Entertainment Blog

Cole Swindell

I was very excited to wake up for Day 2 at CMA Fest. I started my morning at the Cole Swindell Down Home Fan Club party. This is one thing I didn’t do the first year at CMA Fest was plan ahead to go the fan club parties. The party was a lot of fun, small, intimate, acoustic and was great to see Cole in that setting. Last year at CMA fest Cole gave me goosebumps during his performance and truly made me into a fan that day. He has that special something and is truly one of the artists that gets it, he has stayed humble and is great to his fans. He played for about an hour or so, then took photos with everyone. We received a signed poster, shirt, and koozie as well.

13428583_10153829551608978_8590708588669971237_n After this we headed over to Fan Fair X to get into the hopeful line for one of my favorites Mr. Steven Tyler. Yesterday when we were there we were told they would not allow anyone to start in the hopeful line until 2 hours ahead of the signing so we were not happy to get over there to find out they actually started the hopeful line right when the doors opened for a 3:00 signing. Communication with your customers should always be important to the staff representing you and honest communication should be paramount. I had won the overflow contest for Jamie Lyn Spears meet and greet passes so we headed over to do that.

After we walked over to the area where Steven was signing and were fortunate enough to be given two tickets. Steven Tyler is one of the absolute best at meet and greets. He is a legend, he’s been in the business for well over 30 years and many of the newcomers could learn a lot by watching him engage with his fans. Steven took time with every single person he met, he spoke to you and looked you directly in the eye, asked your name, you could have a short conversation, his photographer took the photo, gave you an autograph and a hug and kiss. It’s nearly impossible to walk away from an interaction with Steven and not feel special and appreciated. He stayed for well over the allotted time of 2 hours which was not at all surprising. 13445558_10153828811143978_4172109016094299840_n

The best part of CMA Fest is you truly never know who you will run into. We were walking back to our hotel and look up and there is Charles Esten! He was so sweet and took a photo with us and we congratulated him on Nashville being picked up by the CMT network!

The line up at the stadium Friday was:

National Anthem: Frankie Ballard

Clint Black

Chris Stapleton

Sam Hunt

Eric Church

Hank Williams Jr

Carrie Underwood

The performances again were all really good. Frankie did a great rendition on the electric guitar of the National Anthem and Clint Black played a handful of his hits. Chris Janson also made a surprise appearance to sing his hit Buy Me a Boat. Chris is another one of those special performers that is absolutely loving and is appreciative of the opportunity to live his dream. Chris Stapleton is one amazing songwriter and singer. Sam Hunt, I had never seen perform live before but, will definitely be looking for tour to come to my city in the near future. Eric Church just commands the stage, he’s an amazing performer and I always look forward to his performances. Carrie Underwood was absolutely fantastic. She took the stage with a different presence than last year, it was great to see her dressed down and full of sassy attitude. I have always liked her since American Idol but, walked away being truly impressed after her performance to close out Day 2.

For day two attire I went with clothes from: https://factory.jcrew.com/

For carrying just the necessities around CMA Fest I always go to my Coach Cross body or wristlets: http://coach.com

Additional videos can be found on my youtube channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLzUFhYU32shIwac71Fd81w

For additional photos from CMA Fest check out my IG and Facebook pages @lightscmemories.

Until next time,

Xoxoxo

Heather

July 11, 2016

Entertainment Blog

CMA 2016 Fest Day 1 (Thursday):

#cmafest

#bigmachinebooth

CMA Fest is one of the events I truly look forward to all year. I truly feel you get a lot of value for what you pay overall. I had already been in Nashville for two days at this point but, we transferred over to our hotel that we purchased with the package early in the morning. We buy our packages each year through www.cmafest4less.com. Usually I feel you get a good value but, have to say right out of the gate this year when we picked up our package for two I was disappointed with the fact we only received 1 bag even though we paid for 2 packages. Considering those clear bags probably have a real cost of $2.00 or so to them I thought that was incredibly cheap of the tour company not to provide one per person paid because you need the clear bags to get in the stadium and in past years they did give one per person.

