donny osmond meet and greet experience + concert review

I wasn't always a Donny Osmond fan. In fact, in my younger years, he was mostly on my radar as the host of Pyramid and the Donny & Marie talk show. In 2009, my mom and I watched his season of Dancing With the Stars (because she was a fan) and Donny quickly won me over. He was so charismatic and talented! At some point after that, Donny and Marie came to Toronto for a show and we attended. I wasn't familiar with their many hits beforehand, but by intermission, I was shelling out fistfuls of cash to buy one of everything at the merchandise table. I was obsessed. In the years since, I have purchased records, CDs, and downloads of everything Donny, Marie, and The Osmonds. I have attended quite a few Donny concerts, Marie concerts, and yes, Donny and Marie concerts. I was lucky enough to see Donny and Marie perform in Las Vegas three times and won a surprise meet and greet with Donny back in 2016. Though I have not been a fan my whole life....I have certainly made up for lost time. Last week, my mom and I attended a casino show a few hours away. I was just excited to see the show, but she spoiled me with meet and greet tickets! Here are some of the highlights of that experience and a concert review. 

Knowing that there was a meet and greet involved, a lot of time was taken to make sure my makeup looked as perfect as possible. I went with all matte colours on the eyes, because I thought that would photograph better. The inspiration was 90s supermodel glam, with different cool toned browns layered to create contrast. All in all, I was pleased, because the makeup turned out exactly as I envisioned. I chose a blouse from H&M that has little feather kind of details. Again, my thinking was that it would photograph well for the meet and greet. Once we arrived at the venue, it was time to wait in line with the other VIP ticket holders. (There were a lot of them!) We met some interesting people, some who follow Donny around from venue to venue and some who had never seen him perform live before. Eventually, we were let into the venue and received an autographed Donny Osmond photo, a VIP commemorative ticket, a wristband, and an "exclusive piece of merchandise." The exclusive piece of merchandise was actually a small fold-up duffle bag with the Donny logo on it. Cute, but difficult to photograph, which is the reason it is not shown above. We then took seats in the third row to wait for Donny.

Donny came out to do a Q&A session with all of the meet and greet people. It was interesting, but honestly, a lot. His fans are extremely passionate and dedicated...and most of them just wanted to tell him about their past concert experiences or ask for a birthday song or anniversary well wishes. Though there were some lovely and touching moments (like a 91 year old woman who watched his entire career unfold, someone who went through extremely difficult circumstances, and a sweet young woman who struggled with anxiety) it would have been nice to have more questions asked rather than statements made. Instead of choosing people at random, it might have been better if questions were submitted ahead of time and selected at random! At any rate, it was wonderful to see Donny in a more casual format. After a half hour or so of the Q&A, it was time for the meet and greet photos. There were two professional lights set up and someone took the pictures on a cell phone, which were later added to the Donny Osmond website and accessed using a special code. As we waited, my nerves got worse and worse. I am an anxious person in general and was so afraid that I would make a fool of myself in front of Donny.

The meet and greet experience was wonderful. My photo? Not so much. Though I spent hours on my makeup, making sure it was as picture perfect as possible, I did not consider that I would pull an awkward face because I was fangirling so hard. Oops! At any rate, you can see the glee all over my silly face. When I approached Donny for the photo, I was nervous and shaking, and told him that I love him. We took the photo and he then TOOK MY HAND and asked me my name and where I was from. He then SAID MY NAME and told me he hoped that I would enjoy the show. I said something like, "I always do! You're amazing!" and then felt a bit embarrassed. Though I didn't exactly wow, what I really appreciated was the fact that Donny went out of his way to be kind and to create a moment for me. He held my hand, made me feel special, and looked me right in the eyes the whole time. I swooned! Though the meet and greet itself was on the short side, it made me so happy. It was a dream.

After the meet and greet, there was supposed to be an opportunity to purchase merchandise without the lines, but there was no merchandise to purchase. Sigh! My mom and I met up with my dad outside of the concert area for a bit until it was time to head into the actual concert. When we re-entered the venue, there were tour programs for sale, but nothing else. I bought the program, because it was the only item available, but was hoping for a shirt or something instead. Ah well. As for the actual concert...it was so much fun! The setlist included some newer songs from his album, Start Again, which was exciting. Donny also sang "I'll Make a Man Out Of You" from Mulan (the Disney fanatic in me was thrilled) and did a rap-ography that highlighted his sixty years in the spotlight. There was a tribute to Andy Williams, some Las Vegas inspired songs, a song for Marie, and a few songs from The Osmonds. The highlight was probably the request section of the show, where he ran around the venue taking random requests from audience members. It made the show interactive, but also totally unique. 

All in all, the meet and greet experience and concert experience were excellent. Though I wish my fangirl hadn't come through in the photo, it was a wonderful night. One I will not soon forget. I am so grateful that I was able to meet Donny Osmond!