About Last Night... The Z100 Jingle Ball

By the time I actually entered The H&M Artist Gift Lounge, the backstage area reserved for VIPs and press at Z100’s annual Jingle Ball at Madison Square Garden, most of the heavy-hitters had been there, done that already. (Like Ashley Tisdale --"No pics of her new nose job, please" -- Jennifer Hudson and Hayden Panettiere.) But within two minutes I was staring into three terrific-looking fresh faces: those belonging to The Jonas Brothers. I asked them if they had ever spent Christmas in a foreign country and they all said no. And when I followed up with “if you could, which one?” simultaneously they all said, “Italy!”

I spotted Perez Hilton, the host of PAPER'S recent Nightlife Awards, whose joyous expression shows he was probably having the most fun of anyone there. Shortly after, Avril Lavigne came through -- unfortunately, she was only allowed to scowl! No pictures and no questions. But on the way out near the door was the little table with Bratz Neon Diva dolls, one of which she chose. Thinking fast on my feet, I asked, "Did you pick the sexy blonde, like you?” She smiled and said, “Yeah.”

After that rush, I was empowered to sneak out into the hallway and mix it up with all the mothers with their little digitals and snap a few other stars like Fall Out Boy’s Pete Wentz and flawlessly made-up Alicia Keys. They both posed and chatted with the kids.

In the hallway, a wizened little seven- or eight-year-old face looked up at me and said "Lady, where do I get one of those?"(referring to the laminate I wore that read GIFT LOUNGE) When I explained I was press, he simply said, "Can I borrow it and get some stuff?" How cute was that?

Pretending to go to the ladies room, which separates the backstage from the performance area, I took a giant step for mankind into the concert area… and it was all one could hope for, under 21 or over: lightning bolts, bombs bursting, thunder roaring, kids screaming, smoke rising, thousands smiling... for a moment I thought I was at Wembley and Freddie Mercury was still alive!

Hayden Panettiere and Chace Crawford

Alicia Keys and fans

Boys Like Girls

One Republic

The Jonas Brothers