We stayed at Hyatt Place again this year mostly for the convenience. The hotel is ok, the beds were definitely not very comfortable which I didn’t remember from last year so maybe they changed mattresses but, they did have a fridge which was good that we could stay stocked up on cold water etc.

First thing we did was head over to the Fan Fair X and were really shocked to see this massive line of people waiting to get in. We ended up being the last ones allowed in for the Thomas Rhett hopeful line. We waited nearly 2 hours and none of the hopefuls were able to get pictures because he only allocated an hour and didn’t stay over which is the artist’s discretion. This is one thing that I truly think CMA fest should change. I think anyone that buys a 4 day package should be given one meet and greet or entry into the HGTV lodge performances of their choice or even of their top 3 choices. Their lottery system is all well and good but, after two years I haven’t won other than an overflow drawing for Jamie Lyn Spears. The hopeful lines to me is where you see truly how much an artist truly cares about meeting the fans. For example in 2015 I saw Cassadee Pope do all of her winners, her entire hopeful line of over 200 people and then additional people that came up and wanted to meet her, she was there over 3 hours and that was impressive to see. There is another twosome that I have seen two years in a row not act in a way that values their fans and what their fans truly want. Last year they would only sign autographs, no photos. I wasn’t in their line but sitting in the line for Little Big Town I watched all this happen. A special needs child went up to them and when they were doing the autograph her Mom who was behind the area where you line up tried to snap a few cell phone pictures of her daughter speaking to them and getting her autographs and they saw the mother and stepped out of frame. This year fans said they had their cell phones taken away until after the autographs were done. Yes they did say no photos but, in that circumstance was it really hurting anything? At an event like Fan Fair X why not do photos, in many ways that goes a lot faster than doing autographs and in today’s culture you know that is what most people want that selfie or the photo to share.

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We were a little bummed after the first experience of the day but, we headed over to one of my favorite places at CMA Fest the Big Machine Label store. Big Machine does it right, they are all so kind, they are all about the fan experience and Scott Borchetta and his team just totally rock in my opinion. We got in line to meet Jennifer Nettles. We baked in the heat for a good hour as the line in front of us in the store was already pretty long but we had faith it would be well worth it. Right on time Jennifer pulled up and they brought her into the store and started the process. Jennifer is an example of a star that does it right. She actually gave you an autograph if you wanted one and they took a photo on a professional camera and also a Big Machine employee took one on your cell or camera too. It went quickly and efficiently and she was able to have a genuine interaction without it feeling like a photo assembly line. Jennifer is truly so incredibly sweet and extremely talented.

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After this we were starving so we headed back up to my favorite restaurant (again) in Nashville: http://www.demosrestaurants.com/ because one can never have too much of their amazing Brown Butter Garlic Spaghetti! You know it’s good when you have someone like me who rarely eats pasta much less an entire plate of it devours it all.

By the time we finished eating we went back to the hotel, freshened up a bit and then it was time to head over to the stadium. The line-up Thursday night was:

National Anthem: The Oak Ridge Boys

The Charlie Daniels Band

Kelsea Ballerini

Dierks Bentley with special guest Elle King

Miranda Lambert

Rascal Flatts

Jason Aldean

All the performers were great. The Charlie Daniels Band had their good friend Randy Travis make a surprise appearance on stage and received a standing ovation. Kelsea Ballerini is such a powerhouse and her career will continue to soar in my opinion. Dierks was absolutely fantastic as always, he’s really made a fan out of me the last two years. I love his new song with Elle King “Different for Girls” and who doesn’t love Drunk on a Plane! This was my first time seeing Miranda live and she literally brought the house down with some serious sass. She’s a fantastic performer and absolutely will have to catch her in full concert soon! Rascal Flatts were also excellent and timeless really, they are true professionals and amazing artists.

