People's Choice Awards (peopleschoice.com)

For the record, I knew this awards show is much more casual where if the special A-list star is attending, they usually are going because he or she knows a trophy is in their future.

Nonetheless, the show that was actually live with no second takes provided some surprising winners and good performances.

The show began with a flash mob to Taio Cruz’s “Dynamite.” I’m surprised it looked so good on television because people who arrived minutes before showtime were quickly taught how to do the moves on the giant TV screens. Compared to the flash mob on Oprah’s season 24 premiere to the Black Eyed Peas “I Got a Feeling” that shut down Chicago streets, this dance was pretty weak but still awesome for the audience and viewers at home.

Despite the high-energy opener and funny moments with host Queen Latifah, mostly unscripted, the show quickly got strange. Why couldn’t the microphone stand taller when Conan O’Brien won for best talk-show host? Why did Diddy-Dirty Money cancel their performance and Selena Gomez had to step in at the last minute? To be fair, Selena Gomez and additional performer Kid Rock both had strong performances and didn’t lip sing.

In addition, it’s hard to believe that out of the 175 million votes casted by the people, fans would pick Kristen Stewart for best movie actress over Jennifer Aniston or Angelina Jolie. Also, why would CBS devote extra time to the Favorite Viral Video Star award? Out of all the awards they could choose from for a live show, they chose the viral video “Single Ladies Devastation” that I had never seen before.

To nobody’s surprise, the Twilight cast got tons of screams and cheers whenever mentioned. Zac Efron and the “Glee” cast also brought huge enthusiasm from the audience.

Possibly the most professional moment of the night occurred as Elton John announced Taylor Swift as the winner for favorite country artist. The respect to one another was truly visible from the audience.

Even though it wasn’t the best awards show, being a seat filler was a great experience. It’s completely free and it’s easy to sign up. There’s www.seatfiller.com and www.seatfillersandmore.com. Gotham Casting managed the People’s Choice Awards. Their website is a work-in-progress but you can “like” them on Facebook.

Overall, I would sign up to be a seat filler again in a heartbeat. I mean, I can’t forget, I was in the same room as Katy Perry, Taylor Swift, the Kardashians, and countless other guilty pleasures.

Reach Mike here.
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