Have you ever wondered who all those people are sitting around the celebrities at award shows? A lot of them are industry members or talent agents, but most of them are professional seat-fillers or talent fillers, and I am usually one of them.
I started seat-filling professionally for award shows in Nashville, Tenn., in 2012 and since then I’ve gotten to sit among not only Hollywood’s elite, but also country music’s brightest stars.
The first award show I was hired to seat-fill for was the 2012 CMT Music Awards and it was honestly one of the most wonderful nights of my life.
I spent the night sitting directly behind Joe Don Rooney, Jay Demarcus and Gary LeVox of Rascal Flatts and Kenny Chesney and next to Zac Brown. I listened to Zac Brown and Kenny Chesney chat about life and their families during every commercial break.
Another show I was privileged enough to attend was the 2012 CMA Music Awards. I got to spend the night sitting in the second row from the front of the stage behind Reba McEntire, Taylor Swift and Keith Urban.
You would think being surrounded by all that talent would be overwhelming, but honestly there is nothing more exciting.
The most recent show I have attended was the 2013 CMT Music Awards where I spent the night sitting in the front row. I was two seats to the left of Miranda Lambert and four seats to the right of Taylor Swift. That night takes the cake for my favorite experience so far, because I was able to spend a commercial break catching up with Taylor Swift after not having the chance for a while. (That’s a story for another time.)
My good luck with running into celebrities in Nashville began in 2007 when I attended my first CMA?Music Festival. Since then, I have rubbed elbows with many more celebrities than I am really even willing to admit for fear of sounding like a total stalker.
Although, through this column I will be sharing the stories of all my celebrity encounters through the years. I will also share a few tips and tricks other autograph hounds might find interesting if they are looking to make some famous friends.
No two stories are the same, as are no two celebrities.
Column by Breanna Sill, Assistant Features Editor