Our seats were also better this year. Still would like to get into the first 5 rows of the Golden Circle one of these years but, we had a great spot on the lower bowl and were sitting around nice people this year which always make this fun!

For day one attire I went with clothes from: https://factory.jcrew.com/

For carrying just the necessities around CMA Fest I always go to my Coach Cross body or wristlets: http://coach.com

Until next time,

Xoxoxo

Heather

July 10, 2016

Entertainment Blog

Maks & Val Our Way Live On Tour 2016

Maks and Val Tour 2016

#maksandvaltour

#ourwaytour

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I absolutely knew this Maks & Val Our Way tour would be amazing and it lived up to all of my expectations and exceeded them immensely. From the moment Maks and Val took the stage you were taken on a truly special and emotional journey of their life story. I found myself laughing, smiling, dancing, tears and just proud. I love nothing more than to watch individuals living their dreams and this show demonstrates that at every turn.

I have been to several dance tours in the past and felt they were good in their own right but what I loved more than anything was how classy and tasteful Maks & Val put together their tour. They took a dance tour experience from good to flat out exceptional. Are they absolutely sexy men with fab abs…yes of course but, this tour highlighted what it should their talent and their story. It wasn’t cheeky, corny or all about their bodies. Both men are insanely talented and you could tell they truly put their heart and soul into the design of this tour.

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If you know anything about Maks and Val it’s that their motto is Family over Everything. It was wonderful how they incorporated Pops into the show and at every turn in their life story you see that the love of family, the pride of their parents and their inner drive made them into the wonderful and passionate men they are today. They worked incredibly hard, they tried new things as young men from teaching dance lessons, dancing in restaurants, getting involved in competitive dance and eventually on to Dancing with the Stars where they each have won a Mirror Ball trophy.

They covered nearly every style of dance, followed the timeline journey of their life with a perfect mix of high energy, immensely passionate and fun numbers. It was wonderful how they introduced the company dancers, not as background dancers but, truly part of their tour family. They include Janaya French,

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Vladislav Kvartin, Teddy Coffey, Kiki Nyemchek, Magdalena Fialek, Taylor Banks, Amy Bennett, Emily Crouch and Ivan Paulovich. Tracy Shibata is the Associate Director/Dance Captain and truly brought this bright light into the entire performance. All of the dancers are phenomenal in their own right and are able to shine at various points in the show.

It would be nearly impossible for me to pick my favorite dance at this point. They were all excellent in their own right. I would say that the two dances that Val and Maks do on love were breathtaking and moving. The Prom piece as also a lot of fun but, I don’t want to ruin it for those that have not seen it yet. I am thankful I will be seeing the show a few more times this summer and I look forward to new takeaways after each city.

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For those that follow my blog I will be doing a piece on their absolutely amazing VIP Packages after my next show in Durham. I am posting photos on social media, you can find me on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook @lightscmemories.

If you have not already purchased a ticket to a city near you, do it! You will be blown away at how fantastic this show is. If you are on the edge on if a VIP Package is worth it I also say DO IT! This tour is so good I am hoping it will be become something we all look forward to annually.

Until next time,

XOXO

Heather

PS: Just because I like to share fun fashion finds. I wore a new pair of http://www.luckybrand.com/ jeans to the show and they were so comfortable!

July 4, 2016

Entertainment Blog

CMT Awards Pink Carpet, Grand Ole Opry & City of Hope

CMT Awards Pink Carpet, Grand Ole Opry & City of Hope Softball Game

#cmafest

#cmtawards

#grandoleopry

This year for CMA Fest I wanted to go all in and really enjoy everything that the city of Nashville had to offer leading up to the Festival Kick off. I decided to fly in on Tuesday and get things started. For the pre-festival nights we found a hotel outside the city as most of the downtown hotels were extremely high in price.

