JOURNAL

Thu July 10th: The Tom Green Show
Tom Green ROCKS! I had a blast on his show. It wasn’t like any of the other shows, I was totally relaxed and didn’t have to watch every little thing I said. I totally didn’t care if I looked stupid or what. We sang “Home On The Range” not exactly grade A material, but we rocked it out…hobby horses, cowboy hats and mics…not to mention an 80 year old piano player. It was a laugh and a half…and I’d do it again in a heartbeat.

Sat 5th: Elle Girl event performance
Elle Girl Magazine has always been good to me and it was nice of them to offer me a spot at their summer event in Jersey. It was hot, really hot, and all I had for wardrobe was long-sleve shirts and long pants. Sweat much? Well I did…

I performed 3 songs (the same 3 as the radio shows), great time, did some autographs- this time more than a few fans that I’d seen before showed up (some great people from one of my fan-sites) – and then, I was out?had a nice dinner with my parents and called it a day.


Fri July 4th: Memphis Radio Show Performance
Now, I’m all cool with Justin Timberlake, I think he’s an amazing performer and musician…not to mention a nice guy. However, I don’t know how the people from his hometown are gonna react to me, the other Justin, coming to town. Lucky for me, they were phenomenal.

When I got there they had a stretch limo geared up and ready to whisk me to the hotel. A few hours later, I got to the venue. I was told it was a park, yea right, it was HUGE, it could have been a national game reserve…but it was actually a park…one that is bigger than any other urban park in the USA, even Central Park. The show went well and, to top it all off, there was a huge fireworks show afterwards.

It was one of the few 4th of July’s that I’ve spent away from home…it was a bit lonely but worth it. Two of Kelly’s friends came to visit me at the show so thankfully there were at least three people (my management rep Alex included) that I could just chill out with and watch the fireworks which were awesome! The next day, we flew to New Jersey…

July 2nd: Chicago Radio Show Performance
I flew into Chicago and made my way to the WKSC, Kiss FM Chicago’s “Chicago Idol” show…there were 10 contestants chosen from all over Chicago that sent in tapes and auditioned for the chance to become the “C.I.”, and I was the closing act right before they announced the winner…actually I got to announce the winner, kinda cool.

I performed “Sorry”, “Unchained Melody” and “One Heart Too Many”…the first time I got to sing something other than my two singles. The audience was happy and they crowded around the stage, much to the dismay of the security, and I got to hold some hands and slap some five’s…I even got some numbers. Girls would write them on slips of paper and hand them to me as I’d pass by. I even got a tampon (wrapped and unused, thank God) and when I looked at the girl and asked her why with my look, she just shrugged. Strange bird, but not the first…probably not the last. I had a great time and all went well.

Fly to Memphis


Sat June 21st: Recording, LA
I began the recording of the American Idol Christmas album. How weird is it to be singing Christmas songs/carols in June…real weird but I pumped out “I’ll Be Home For Christmas” with a great piano player accompanying me live (usually, I sing to a pre-recorded track) so that was pretty cool. A bit of vacation…

Fri June 20th: Release of “From Justin To Kelly” nationwide
J2K is released…against the Hulk…yipes! Oh well, at least Kelly and I got paid…just kidding! I am happy that the project that I had slaved over for a couple of months was finally coming out. We did all we could to promote it, it is now out of our hands.


Thurs June 19th: Interviews, interviews, interviews
The Early Show, J2K promotion and CD promotion. Nice people, same questions. The View – funny ladies and sweet as pie. That couch is really comfy. I had a hard time sitting up straight, I just wanted to flop down on it and chill with the girls but that would have looked a little silly. The performance went well and I got a glimpse of Kim Catrall as she walked into the studio which is a blessing for any man in his right mind. MTV- chant with Quddus, Damien, and La-La…MTV’s always fun and exciting and this time, I got to go into the photo booth and take some whacky pictures! Fox and Friends was cool too.


