nyc epicness (open)

[samantha marie mackenna]

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Picking the set list had been easy to do for Sam, starting with the first song. The anthem for her album clearly was "You Belong With Me," a song she had written way back when Ryan had been dating other people and before they both realized how well they fit together as a couple. The song had been hitting high marks on radio stations across the country and it was a fun way for her to enter the stage and get the heartbeats rushing before her best friends took the stage after her.

Sam's entrance was something she had always seen in her head when looking at the boys perform and wondering how to spice up an entrance. The lights on the stage dimmed as the show was about to begin, Sam in position in her secret spot. As soon as the lights flashed on, Sam could be seen standing in a lit up square that shown pure white light onto Sam's white and yellow marching band outfit. The music started playing and Sam started singing along to one of her favorite songs on the album,

"If you could see
That I'm the one
Who understands you
Been here all along
So why can't you see
you belong with me,
You belong with me?"

Sam started dancing around on the stage as the music played the intoxicating melody of the song. She swayed her hips and flipped her hair back and forth a little bit as she saw all of the girls in the audience dancing around with her.

"Oh, I remember you were driving to my house
In the middle of the night.
I'm the one who makes you laugh
When you know you're about to cry.
I know your favorite songs,
And you tell me about your dreams.
Think I know where you belong,
Think I know it's with me."

As soon as the last line of that verse left her lips, two dancers that had come out to dance for the song ripped off her tear-away band uniform to reveal a beautiful silver dress. Sam started singing again with a huge smile on her face and danced around the stage, listening as the girls in the audience sang every word of the song right back to her.

"Can't you see
That I'm the one
Who understands you?
Been here all along
So why can't you see
You belong with me?
Standing by you
Waiting at your backdoor.
All this time
How could you not know, baby,
You belong with me,
You belong with me?
Have you ever thought just maybe
You belong with me?
You belong with me."

Sam froze in position with her fist thrust up in the air in triumph as the thousands of girls in the theater screamed for her. The biggest smile in the world was plastered across her face as she laughed from the shock of such an awesome thing happening to a random girl like her.

[jillian]

jill didn't know how she had managed, but she had scored tickets to see sam mackenna last minute. the show was sold out, but she had a friend who couldn't make the show, so she scored the tickets off of her friends. jill really loved her music and how real her songs were. they all came from the heart. it was a wish of jill's to be able to write songs like that someday, and her and her girls were slowly getting there, but nonetheless, they were getting there. jillian headed to the venue, and made her way to the seat which luckily happened to be in the second row. she had a great view which made her smile to herself.

when it was time for sam to come on stage, jillian could see how happy the fans were getting, which made her smile. jillian also hoped the have the connection with her fans that sam had. sam finally came on stage, and began putting out an amazing show. jillian knew she was good, but she had no idea just how good she was. watching sam, jillian knew that she wa so lucky to get all of the success that she had gotten. not many people in the business made it this far. jillian clapped and cheered for her, in awe.

[samantha marie mackenna]

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All Sam could do was beam at the hundreds of people in the audience as she waited for them to calm down a little bit. To play in front of this many people in her hometown (for right now) of New York City was amazing. "Thank you guys, SO MUCH!" she said with a giggle into the microphone to the audience. "You all have helped me make my dreams come true and I love you all so much for that."

Music for the next song, "Love Story," started playing in the background of her little speech to everyone. "As you all know, a lot of my songs on my album are about love and relationships and great feelings. There's some songs that are also pretty sad. My music is an opportunity for you all to experience what I felt through the last few years of my life." Sam walked back and forth on stage a little bit as she spoke. "My life seemed really bad, but then I found someone who made me feel so much better about myself, and this song is about those feelings." The music started from the beginning, a little louder than before, as Sam ran off stage for a few seconds. A video popped up on a screen at the back of the stage with tons of girls from audiences before talking about love, and even a few moms talking about how great it was to find that one person who was your other half.

About twenty seconds later, her voice could be heard but she had yet to make herself visible on stage.

"We were both young when I first saw you.
I close my eyes and the flashback starts:
I'm standing there on a balcony in summer air."

Lights turned on the stage and Sam could be seen at the top of the stage once again, this time surrounded by scenes of gardens, flowers, and old stone walls that looked like a castle. She was now wearing a beautiful red ballgown that sparkled in the bright stage lights.

"See the lights, see the party, the ball gowns.
See you make your way through the crowd
And say, "Hello,"
Little did I know..."

The same dancers came out on stage, this time dressed in beautiful gowns and looking like medieval princesses. Sam slowly walked down the steps as she continued singing. A male dancer that looked exactly like Ryan came out on stage and was watching her, going along with the motions of the lyrics.

"That you were Romeo, you were throwing pebbles,
And my daddy said, "Stay away from Juliet"
And I was crying on the staircase
Begging you, "Please don't go"
And I said..."

The song progressed, Sam singing every word with tons of meaning behind it. The dancers danced around on stage, Sam dancing with the mystery guy along with them.

"Romeo, take me somewhere we can be alone.
I'll be waiting; all that's left to do is run.
You'll be the prince and I'll be the princess,
It's a love story, baby, just say, "Yes"."

The bridge of the song approached and Sam went down to the center of the stage, being surrounded by the dancers and a curtain of red fabric to hide herself from the audience. Her voice could still be heard from behind the curtain.

"I got tired of waiting
Wondering if you were ever coming around.
My faith in you was fading
When I met you on the outskirts of town.
And I said...
"Romeo, save me, I've been feeling so alone.
I keep waiting for you but you never come.
Is this in my head? I don't know what to think.
He knelt to the ground and pulled out a ring and said..."

A small break in the music occurred and then the curtain fell, revealing Sam in a pure white dress.

"Marry me, Juliet, you'll never have to be alone.
I love you, and that's all I really know.
I talked to your dad ‒ go pick out a white dress
It's a love story, baby, just say, "Yes".
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh.
'cause we were both young when I first saw you"

Sam froze with her back to the audience and noticed that Lizzie had pulled another fast one on her and had decided to display a picture of Ryan and Sam on the huge screen for the entire audience to see. In the picture, Ryan had his arms around Sam's waist, both of them smiling at the camera with pure joy. Sam turned around to the audience and let out an embarrassed giggle and blushed, explaining, "Hey, look! It's my boyfriend." Sam was absolutely mortified that the picture was being displayed on the screen, but it definitely fit well with the song.