Stayed at the http://www.marriott.com/hotels/travel/bnagi-the-inn-at-opryland-a-gaylord-hotel/ . Pros were that they did have a bus that would take you to/from downtown for a fee and they had a shuttle over to the Grand Ole Opry for the shows which was nice. Con’s our room smelled absolutely awful, it was an ok hotel not sure I would ever stay there again truthfully.

First stop was the City of Hope Softball game. This is a really fun event every year but, it is sweltering at the ball park so you want to drink a lot and stay hydrated. You really get to see the fun personalities and competitive spirit of the celebrities and all for a great cause. City of Hope does a lot of tremendous work. They raised over $200,000 for cancer research and there was a wide range of celebrities that showed up to play including: Bret Michaels, Vince Gill, Barry Zito, Lauren Alaina, Craig Wayne Boyd, Danielle Bradbery, Bobby Bo Heather Bret nes, Bucky Covington, Jessie James Decker, Charles Esten, Nick Fradiani, Mickey Guyton, Jonathan Jackson, Chris Lane, LOCASH, Scotty McCreery, A Thousand Horses, Tristan McIntosh, David Nail, Cassadee Pope, RaeLynn, Jamie Lynn Spears, Mark Wills and Brett Young. Trisha Yearwood sang the national anthem. The event Emcee’s were Bill Cody and Lorianne Crooks. Here is a video of Trisha Yearwood singing the national anthem:

After the game we headed over to one of my favorite restaurants in Nashville: http://www.demosrestaurants.com/food the food is amazing, I go every year once or twice just for the Brown Butter Garlic Spaghetti, it’s to die for! The staff is very friendly, they do a great job of getting people seated, drinks are great and food is like I said AMAZING! 13339682_10153821441053978_1881419334411035495_n

To wrap up the evening we went to the http://www.opry.com/ for the late show. I had never been in my past travels to Nashville and I will say I really enjoyed it! We didn’t get the tickets until a few weeks before so we were pretty high up but, the acoustics were incredible. The late show had Darius Rucker, Chris Janson, Charles Esten (50^th performance at the Opry), Lindsay Eli, Bill Anderson, Jeannie Seeley (50^th Anniversary) and Carrie Underwood. Each performer was absolutely amazing. I will absolutely go back on a future trip to Nashville and do the tour etc.

13339498_10153826491443978_8497415221145988436_n Wednesday was a day I was really looking forward to. My friends and I were selected for the Pink Carpet arrivals for the CMT Awards. That might just be one of the most fun events I have ever participated in. I will say there was a lot of standing around waiting for hours until it was time to get into position. The one drawback was after they had us all set then they let the general public over and they were not following the rules, guidelines which was disappointing. If you ever do it don’t try to take photos of you and multiple friends. At first I thought that would make it easier for the celebrities to take one pic and get us all in but, it wasn’t effective. Truthfully in many ways it would have been better to be across the street where the general public was standing because most of the celebrities ran over there after g 13346498_10153826834373978_3733456804263070977_n etting out of their cars. However it was too much fun standing there and seeing who was stepping out of the limos as they pulled up right in front of us. Luke Bryan, Thomas Rhett, Cole Swindell etc. all got out right in front of us. It was so nice to see Keith Urban and Nicole Kidman arrive and they might just be the sweetest couple ever. We were able to get selfie’s with S 13407034_10153825327593978_5248686619447114485_n am Hunt, Frankie Ballard, Maren Morris, Billy Ray Cyrus & Easton Corbin.

The one thing you will hear me saying through the CMA posts is there is a very clear line between the musicians/celebrities that never forgot that it was the fans that helped to get them to where they are today and the ones that somehow forgot that and acted like they were above fan interaction. I will say that overall Country artists are some of the best when it comes to that and a good 90% were awesome about it all weekend. I will provide examples in the next few blogs on the actual festival with examples of what I am describing on that point.

After we were released w 13417547_10153824243943978_2073048795064581087_n e headed into the CMT Awards. This was another fun event that we planned a bit last minute and it was really exciting to be in the room and watch the awards show live, all the interactions the stars had with each other on commercial breaks etc. I really had a great time.