Wed June 18th: Performance on American Juniors
Sorry…not an easy word to say but an easy one to sing. The song went well, the audience liked it and all was well. The only bad thing was having to watch the kids that didn’t make it to the next round cry. This was the only sign I needed to let me know that I was not cut out for this judging thing. It was a cool experience but I couldn’t take the kids being so sad. Not to mention a Father who looked like he wanted to rip my head off because he felt that my comments had hurt his daughters chances. No thank you! It was cool but I’m out! Flying to NYC tonight.

Mon June 16th: Guest Judge on American Juniors
Not only was it totally weird being back at the studio where I did AI, it was that much worse having to be a judge on the AI show for kids, American Juniors. There I was, flanked by two huge names in the business, Gladys Knight and Deborah Gibson. I hadn’t seen Gladys since I was a little boy (she was friends with my Father) and it was really cool talking to her and catching up on old times.

So it came down to the judging, weird…who am I to judge anyone? I guess the fact that it’s an American Idol thing helped me get over it but I was so nervous and didn’t know what to say to the kids. I wanted to be honest but kind as well. The kids were good and surprised us all…Deborah was very kind but honest (very nice, girl by the way); I thought I was constructive, honest, and on the whole, complimentary; Gladys was the final word- kind, but completely honest, and she gave a great overview of the situation. Needless to say, it all went well and I was off to get ready for my performance of “Sorry”.


Sat June 14th: Album Signing in Wal-Mart , Warrington, PA
Seven and a half hours of fans and fun. I had a great time meeting a lot of the people from my area who’ve supported me. Old and young, boys and girls…it was a really cool experience and I only took a bathroom break once! Back to LA tonight.

Fri June 13th: GMA Performance/Movie Release & My Hometown Screening
The people at GMA have always wanted us (Kelly and I) to sing on their show & we’ve always wanted to ever since A.I. ended but time and a deal that A.I. had with the Today Show stopped us, until today. Unfortunately, it was raining, but that didn’t stop a whole bunch of people from coming out to see us. The band was in tip-top shape, Kelly kicked butt, I felt good about the performance and all was well. Time to drive to Philly.
I rushed down to Philly, picked up my best friend Mike on the way, did some radio station interviews / visits, TV press and got into my hotel room at The Ritz. It was right next to City Hall so I got to see William Penn up close and personal (check your Philly history if you don’t know what I’m talking about). The room was nice, living room, Jacuzzi tub, big bathroom, even a Ritz robe with my name embroidered on it…too bad I only got to see it for about 30 min.

I got myself together and went down to the trolley and the camera crew waiting to take me to the theater. Yes, I said trolley. A big Rice-a-Roni lookin’ thing with tires. It’s a Philly thing, don’t ask. So I was on my way, got to be interviewed by a TV crew and met some contest winners that won the chance to come with me. As we pulled up to the theater, I was amazed. It was raining like cats and dogs and yet there were still loads of people out there waiting for me. Cameras, people, photographers, interviews, autographs, spotlights everywhere, putting my handprints in cement, my old high school choir singing for me, my friends, family, co-workers, the mayors office giving me proclamations, the county making me an ambassador…so much to handle, but I’m just happy that the audience liked it!

Thursday June 12th: Co-Hosting “Regis and Kelly” with Kelly Rippa
I had been on the show before, and thought it was a pretty cool experience, but when I was asked to co-host it, I was a bit nervous…after all, it is live! I dealt with live TV twice a week for 20 weeks on A.I., but I was singing and there were other people who could take some of the pressure off me. Now I was signing up for a gig where I had to follow in the footsteps of one of TV’s most successful personalities…Regis!

Oh well, I just put my head down and went for it. The night before, I had received a packet with all my note cards, questions for the guests, biographies of the guests, and other stuff about the show that the producers had given me to read over before I went on. Packet probably isn’t the right word, more like novel! I had no clue how I was going to learn all that in one night. College flashback!

