Anthony Gargiula Singer, Actor Albany, NY

American Idols Concert 2008 Albany

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Last night the American Idol Tour came to Albany, New York and we were there as a family for the 5th year in a row.  The boys were all set to sing at the karaoke booth and Jude and I were ready to talk to our pop tart connections that we made last year and get back stage again. 

Well, there was no karaoke and our one "angel" who got us back stage last year was not there.  Well this didn't stop Jude, she was determined to get the boys back stage again to meet all of the Idols.  So Jude spoke to the guys that were working the Guitar Hero booth and explained the whole story about Anthony interviewing the Idols on the red carpet for the Ellen Degeneres Show.  They remembered us from last year and introduced Jude to the guy who was on his way back stage to get into the Pop Tart costume to help start the show.  She went over to him and gave him some of Anthony's cards and asked him to give the cards to the Idols because once they knew that Anthony was there, we knew they would invite us back stage (because they told Anthony when on he was on the red carpet that when they came to Albany, that Anthony should get word to the Idols that he was in the audience and they would get us back stage so they could see each other again).  So to make a very long story short, the pop tart guy did wind up giving Anthony's cards to the Idols, and at intermission, someone with back stage passes came and found us at our seats.

We saw, Kristy Lee Cook, Brooke White, David Cook, David Archuleta, Carley Smithson and Michael Johns.  They were all SO nice.  Everyone remembered Anthony from the red carpet and were so excited to see him again.  The boys got autographs, pictures and a lot of hugs of course.  Carley said to us that as soon as the guy brought Anthony's card to the Idols, she said, "Get him back stage, I want to see him again."  All of them were so accommodating and spoke to us for a while.  Michael Johns told us that he has become very good friends with Ellen Degeneres, David Archuleta had an in depth conversation with Jude and Anthony about vocal training and singing techniques. 

BUT........the highlight had to be with American Idol Winner David Cook.  He recognized Anthony immediately and even commented that he was dressed down (no tux this time).  After the autographs and pictures, Rich told David that Anthony has learned a new song.  David said, "Let's hear it.".  So then Anthony proceeded to belt out David's current hit single "Time Of My Life".  After Anthony was done, the whole "meet and greet" broke out into thunderous applause and screams.  David stood up and yelled, "Great!! Now I'm out of a job!!"  Everyone laughed.  At that point, David took off his hat and said, "I have to do this....will you sign my hat for me?"  Of course Anthony did and then David took off his Livestrong bracelet he had on his arm and said, "A very special woman gave this to me and told me that I should give it to someone more famous than me, so I'd like you to have it."  WOW!!!!!

Again another incredible step on this amazing journey.  Thank you God for guiding us along this road, thank you David Cook for going way above and beyond, thank you David Archuleta, Brooke White, Michael Johns, Kristy Lee Cook and of course Carley Smithson for inviting us back stage for this incredible experience.  Thank you to the guy in the Pop Tart costume and all the guys at the Guitar Hero booth and thanks to Jude for being so persistent and to Louis for holding everything and soaking in all of the excitement and always being so supportive of his brother and lastly to Anthony for following his path one step at a time, working hard and believing and living in his dream.

Anthony Meets Kellie Pickler Backstage in Albany NY!

Another dream comes true for Anthony.

Last night at the Times Union Center in Albany, NY, Anthony and our family got to meet Kellie Pickler, one of Anthony's favorite Idol's - thanks to Ellen DeGeneres!

When Anthony appeared on The Ellen Show in December 2007, she gave him tickets and backstage passes for Anthony and his family to see Rascal Flatts and Kellie Pickler in concert.

So, before the concert  our family went to the Meet and Greet. Kellie was as sweet as she is beautiful. She told Anthony she watched him on The Ellen Show and had been looking forward to meeting him. And they exchanged Ellen stories as Kellie had just appeared on Ellen earlier this week.

Anthony and Louis posed for several pictures with Kellie and Anthony gave her his CD containing 
a song, Come Back to Me Now, he and Louis wrote for Kellie. She seemed very touched.

Definitely an evening Anthony will hold tight in his memories.

Our Song Written Especially for American Idol's Kellie Pickler

Anthony and his brother Louis have written three original songs and recorded them.  Louis, age 11,  usually writes the music and Anthony, age 8, writes the words.  Their favorite song Come Back To Me Now is a ballad that was inspired by American Idol, Kellie Pickler.

Help us spread the word to Kellie Pickler's fan club's and to Kellie herself! Read more and listen to the song.

Anthony Sings With The American Idols

As you can see from the blog entries below, it has been an amazing year for Anthony.  All the experiences and venues he has sung at have all been great and all the people have been so nice and kind BUT.......this one takes the cake.  Words will not do this experience justice so we may post a video of the 4 of us describing this incredible night at a later time so you can get the total picture.  For now....here it goes.

Anthony sang karaoke on the concourse of the Times Union Center before the American Idol concert.  The people who were running the karaoke remembered him from last year and made a very big deal about Anthony, making him stand on the table, picking him up, announcing to the whole concourse that he was going to be an Idol some day etc.  They were very nice and made Anthony feel very special.  While he was singing, we noticed one of the gentlemen taking a video of Anthony.  We didn't think anything of it at the time.  After Anthony sang his second song, we were told to talk to Kennesha.  So Anthony's Mom, Jude, spoke to Kennesha Gill and during the conversation, asked her if she could get us meet and greet passes so Anthony could meet the American Idols.  She said she would try and we should meet her behind where we were sitting (section 118) at intermission.  I met her behind Section 118 and she gave us the back stage passes.  Anthony and Louis were jumping up and down with excitement.