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Over the next few days I will post blogs on the actual 4 day CMA Fest! Stay tuned for more!

For all the photos of the Red Carpet arrivals you can view it at: https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.1010333205710059.1073741833.935628749847172&type=1&l=83e2964bf0

What was I wearing on the Pink Carpet? http://www.bebe.com/

Until next time,

Xoxoxo

Heather

June 23, 2016

Entertainment Blog

Check out the Burbans!

Check out The Burbans!

#theburbans

The Burbans band members include: Rick Agosta (Guitar/Vocals), Michael Charles (Vocals/Bass) and Matt Noble (Vocals/Keyboards). “A band that exists only in the studio, and in their own imaginations, the Burbans believe in making the record they would want to listen to, preferably on vinyl.

I met Rick at Steven Tyler’s Janie’s Fund event. Right away you could tell what a motivated, positive man Rick was. The Burbans music truly fits that mold.

Their new album is The Burbans On Ice and you can listen to clips here at this link:

https://itun.es/us/AdN0ab

Overall their music is upbeat, rock, shares positive messages. I personally like the Power of a Song:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VpIDyk0HinM&list=PLGqZ5ph4i5T9xtV2UB44SHWoxYN4_i3zk

and What Would Buddy Holly Say:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IiQsGJAE88I&list=PLGqZ5ph4i5T9xtV2UB44SHWoxYN4_i3zk&index=22

The song called Hug Revolution, it has a great positive message:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFROeBMW8SY

They are a great band, it was a true pleasure to meet Rick and I hope you all give their music a listen. To like their facebook page go to: https://www.facebook.com/The-Burbans-845612412128453/timeline

rick

If you are curious what I am wearing in this photo it was :

Leather jacket: http://shop.guess.com/en/

Dress: http://www.bebe.com/

Until next time,

Xoxoxo

Heather

June 19, 2016

Entertainment Blog

CMA Fest 2016 Early Teaser Videos

Hi Y’all,

This year’s CMA Fest has been so much fun! I will be doing a blog on each day of the Fest next week when I return.

I will upload a few videos here as a quick teaser! You can also find shorter clips on my Instagram @lightscmemories

Thank you for your support! I cannot wait to share all the fun info for you next week!

Steven Tyler & Martina McBride singing Jaded:

Another Steven video:-)

Until next week,

xoxo

Heather

June 12, 2016

Entertainment Blog

An Evening with Donnie Wahlberg & Special Guests: $700,000 Raised!

An Evening with Donnie Wahlberg & Special Guests: $700,000 Raised!

A Benefit to Help Families Affected by Autism

#gohomewithdonnie

Background on Generation Rescue from their website:

Generation Rescue is dedicated to recovery for children with autism spectrum disorders by providing guidance and support for medical treatment to directly improve the child’s quality of life for all families in need.

When Lisa and JB Handley’s son was diagnosed with autism in 2004, they simply did not believe it would be Jamison’s lifelong destiny. They committed themselves to healing their son.

Lisa and JB pursued all of the theories and avenues they could find, educating themselves as fully as possible as they reached the most likely conclusion: the combination of antibiotics and vaccines administered to Jamison in his first 18 months of life had overwhelmed his system and triggered his body into a state of being that we currently call autism.

Armed with this knowledge, the Handleys began recovering their child. To their surprise, they found that parents all around the world were experiencing the same struggles—and same victories. In 2005, the Handleys decided to create a community for these amazing families. They named it Generation Rescue.

Later that same year, Jenny McCarthy’s son, Evan, was diagnosed with autism. Jenny embarked on an extensive search for answers. When she found Generation Rescue’s website, it quickly became her touchstone. The stories and advice from other families served as her blueprint for Evan’s own recovery.

In 2008, Jenny reached out to JB and Lisa to thank them for creating the organization that gave voice to her struggles and provided the solutions that saved her son. Aware of how vitally important the organization is to so many families, Jenny offered to help any way she could. She became president of Generation Rescue.