I arrived at the studio a bit nervous but ready for action…lights, make-up, segment producers prepping me for the show, and, of course, Kelly Rippa. Thank God for Kelly Rippa…she’s probably one of the most beautiful women you could ever hope to meet, not to mention one of the nicest I’ve come across in the business. She was so sweet that she held my hand, not just as we were going out to the audience, but the whole time we were backstage getting ready…needless to say I had no complaints, she’s real easy on the eyes. Speaking of eyes, it was a bit tough for me not to get a bit lost in hers as we did the show, I’m not in love or anything, but you’ve just got to experience it for yourself.

Like another Kelly I’m fond of, she’s a talker and I had to fight at times to get a word in edgewise. I don’t mean talker in a bad way, she always has funny and intelligent stuff to say but WOW, I had to be on my toes or I’d have just been a co-mute! The show was a success and I had a great time. Got to meet Monica too; great singer, nice woman.

Wed June 11th: Good Morning America interview
We were delayed with the flight, due to a mechanical error, so we got in really late to NYC, or really early because it was about 6 or 7 in the morning. We were so late for our interview and God Bless our driver because he had to rush me off at a blazing speed, fighting the traffic, with laughter coming from me as I had my hair and make-up done in an SUV going about 80 mph (when we weren’t at a dead stop in traffic) and the urge to probably just go home! Needless to say, we made it and got to have a chit-chat with Diane and Charley. Nice people, by the way. That same morning, I got to see an old friend that I hadn’t seen since Jr High. I know her as Alicia Moore, you all know her as the singer “Pink”. She’s always been a sweetheart, and even after all the fame and success that she’s had, I’m happy to report that she hasn’t changed a bit.


Tue June 10th: Oprah…awesome!
Her staff is so nice and the audience was so welcoming. Oprah was as sweet as usual and we all had a great time doing the show. Doing a show like O’s is like doing a naked rain-dance on the lawn of the White House during a presidential outing with the family dog- it’s all over TV and everyone’s tuning in to see it. What an opportunity! It was nice to see Ruben, Clay and his Mom again. Singing, applause, gifts, fun and another plane ride…back to LA!

Later that day, we flew back in the jet of death to Colorado. This time, things didn’t go so smoothly. We were stuck there for about 3 hours because of a thunderstorm that would have zapped our plane out of the air if we tried to brave it. Needless to say, I got off of the plane in LA, kissed the ground and then drove to the air port and got right back on another plane (a Red-Eye) to head to NYC. Some of you ask, “Why didn’t you just fly from Chicago”…well, had we not had the thunderstorm, I’d have made it back in time for the press junket that KC and I were supposed to do in LA. No press, just plane!


Mon June 9th: Leno Performance
It was the second time I had met Jay Leno, and no worries, he was still a nice guy. Funny enough, I got a Leno shirt the first time (most shows give you a gift) and, this time, I got a towel. Does he think I smell and need to shower more ofen? Probably not, but it’s a funny thought.

The performance was great, felt good, but nothing prepared me for meeting Drew Barrymore. Hubba-Hubba-Ding-Ding! She’s a hottie and I’m not ashamed to say it! She was a sweetheart and, no disrespect to my man from The Strokes, but I think she was giving me the eye. Yea right, maybe her contacts were dry!

That night, I took a flight to Chicago with Clay. I think we had the smallest private plane ever. The cabin was smaller than a car cabin and the seats were so cramped that we had to lay all over one another just to get a little shut-eye. It was such a small plane that we had to stop to refuel in Colorado. We got in to Chi-town and had about 3 hours sleep.

Sun June 8th: Styling for the Leno performance
I never thought that I’d have to spend hours trying to figure out what to wear on a show where I’d be seen for about 2 min 30 sec. We had to take pictures and make sure the outfits were approved and it took FOREVER! I can understand how it takes girls forever to get that stuff together but come on! I’m a guy and it’s just not that complicated…or at least I thought it wasn’t.

