tongue siot!
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| Foooooooooooooooood |
Not wanting
to fall into jetlag trap, we went walking around ‘Walk of Fame’ area while
people watching.
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| The sign!!! |
Despite wearing jackets and all it was still kinda cold for us
so after getting some hot drinks we went back to our room. I had already bought
a local sim card so I could call home and updated my Amma and also informed The
Producer my number in case he wanted to call me. I’m not sure what time we fell
asleep and woke up the next day feeling high because we were gonna watch The 51st
Grammy Awards live in Staples Centre. After ‘fooling around’ in bed for a bit, I
went downstairs to meet Miss Diaz and get our passes for the show. I had a mini
heart attack when she told me that somebody had already collected my passes.
Huh? Ko main-main ke apa ni? I must admit her trick worked as I was then really
‘awake’! Took the pass and went back to the room.
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| Money-pun intended can't buy passes to the Grammy! |
After fresh up we went to
Mel’s Diner again to tapau our brunch. Back to bilik and get ready for the show.
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| Drooling yet? |
Since Hollywood was high in the
success of ‘Slumdog Millionaire’ being nominated for tonnes of Oscars, Ray
& I decided to ‘turun’ Bollywood style dressing. Heck, both of us bought a
new ‘lenga suit’ just for the Grammy! Must say it was a good idea since we made
quite an impression on the bus that took us to Staples Centre. Once we arrived,
Mei Ann helped to snap our picture and I called up Hitz Morning Crew to update
them.
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| ....that's us!!! |
If you remember, I managed to ‘seludup’ my camera inside the venue during
the AMA’s, this time however, I kena cekup while Ray made it inside! Dang it! I
tried another door and this time managed to slip in. Hehehe. Since we were
quite early, we went to buy some souvenirs – t shirts for each of us and some
key chains.
After which we went inside to find out seat. I was a bit bumped because
this time the seat was far away from the stage unlike during the AMA’s. Takpe
lar…dapat masuk pun dah kira untung kan? We kept looking at each other while
giggling, hugging…just two happy monkeys over the Moon for finally making it
live!
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| This one Mani could buy! Hehehe |
Sharp on time, the show started
with a bang. Guess who opened? U2 sialllllllllllllllllllll!!!
Walauweyyyyyyy!!! I can’t believe I got to see Bono perform. Did mention Bono
is from the legendary Irish band U2?????? *pengsan.
If you think that was
awesome…check out the list of performers below…
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U2 have won more Grammys
than any other rock band (22). Their biggest Grammys performance was in 2001
when Bono sang 'Beautiful Day' as he strolled through the audience.
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Performer(s)
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Song(s) Performed
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"Lost!"
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"Fifteen"
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"You Pulled Me
Through"
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"Stay"
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"15 Step"
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T.I.
Justin Timberlake |
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A Four Tops Medley
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John Mayer
B.B. King Buddy Guy Keith Urban |
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Lil Wayne
Robin Thicke |
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"Rich Woman"
"Gone, Gone, Gone (Done Moved On)" |
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Looking at the list now, I can’t thank God
enough for granting my wish. I mean, some of names give me goose-bumps man! After
U2 had performed, Whitney Houston came out to present the first award of the
night to Jennifer Hudson for Best R&B Album.
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| My view!!! Can you spot Whitney? |
Since Ray was a big huge fan
of Justin Timberlake, I went camera crazy snapping away his picture till my
camera kena rampas. Cilakak! Well, they didn’t actually rampas it lar…I just
had to surrender and take it back once the show was over. Booohoooo!!! That should explain the lack of
picture I got to snap. *Sedih when I think about it now but I remember during
the show I was happy because I got to enjoy the show instead of busy taking
pictures. Ray and I had our own karaoke session thru-out the show. I was over
the Universe and you would too if you look at the list of presenters….
·
Duffy
·
T-Pain
·
Al Green
·
Estelle
I recall shouting like a monkey when some of the
results were announced. Among the winners was as listed below…
Record of the Year won by "Please Read the Letter" - Robert Plant & Alison Krauss
(I was sad when Adele (Chasing Pavements) or Coldplay (Viva la Vida) didn’t win
and it turns out the night belonged to these veterans as they swept 5 Grammies)
Album of the Year won by Raising Sand - Robert Plant & Alison Krauss
(so wanted Coldplay or Ne-Yo to win)
Song of the Year won by "Viva la Vida"
- Coldplay
(finally but that’s when I took note of Sara Bareilles!)
Best New Artist won by Adele
(no surprise there!)
Best Female Pop Vocal Performance
won by "Chasing Pavements" – Adele
(once again Sara lost and so did Pink! Our favourite singer L )
Best Male Pop Vocal Performance won by "Say"
– John Mayer
(I like him so no complain there as he beat Sir Paul!)
Grammy Award for
Best Pop Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocals won by "Viva la Vida"
– Coldplay
(Wooohooo!!!)
Best Dance Recording won by "Harder, Better, Faster, Stronger (Alive 2007)"
– Daft Punk
(beating less known "Just Dance" - Lady Gaga & Colby O' Donis
back in 2009)
Best Rock
Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal won by "Sex on Fire"
– Kings of Leon (Yeeeehaaaaaa!!! Praying for the
day they drop by here!)
Overall
it was an awesome show to witness and one last minute change made was when Rihanna was
scheduled to perform, but her performance was cancelled, because of an earlier
altercation with her then-boyfriend, Chris Brown. Bongok punya
jantan went and belasah her like that! Rihanna was also scheduled to travel to
KL for her show which was eventually cancelled. Too bad Riri fans but trust me
after watching her ‘sing’ live…you are better off watching her on screen.
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Chris Brown was due to
perform at the 2009 Grammys and Rihanna was nominated for three awards, but
just hours after this photo was taken at a pre-show party, the R&B singer
violently assaulted his girlfriend. *taken from MSN Malaysia site
|
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| Look Maaaa!!! We made it! |
Once we were at the after party,
punya lah gempak giler with the deco, food, drinks and what not.
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| Kan wa dah cakap gempak siotttttttttt!!! |
Rasa macam
celebrity rusa masuk kampung pulak!
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| Ehem....sippy sip sip. Yummy |
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| Another one for the memory!!! |
Kekekeke….nevertheless we enjoyed ourselves
and made our way out to the bus and head back to the hotel, all the while smiling,
laughing and hugging each other. It was truly a memorable night for both of us
which I know I will cherish for the rest of my life. I shall stop here for now
and will continue our adventure around Hollywood in my next post.
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| Jeng jeng jeng...got get special gift some more! Below are some of the pictures from the said 51st Grammy Awards highlight taken from MSN Malaysia site |
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Hip-hop giants Jay-Z,
Kanye West, T.I. and Lil' Wayne teamed up for a performance in 2009 but it
was M.I.A. who stole the show as she performed just three days before she gave
birth!
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Radiohead’s show-stopping
2009 performance included a full marching band. They also picked up an
award for In Rainbows.
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One of the most emotional
Grammy performances came from Jennifer Hudson, who managed to sing 'You Pulled
Me Through' in 2009 just four months after the murder of her mother, brother
and nephew.
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