Today, Generation Rescue is known throughout the world for its dedication to the recovery of children with autism spectrum disorders by providing guidance and support for all families in need. JB, Lisa and Jenny couldn’t be more proud.

To Donate: https://ssl.charityweb.net/genrescue/

On to the details of the night:

First I want to thank Deanna Benedetto Butkovich and her husband Mike for inviting me to this event since they were a sponsor! Mike’s company is Just In Time Pool & Spa Service. If you need Servicing, Installation etc call them in the greater Chicago area! 630-300-4420

Jenny truly has such a passion for this cause and it is evident in all the love and care that both she and Donnie put into the night. They might just be one of the sweetest couples ever too!

Some of his special guests included Jordan Knight, Joey McIntyre and Danny Wood as well as Naughty By Nature, Nice and Smooth, Rob Lewis and more. Jonathan Knight was sad to miss it as he was going to be closing on a house he was flipping and it wasn’t ready yet.

He performed some songs rarely done in concert such as Dirty Dawg, One Song, I Got It, Rise and Grind, and She’s a Killer. They also performed some cover songs like All of Me (performed by Joey), Uptown Funk, Let’s Go Crazy and Kiss and more. They also did the Right Stuff.

Joe’s rendition of All of Me was beyond beautiful. Sorry for the shaking video in the beginning, I was learning how to video on that camera that night.

https://youtu.be/3ZYvdfgmyks

Here is a video of Donnie performing: She’s a Killer.

https://youtu.be/KoU03CWG4Dg

The after party was also a lot of fun. They did additional fundraising for some incredibly cool experiences including a trip to the Chew, Arsenio Hall, Mixtape, Meet & Greet with Carrie Underwood and more!

The most clear message from the evening is how passionate both Donnie and Jenny are to help Generation Rescue and other parents that are managing Autism. It was such a wonderful experience to be a part of this event, it was so nice to see Jordan, Joe and Danny too.

$700,000 was raised for Generation Rescue

I will post more pics of the event over the next month on my IG account: @lightsCmemories and on facebook at: https://www.facebook.com/lightscmemories/

#BHLOVE

Until next time,

Xoxoxo

Heather

June 5, 2016

Contests/Giveaways

Maks & Val Tour Silver M&G Package Winner…

There were so many amazing entries for the Maks & Val Silver Meet & Greet pkg that I determined to be fair I would put all names in a random name picker. WINNER is @natalieallenkr5! Congratulations. If you didn’t win this time pls stay in touch, follow this page. I will be doing Tour Swag giveaways all summer and will do a pkg giveaway for the DWTS Winter Tour and more. Thank you all for participating #maksandval #ourwaytour

Just a reminder if you want to get tickets to the HOTTEST tour this summer go to: http://www.maksandvaltour.com/ I will be blogging on the show and their various amazing VIP Packages this summer! It kicks off in 6 short weeks!

#maksandval #ourwaytour

Until next time,

Xoxoxo

Heather

May 29, 2016

Entertainment Blog

Dancing With the Stars Mirror Ball Champions Season 22

Dancing with the Stars: Finals Night 2 Who Wins the Mirror Ball?

#DWTS

#dwts22 Finale2

Season 22/Week 10

#DWTSfinale

Just a quick reminder the contest to win ONE Silver Meet & Greet Package to see Maks & Val Tour EXTENDED to: May 29^th at 5 pm EST