Wed 4th: Meeting the Band
I got to meet my band. My single “Sorry” sounded so cool with a band! Randy Jackson helped put the band together and he did a great job. The hardest part for me was remembering everyone’s names! I was so used to the band that we had for the American Idol tour that I found myself having to try real hard not to call the players by my old band’s names.

“No pain, no gain”
Press in NYC for the album

Wed May 28th: Dallas hometown screening of ‘From Justin To Kelly’
Today is the Dallas ‘premiere’ of the movie and we are in Kelly’s hometown to attend the screening with her friends and family. I was really happy as people were so welcoming even though it wasn’t my hometown.

The screening went well, people liked the movie and we all went on to enjoy ourselves at the after-show party, ending up in the fountain in our clothes, dancing!


Late May: Vacation!
After the AI final, I had the rare opportunity to go home and catch up with my family which was a blessing!


Wed May 14th & Thurs 15th: American Idol performance
It is really strange being back on the AI set in the same location after having been there so often last year.

Today, I had the opportunity to perform ‘Unchained Melody’ on the show.

After the show, I was whisked away in the limo to fly to New York on the private Fox jet with Ryan Seacrest and Simon Cowell, of all people, to perform with Kelly at the Fox Upfronts, a showcase of all their shows and talent in the forthcoming seasons.

Simon delayed our take-off because he was being interviewed by his girlfriend for Extra on the runway! He’s a very busy man…

The jet was super-fly…I mean awesome. We all had cushy seats that you could spin around to face wherever you wanted and went down all the way; a long sofa-bed; great tasting food and Guiness… I was in heaven. To top it all off, Simon and I had some great conversations about A.I. and had a few laughs to boot.

We arrived in NYC at dawn, had one hour’s sleep and then went straight off to do sound check via satellite with Ruben and Clay in LA.

Later at the venue, I got to meet some really cool people like Kiefer Sutherland, Molly Shannon, Bernie Mac, Cheech (of Cheech and Chong) and so many other cool people. My favorite was Chris Washington who played Shooter McGavin in “Happy Gilmore”. I quoted from my favorite scene in the movie and he played along which was hilarious. After the event, I did the red carpet at the after-show party at Grand Central Station but then we had to go straight to the airport to get back in the private jet to fly back to LA to continue promotion for the movie! Sharing our jet on the return journey were Frankie Muniz and Ashton Kutcher.


Thurs May 8th: Fox Retail Summit, Austin, TX
Off we go again, on another plane, to Austin this time, with Kelly, to promote our movie at the Fox Retail Summit. I felt so weird, sitting on the couch, being interviewed in front of advertising executives in a conference room rather than a TV studio.


Sat May 3rd: Summer Music Mania, San Diego
Kelly and I are here to promote our movie, ‘From Justin To Kelly’. We are in good company and got the chance to meet Bill Bellamy, Ziggy Marley, Alice Cooper and many others. Brian McKnight was shaking his butt much to the girls delight and it was good to see him again (we met at Wayne Brady’s birthday party and he wrote ‘Condition Of My Heart’ which is on my album).

On the way back to LA, Kelly and I stopped at Chilli’s and had our favorite appetizer: chips with salsa and ranch! You’ve gotta try it the next time you go to Chilli’s – it’s so good!


Thurs May 1st: The Hair! The hair!
Today I met with Zak who was to become my “groomer”. I never thought that I would have to have someone to fix my hair. He’s a crazy Irishman who, like me, loves Guinness! As weird as it is to have someone fixing my hair and putting make-up on me, I don’t think that I’d rather have anyone else doing it. He’s funny as hell and he’s one of the few men that I get to work with on a regular basis…so it’s nice to be able to have “guy talk” (basically about women, sports and drinks) when I’m in stressful situations!