My Teenage Dream Came True:
The Ride Tour by Johnny Orlando
In mid-July, I screamed when I saw the news of Johnny Orlando coming to Taiwan during the Asia Tour. He’s a 20-year-old Canadian singer-songwriter that has been posting covers and original songs on YouTube at the age of 8. It was at 14 that I noticed him and started to listen to his music, and I’ve been his fan ever since. Every time he opens a chat room with fans, the one question that me and my friend always ask is “WILL YOU COME TO TAIWAN?”. He answered “YES” multiple times, but never really made a visit in the last 5 years until November this year. The price of the concert and the VIP in total is $5500, which is quite expensive. Yet, considering this might be the one and only chance to meet him that close, I eventually spent the money happily.
It was chaotic on the way from Hsinchu to Taipei. Everywhere was crowded and every transportation was jammed. Thus, I got into the venue when there was only 3 minutes left before the VIP entry closed. All VIP guests had to draw lots to decide the sequence of both taking the photo with Johnny and choosing the spot in the concert venue. To my surprise, I got No. 1! I was so shocked but I exchanged the number with No. 35 as I wanted to be with my friend (she got No. 34) and I didn’t want to take the VIP photo without finishing my makeup (which might sound like a ridiculous reason). I was so nervous that I forgot everything I rehearsed in my mind about how to pose or what to say. Undoubtedly, my face was all in red and my pose was awkward in the photo. I really respect the fact that his nice and gentle attitude stayed the same throughout the whole time of the meet-and-greet with almost 200 VIP fans in line. Even though the meet-and-greet was only about 1 minute per person, it was still the best experience ever.
my VIP photo w/ Johnny Orlando
All the VIP guests had to stand in the venue for more than an hour since we got to choose our spot first. It was interesting that everyone just started chatting and vibing to the music during the waiting time although most of us didn’t even know each other at first (the VIP guests were in a random sequence). I love how music really does bring people together, no matter the distance, identity, and language. When the show was about to begin, we saw the girl in the first row holding a flag of Taiwan. It is quite a tradition in Johnny Orlando’s concert that people sign or write something on the country’s flag and give it to him, so I signed “Dora” and my friend wrote a line from his song “blur”.
It was my first time being this close with the performer. He once grabbed a girl’s phone and sat on the fence, taking a video and a few selfies during the show. When I saw the photos (both on his Instagram story and the girl’s phone), I couldn't believe that my face was in his selfies as I stood in the second row. Now, I still think to myself, “How lucky was I to be in his Instagram story?” every time I recall what happened that day. For me, the most beautiful moment in the whole concert was when he took and held the flag during the last song, saying that it was his first visit in Taiwan and he felt so welcomed by everyone. Maybe it’s also because the last song “someone will love you better” is an emotional and sad ballad that I related to very much, I almost cried.
Despite the fact that he didn’t sing two of my favorite songs “Last Summer” and “Phobias” (they’re really great plz go check them out), I enjoyed everything about the whole experience. To this day, I still can’t wrap my head around how my teenage dream just came true like that after fangirling for 5 years. It just feels so surreal to me. I’m beyond grateful that lots of concerts are being held in Taiwan after the pandemic has finally come to an end. In the future, I want to accomplish my dreams of going to concerts of Machine Gun Kelly, Olivia Rodrigo, and Why Don’t We. Hopefully I can check them off of my bucket list ASAP!