To all the Maks and Val fans out there, I hope this giveaway will help make someone’s dreams come true. I want to find someone really deserving of this and has never really got the chance to meet them since this is a $300 giveaway contest. But anyone who qualifies for the rules and follow them thoroughly will be entered in a random draw. The winner will receive ONE Silver VIP Meet and Greet Package which includes a premium reserved ticket in rows 5 through 20, tour program, and more! Please follow ALL these rules to be entered in my Maks And Val Live Tour: Our Way Giveaway. 1. You must live in the U.S. and can attend the show alone. 2. The city you want to attend must still have this specific package available. 3. Follow @LightsCMemories either on Instagram or Twitter (Will be checking)! 4. Post a picture of Maks/Val with a caption explaining why you want this and include the city/show you want to attend. Make sure you tag me in the picture and use the hashtag, #LightsCMemoriesGiveaway! 5. Tag some friends who would be interested in this giveaway. The more friends you tag, the better your chances are! The drawing for the winner will be on May 29th at 5 pm EST! Please get your entry in before that. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me below. Best Finale3 of luck! -Heather

I am so excited for tonight! Truly all three are so good, anyone could go home with the Mirror Ball.

The entire show was fantastic tonight and it had to be one of my favorite finales in all the 22 Seasons I have watched. All the guest performers were amazing from Fleur East, Dan & Shay, Fifth Harmony, Aloe Blacc and of course Pit Bull who never disappoints.

It was fun to see 3 past ch Finale5 ampions in the ballroom as well including Bindi, Shawn and Emmitt.

The Maks and Val Tour preview just made me even more excited for their summer tour! It’s going to be filled with so much fun and amazing dancing! I seriously cannot wait to watch their dream come to life! finale6

I also loved how they highlighted the eliminated contestants this time, the entire show was so much fun. This season had so many fantastic partnerships I loved to see Kim/Sasha, Jodie/Keo, and Wanya/Lindsay etc together again, the football player section was great too and the Trivia game with Witney, Lindsay and Von was absolutely hilarious! I especially loved the dance Witney and Artem performed to Dan and Shay’s “From the Ground Up”. The dance to Summer Thing was also a lot of fun to watch and the fun Men and Women of DWTS group dances were also great!

Final Fusion Dances:

Ginger Zee and Val Chmerkovskiy

#teamGinandJuice

Fusion Dance: Argentine Tango & Foxtrot: “Just Like Fire”

Scores: 9-9-9

Ballroom7

Nyle DiMarco & Peta Murgatroyd

#redefiningdance

Fusion Dance: Tango & Cha: “Summer”

Scores: 10-10-10 (Perfect Score!)

Paige VanZant & Mark Ballas

#teamPowRightInTheKisser

Fusion Dance: Finale7 Jive & Salsa “Little Bitty Pretty One”

Scores: 10-10-10 (Perfect Score!)

All the fusion dances were good and it really capped off a fun end to a truly amazing season. It was a special moment when Carrie Ann put in the extra effort to sign with Nyle. They all had truly amazing journeys this year for different reasons. Nyle truly showed the world that nothing can stop you from doing something new that some may think is impossible and he open everyone’s eyes to what it is like to be deaf in many powerful ways.

Ginger came in 3^rd place and she and Val should truly be very proud of her performance this season.

Time to crown the winner!

Season 22 Champions are:

Nyle DiMarco & Peta Murgatroyd

Congratulations! It was an awesome season and you did an amazing job! Paige and Mark you both also did such a wonderful job! Truly this is one season where all 3 were deserving to win.

For those of you that follow my blog I have many events I will be covering this summer including: Maks & Val Tour, CMA Fest, Luke Bryan, Keith Urban, Steven Tyler, JLO and more! Please stay tuned to this page, my IG/Twitter: @lightscmemories and Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/lightscmemories/.

Just a reminder if you want to get tickets to the HOTTEST tour this summer go to: http://www.maksan maks and val dvaltour.com/ I will be blogging on the show and their various amazing VIP Packages this summer! It kicks off in 6 short weeks!

