#speaking of presentation from what Twitter scrolling i did her fashion game is on point. like real bowling alley in the 90s or clown vibes

[bwatkinsphoto]

Anyone that knows me, knows that it’s no secret that I love Katy Perry.

When her tour was announced, she wasn’t coming to North Carolina. That honestly didn’t surprise me as we usually don’t get big acts to perform here. I acted fast and figured out that I would be able to see her in Atlanta nearly 7 months away from the date I purchased tickets.

Fast forward a month or so later and Katy had announced a Charlotte date. I was ecstatic! The concert would take place the week of my birthday and I was going to take one of my best friends with me to finally experience for herself what I had talked about nonstop. I was able to score dropzone (pit) tickets and had started planning, making sure that I would have the best birthday yet.

...that was until the concert was cancelled because of a scheduling conflict. Cancelled. Not rescheduled. Just cancelled. I was devastated. It may sound silly, but birthdays are not something I look forward to and this one was a BIG birthday. I remember celebrating my 21st with Katy, and thought it was awesome that I was going to be able to celebrate another milestone birthday with her. It was just my luck that this had happened, but fortunately I would still be able to see her in Atlanta.

Two weeks before the show, I entered a contest through her fansite. Entering was easy, all you had to do was leave a comment and from there 5 winners would be picked randomly. Simple as that.

A week before my concert, the winners were to be announced at 10 am. I didn’t receive an email, but it was okay. I had a fair chance just as everyone else did and knew that whether or not I won, I would have the time of my life at her concert.

Four hours went by. I was standing outside with my camera in my hand when suddenly my phone (that was in my back pocket) started to vibrate. I pulled it out and looked down, seeing the email notification. I had won a meet and greet.

My heart dropped to the ground. Was this real life? I couldn’t believe it. I immediately walked back to my house and started checking Twitter to make sure that I had in fact won. I saw that because of two generous Katycats who wanted to spread the love, two more winners were chosen and I just so happened to be lucky enough to be one of the two.

I will be forever grateful for those Katycats, the girls at katycats.com who run the website and organize things like this, and for Katy Perry who wants to meet as many of her fans as she is able to.

I wanted to tell my mom (who I was taking to her first Katy show!) in person but I couldn’t keep the excitement to myself any longer. I told her about 2 hours after I had found out and literally had no idea what to do with myself next.

The week leading up to the concert went by so fast. I stressed nonstop about random things but at one point said “It feels like I’ve already met her so I don’t know why I am so nervous.” - more on this later.

On Tuesday, December 12th, my mom and I loaded up my VW Bug and we were off to Atlanta Georgia. The drive took us almost 4 hours and once arriving at the hotel, the nerves started to flood back. We ordered room service where I picked over my salad and couldn’t eat, because let’s be honest, I hadn’t eaten much in that week leading up to this day. My anxiety was at an all time high.

We went to the arena around 6 pm and picked up our meet and greet wristbands at the box office and instructions on what to do next. We waited with everyone with anticipation to be taken backstage.

The meet and greet room was so welcoming and fun. Pop art on the walls, a candy bar, the Witness album playing on a loop in the background, lip couches and cool furniture, an arcade game, and a photobooth. I met with a bunch of other KCs who also expressed their nervousness and excitement over meeting Katy.

Katy (aka Latey) was running late, but we were informed she was on her way and would be there soon. The minutes building up to her walking in the room felt like an eternity. The group of Katycats stood back at the end of the line, as we were the last to meet her. Katy walked in and the whole room cheered.

I have seen Katy in concert numerous times before, but I had never been in the same room in an intimate setting like this with her. This caused a flood of emotions. I kept thinking how much this woman and her music means to me. She has been a part of my entire adulthood thus far, and has given me so much to look forward to over the years when I felt like giving up. Meeting her was at the top of my bucket list.

It was time for the Katycats to meet her, and none of us wanted to go first. Too many of us wanted to go last. It feels like a blur thinking back to it. I waited my turn and she walked towards me. I had a gift and card for her, and the guys that we all know as “the twins” who conduct the m&gs, said “I’ll take that”, referring to my hands being full. Katy exclaimed, “No, I want it!” and went in for a hug as she held her hands out to take her gifts.

The conversation started out something like this…

“Hi, nice to meet you. What’s your name?” “Hey, I’m Brandy.” “Brandy. Have I met you before?” I shook my head. “No, this is the first time.” “That’s weird because I feel like we’ve met before.” So, remember a few paragraphs ago when I said that it had felt like I had met her before so I wasn’t THAT nervous? How strange is that?!

She was so easy to speak to and listened to every word I said. I gave her an egg plush dog toy for her dog, Nugget, and as she asked what it was, I showed her pictures of my first KP concert. “Shut up! The angel egg.” She then said, “But I didn’t do that here…” and looked confused. I told her, no it was in Charlotte and that I am from North Carolina. I went on to show her more pictures from the concert and she zoomed in on her nails. “I want to see my nails. Those are my Tokyo nails.”

I told her I was a photographer and was so proud of those since I had just started out taking photography seriously. She scrolled through my pictures and I told her that she can see that my photography has improved since then and she agreed saying “You should be proud of these. You have some nice shots here!”

She then opened a small box that I had given her containing a bracelet I had made to commemorate the Witness era. I told her that I made it and make jewelry and she said “Girl, look at you go!”

Time went by so fast. I could’ve talked to her all night if time allowed. She is so down to Earth and nice. We took a few pictures and then she snatched my phone from my hands to take a few selfies. I thanked her and then it was all over. Time to gather my things and go find our seats.

Katy came out on stage about 20 minutes later and as usual, put on an incredible show. She acknowledged me a few times as I stood in the audience watching in awe. (I’ve always said you’ve never really been to a concert until you’ve been to a Katy Perry concert.)

During the acoustic part of the show, she sang both “Wide Awake” and “Thinking of You” as she floats above the audience, getting closer to ones who aren’t seated so close to the stage. After “Thinking of You” ends, she speaks about seeing a shooting star and how you are supposed to make a wish when you see one. She then asks if anyone would like to come on stage and make a wish.

Katy noticed a young boy shying away from all of his friends pointing at him, waving their hands, and jumping up and down while trying to get Katy’s attention. She invited him on stage, and at first I think he was too nervous, so he hesitated. Once he realized the opportunity he was presented with, he took off running towards the stage.

Katy welcomed him with open arms, asking his name and how old he was. She asked Jameson what he wanted to be when he grew up and he said “A superstar, like you.”, which made a smile come upon my face. Katy asked him what his one wish would be and he immediately replied without a pause with “A lot of world peace.” The audience cheered as Katy was taken aback to hear such a request from this young soul.

I later found out more about Jameson which made what Katy did even better. Jameson, 13, has autism. Katy did not know this when inviting him on stage. His mother, Amanda, told me that Jameson has made so much progress through the years from being a shy little boy hiding under a chair during his brother’s pre-k performance to actually going on stage himself, with one of the biggest stars in the word in front of 10,000 people.

You could see the shock, excitement, and happiness on his face and so many people were equally as happy for him that he was chosen to go on stage with Katy.

Whether she realizes it or not, Katy has had a positive impact on many lives. Many know her as a quirky pop queen with positive, upbeat songs with extravagant fashion sense. Katy is so much more than that. I hope she knows how much she is appreciated and loved by her fans. This was by far one of the best days I have ever experienced and I am so thankful for all she does for the ones who support her.

#katy perry #katycat #katycats #meet and greet #m&g #witness #witness the tour #wtt #witness tour #atl #brandy watkins #brandy watkins photography