The second half of the concert began with all of the idols coming out on stage and singing a few songs together as a group.  After the songs were done, they all left the stage except for Gina Glocksen.  Gina thanked the crowd for their support and love.  Then she said "But I have to tell you, we have some competition out there.  In Section 118, shine a spotlight on 118 please, there is a little boy named Anthony who has one of the most amazing voices I have ever heard.  He will be on this stage one day entertaing you.  Anthony, all I can say from my heart to yours is keep singing and follow your dreams."  The she said Thank You and ran off stage.  Anthony was crying and the rest of us were sitting there with our mouths opened in shock.  We still at this point didn't know how she knew we were in section 118, how she heard Anthony...etc.  Anthony turned to Jude and I and said "My dream has just come true, the idols know who I am."  Four songs later he finally stopped crying tears of joy and enjoyed the rest of the concert.

After the show we went to the Meet and Greet.  Haley Scarnato and Melinda Doolittle were there.  Anthony mentioned to "our family angel" Kennesha that he really wanted to meet Blake.  She told him that would be difficult but if she went back to the tour bus and asked Blake to come out, would Anthony sing a song for him?  Anthony agreed.  5 minutes later Kennesha was back and said that Blake would be out shortly.  We met Haley first.  She was so beautiful it took your breath away.  She was warm and kind on the inside too and talked to the boys for a while.  Anthony told her that he was Anthony from section 118 and she said, its nice to meet you Anthony.  We were about to go to Melinda when Kennesha told us to come out into the hall.  There was Blake Lewis and Chris Richardson surrounded by many security guards.  Kennesha pushed Anthony into their path and one of the security guards yelled at Anthony to "Stay Back".  The other guard said "NO, thats the kid."  So Anthony and Louis were whisked away to the opposite side of the Meet and Greet room with Blake and Chris.  Blake sat down at a table and Anthony was right by his side.  After a few moments of being tongue tied and star struck, Anthony started singing "Broken Wing" as he promised he would do.  The crowd was silent and Blake and Chris had there mouths open with surprise.  When Anthony was done, Blake hugged him and signed Anthony's picture, "To Anthony, Keep using your voice and imagination, you'll reach your dreams! Peace and Respect, Blake Lewis.

After that we heard "Anthony, is that you? Get over here, I want to meet you."  It was Melinda Doolittle.  We went over to see her and she solved this incredible mystery for us.  She told us that the Pop Tart people and Kennesha showed the idols on their tour bus at intermission, the video of Anthony singing on the concourse.  All of the idols were blown away and Melinda said "I have to meet that kid."  So that is how all the behind the scenes happened.  Melinda then picked up Anthony, spun him around and kissed him.  She asked him to sing for her.  I told her, he would sing if she would sing with him.  She said her voice was tired but by Anthony's third line of Signed Sealed Delivered, Melinda was joining in.  Then we got more pictures, some autographs and her email so we can send her copies of the three originals that Louis and Anthony have written and recorded this summer. 

It was time for the idols to leave and as the crowd said good bye, Blake and Melinda turned around and said "Goodbye Louis and Anthony keep in touch!"

So that's our story and we're sticking to it.  If you don't believe us, our friend Lynette will vouch for us.  So now comes the thank you part.  A huge thank you to our ANGEL Kennesha, to Gina for announcing Anthony's name on stage, to Haley and Chris R. for taking the time for pictures and autographs, to our Man Blake Lewis for coming out to see us, listening to Anthony sing and all the kind words he offered to Anthony and Louis, and lastly to the beautiful Melinda.  When we saw Melinda on the show we thought, she can not be that nice, its impossible.....well I am here to day to tell the world that she is even nicer in person.  When you get close to Melinda you can feel the love and her faith filled heart jumping out of her body and landing on everyone who is near to her.  Thank you for singing with Anthony, talking to us and all of your kind words.  You are a gift from God and we love you.

Well that's it for now, sorry it was so wordy but this was truly an experience of a lifetime. Take a look at all the awesome photos we took!

WGNA's Countryfest 2007 "Recap"

WOW! is the only word I can use to describe the experience Anthony had at Country Fest on July 14, 2007.  We spent most of the morning back stage with the WGNA staff watching everyone set up the stage.  The crowd was allowed in at 8:30am and they kept coming.  At 10:45am they brought Anthony on stage so he could see the crowd and get a feel for the stage before he had to sing.  Then it was show time.  Casey, Chris, Richie and Shawn from the morning show took the stage and warmed up the crowd with a Richie Phillips parady "Thank God I'm at Country Fest".  Then Casey introduced Anthony..."and from Glenmont, New York please welcome 8 year old, Anthony Gargiula."  The crowd went crazy.  Then Anthony opened his mouth and the best rendition on The National Anthem came out.  The crowd was so loud in parts that you could barely hear Anthony singing. 

The fun really began as we were leaving the stage and we literally almost bumped into American Idol finalist, Bucky Covington.  Anthony was so star struck he could barely speak at first.  Shawn from WGNA said,"Anthony you just sang infront of 30,000 people and you can't talk in front of Bucky?"  We all laughed

and Bucky relayed a story to us about the first time he met Kix Brooks and felt the same way.  Bucky spent 10 minutes talking to Anthony and Louis and taking pictures and providing numerous autographs.  After Bucky performed, we went back stage again and he took Anthony and I into his tour bus.  Thank you Bucky!!  That was a huge thrill.

The boys also met, got autographs and pictures with Jason Michael Carroll and Darryl Worley. 

Thank you to Selena and all the awesome people at WGNA for their kindness and constant support of Anthony.  It truly was a dream day for all of us.