I am 26 years old from Philly and I have a friend who is an entertainment lawyer which means that he knows tons of people in the music business. One of his very close friends just happens to work with 98 Degrees. Lucky me:) 98 Degrees were in Philly on December 6, 1998 performing at the TLA on South Street (where all of the hippies meet). The TLA is an old movie theater that holds about...ummm...I think 800 people. The show was standing room only which meant that you had to get to the venue very early to be the first person in line so you can get up front. The last concert I went to at the TLA was New Kids on April 1, 1994 and it was a horrible experience 'cause the shows are standing room only and everyone is pushing and shoving to get to the front. In the middle of that concert my friend Kelly and I went to the very back so we could breathe. Anyway, back to 98 Degrees. My friend was supposed to have dinner with the group and a couple of their people on that Sunday so he told me to meet him inside the venue.

I found out a couple of days before the concert that the guys would be doing an autograph signing at a record store in the Gallery (which is our mall in center city) at 2pm. When Kelly, Melissa, Angela, and I finally got to the Gallery I could not believe the amount of people in line. I was surprised because 98 Degrees doesn't get played very much on the radio here so I didn't know how many people in my area had heard of them. Needless to say, I was not gonna wait in that long line. I mean, I love Justin and all, but I just wanted to hurry and get to South Street 'cuz my friend was gonna get me in early so I could be in the front row. My friends and I were waiting in the store for the guys to come out. After they finally arrived...about 10-15 minutes late...I went over to my friend's friend to say hi and that I would be seeing him later that night with my friend at the show. He stopped the autograph line and brought me over and introduced me to each of the guys and told them that we had a mutual friend. Justin was soooo weet and looks soooo good with his platinum hair. After that, I told him I would see him later at the TLA. So, my friends and I walked to the TLA and when we got there I could not believe the line already. I was soooo upset 'cause there was about 50-60 people in front of us :(

I kept trying to find my friend but none of the pay phones were working. I finally met up with my friend's friend again and asked him if he heard from him. He said not yet and they couldn't go to dinner 'cuz the autograph signing was running late. I don't know where he was but I was getting antsy because I didn't wanna keep waiting in that line. About a half and hour before the doors were open on of 98 Degrees managers walked by and when he saw my friend's friend talking to me he asked if everything was okay. He told the manager that he knew me and we were still waiting to hear from my friend because I was supposed to go in before the rest of the crowd. He finally just said let's go and took me and my friends inside the hallway and told the one door guy that we were to get in before everyone else a few minutes before the doors opened. Thank god! Now I didn't have to worry about getting up front. The only thing I had to worry about was the rest of the crowd because they were talking about us. While waiting in the hallway, we met a guy who is friends with Nick and Jeff who was soooo sweet. Finally... we were let in the venue and went right to front center. The only thing between the floor and the stage was some steel barricade that wasn't bolted to the floor too well, which was gonna make the show hectic. The start of the showkept being delayed 'cuz everyone was pushing to get to the front and everyone was acting crazy.

I can't even count how many timesI was whacked in the head...and this was before the guys came out on stage. They kept saying that the show wouldn't be started until everyone calmed down. Finally, music started to play and the guys came out performing to 'Heat It Up'. Justin is the most awesome dancer...Jeff can use some work...but they all looked sooo hot in their DKNY silver outfits. All during the show Justin kept looking down and smiling, winking, and wavung, with his pinky finger. If ya haven't figured it out yet...I LUV JUSTIN. As the concert continued to go on I thought I was gonna fall over the barricade 'cause it kept leaning forward. It was so nuts in there. Justin even stopped a few times to ask the crowd to move back because the people up front were getting crushed. A few times that he said this he was looking right down at me and my friends. They finally sang my fave song...'Take My Breath Away' and Justin said this song is going out to someone special and he was looking straight in my eyes while he was talking. During the entire show, Justin would come over to the center of the stage and do his thing...and he looked so awesome doing it...and he'd smile at me. All I could do was laugh. The last song they did of course was 'Invisible Man'. Justin does the talking thing at the end of that song and he came over to the edge of the stage and knelt down in front of me and held my hand while saying his part and gave my hand a little peck. After the show they got some roses and started throwing them in the crowd. Justin was the first guy back on the stage with his flowers and came right over to me and handed me one. Ahhhhh, that was soooo sweet. After the show I kept looking around for my friend and I didn't even know if he showed up. I then saw his friend come out onto the stage and he was looking around. I called his name and when he saw me he told me to wait a minute. Next thing I see, my friend came out onto the stage and told me to go to the side of the stage.

He took me backsatge and was introducing me to some pople...who they were I couldn't even tell ya. They had a little meet and greet room where about ten fans were waiting for the guys. But lucky me, my friend and I were taken to a private room where we waited. After about 10 minutes I heard these voices coming down the steps. Well, here they were...looking so good and tired. Jeff was singing 'Still'. He was doing his normal Jeff thing when he was singing...moving that hand back and forth. I was just looking at Jeff while he was singing and he was like,"I will still love you...hi." My friend told the guys that they were going to be bigger than the New Kids (who I also luv) and I think that made their day. I was introduced to the guys once again. Justin was standing next to me and looked down and asked what happened to my flower. I told him the rose fell off when his manager bumped into me. He said he'd get me a new one but they didn't have anymore. They are truly the sweetest guys you'll ever meet. They were having a good ole' time justtalking about whatever. It was now picture time. Of course, the first person I wanted my pic with was Justin. He had his arm around my waist and we were standing infront of a mirror. After the pic was taken Justin said he thought we should take another one cuz' he didn't want the pic to be messed up because of the mirror. So he started to scoot me towards the corner with his arm still around my waist. I then had my pic taken with Jeff and had to wait for Nick to get out of the bathroom. When Drew stood next to me I couldn't believe how short he was. I mean, he is taller than me, but I thought he was taller than that. When he was standing next to me I told him, "I can't believe how short you are", and he put a frown on his face and walked away. Nick was like, "Oh great, now when Drew has to go to therapy for this we're gonna tell them it was Denise's fault." I told him I was sorry and he said he thought that he could forgive me:) We said our goodbyes and told them that I would see them again. I can't wait now cuz' they're gonna be back here 4/22 and my friend got me 3rd row (1st and 2nd are reserved for contests, etc.). Needless to say, I cannot wait to see them again. I hope everyone gets to experience what I have cuz' 98 Degrees are four of the nicest and sweetest people around. And they are not too bad looking and they can sing!

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