SATURDAY 6:30AM: After a whopping 3 hours of sleep I got on the first Delta flight of the day so I could get to SMIRNOFF’S PARTY, hosted by the one and only M. After landing at around 2:30 PM I went straight to the Waldorf to crash before the big night. Awaking, I found myself on a sugar high of excitement and ran to Roseland to check things out.

I saw some people in line and others loading and setting up the stage. It was very exciting. I was lucky to have VIP wristbands so was luckier to be able to go grab dinner first. I came back close to 9PM which was the time I was told to arrive. I was the first guest to walk into the venue and took a spot in front of the stage. That was as stressful as being the last guest to arrive — trying to find the best spot to catch a peek at the QUEEN OF THE UNIVERSE!

Finally at around 11:30PM she arrived, with her friends and family waiting for her on the side stage of the venue. She first went to the balcony level area in which she looked like EVA PERON overseeing the crowd. She smiled and looked down at the main floor for a quick second. Then she was introduced and the venue lights were turned on – until the QUEEN made a gesture to her staff and they were dimmed down again. “Let there be light — but only over-30 style.”
After about 10-15 minutes she went backstage, or at least that is what we all thought. The 11 Smirnoff contestants started dancing on the main stage and out of nowhere – the QUEEN appeared on stage from underneath. The crowd went crazy! She dropped her coat and proceeded to sit at her chair located on the side stage.

The dancers started their contest – but I honestly couldn’t focus on the show because I happened to be standing in front of her chair – she was literally 4 feet away from me – SHABANG – I noticed she was a bit uncomfortable and she asked a few of her friends, dancers and staff to come over to her area – I believe she was disturbed with the amount of pictures that were being taken of her so she used her peeps to kinda block people from seeing her. My feelings were confirmed when I heard her talking with a fan.

The set-up was fantastic. I personally don’t like split stages but it does give the chance for an artist to interact with more than 1 group of people. It looked like she had 4 stops scheduled; the balcony, the chair, the center couch, and the corporate shake-hands moment.

As far as the dancers, I do believe she picked the best (from what I saw), he had some nice moves and you can tell the guy just has good energy. At around 2AM, she went to the DJ booth and gave her all – she danced and sang got up and did her thing! IT WAS AMAZING – the fans went crazy and loved every second of it!

She then walked off stage and left… left us wanting MORE!

SUNDAY 7AM: After maybe 3 hours of sleep, I went to JFK and got on the first Delta flight back home and I still need to catch up on my sleep  - so pardon the TYPOS!