Until next time,

Xoxoxo

Heather

May 26, 2016

Entertainment Blog

Dancing with the Stars: Finale Night 1

Dancing with the Stars Finale Night 1
#DWTS
#dwts22
Season 22/Week 10
#DWTSfinale
Just a quick reminder the contest to win ONE Silver Meet & Greet Package to see Maks & Val Tour ends this Wednesday 5/25 at 7 pm EST. To all the Maks and Val fans out there, I hope this giveaway will help make someone’s dreams come true. I want to find someone really deserving of this and has never really got the chance to meet them since this is a $300 giveaway contest. But anyone who qualifies for the rules and follow them thoroughly will be entered in a random draw. The winner will receive ONE Silver VIP Meet and Greet Package which includes a premium reserved ticket in rows 5 through 20, tour program, and more! Please follow ALL these rules to be entered in my Maks And Val Live Tour: Our Way Giveaway. 1. You must live in the U.S. and can attend the show alone. 2. The city you want to attend must still have this specific package available. 3. Follow @LightsCMemories either on Instagram or Twitter (Will be checking)! 4. Post a picture of Maks/Val with a caption explaining why you want this and include the city/show you want to attend. Make sure you tag me in the picture and use the hashtag, #LightsCMemoriesGiveaway! 5. Tag some friends who would be interested in this giveaway. The more friends you tag, the better your chances are! The drawing for the winner will be on May 25th at 7pm EST! Please get your entry in before that. If you have any questions, feel free to ask me below. Best of luck! -Heather

I cannot believe we are at the finale already, this season flew by and hands down was filled with immense talent by the cast this year.

Ginger Zee and Val Chmerkovskiy
#teamGinandJuice
Redemption dance: Contemporary-Brave beyond words to dance with that back injury but, you did so with grace and beauty. The lifts were amazing and I loved all the emotion you brought to the dance, it absolutely was an improvement and they both should be very proud of a great season.

Scores: 9-10-9 (28 out of 30)

Freestyle: I loved their freestyle, loved that they focused on the dancing not all the props, I was hoping all 3 would do that and they absolutely did. Val and Ginger brought us a fun, delightful and very creative freestyle. The fact Ginger could dance through the pain too was incredible, back injuries are so challenging and the slightest movement can cause the sharpest pain. Ginger grew so much as a dancer this season and I loved the partnership she had with Val. They should absolutely be proud of themselves no matter what the results are.

Scores: 10-10-10 (Perfect score)

Nyle DiMarco & Peta Murgatroyd
#redefiningdance

Redemption dance: Quickstep-Overall it was a good dance, definitely improvement over the last quickstep. Nyle continues to amaze every single week and he has truly taken us on a journey this season.

Scores: 9-9-9 (27 out of 30)
Freestyle: Their freestyle was beautiful, moving and again showed the tremendous emotional journey that Nyle and Peta have taken us on this season. The music was perfect. I thought it was one of the best examples of modern dance I can ever remember witnessing. Peta and Nyle have done such a beautiful job this season and truly raised the awareness of what it is like to be deaf. Nyle truly has shown everyone that you can do absolutely anything you put your mind to.

Scores: 10-10-10 (Perfect score!)

Paige VanZant & Mark Ballas
#teamPowRightInTheKisser
Redemption Dance: Salsa-They chose the Salsa because this is the one Mark was injured on. Bruno said she out-danced Mark. Len felt it was lacking hip action. I thought they did a great job, Paige truly showed her improvement and growth as a dancer!

Scores: 10-9-10 (29 out of 30)

Freestyle: That dance was amazing. All 3 freestyles were fantastic. I loved that Mark kept it simple and focused on the emotion and highlighted the dancing. BC Jean also did a beautiful performance to accompany them. It’s been so nice to see the confidence Paige has gained through her journey on the show. It’s one of my favorite partnerships with Mark over the seasons too. They had a unique trust and bond that truly shined through.

Scores: 10-10-10 (Perfect score!)

This season it could truly be any of the 3 as the Mirror Ball champion all for completely different reasons. They all shined, they all excelled, they all had amazing partnerships with their pro’s and no matter what happens tomorrow they all should be very proud of their journey. Bravo to all three pro’s for fantastic choreography this season, I truly loved this season!

Until next time,
Xoxoxo
Heather

May 23, 2016

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