Interviewing Machine Gun Kelly Before His Set At #WangoTango

Wow. Today has been a crazy day. I feel like all my days have been crazy lately. Happy Saturday. I had one goal today, and that was to interview Machine Gun Kelly at Wango Tango. There was a 50% chance I would get him. You never know with red carpets… ever. The artist could not show up, or show up for photos only, or not want to talk to you. I didn’t want to get my hopes up, but I was listening to his new project all day. Literally. bloom just dropped yesterday.

Wango Tango is 102.7 KIIS FM’s annual pop music festival, which is huge. This was concluded after asking multiple people and seeing their reactions. It seems like it has been around for years and years. Makes sense for LA’s #1 Hit Radio Station. As much as I loved the lineup (Miley Cyrus, Maroon 5, Backstreet Boys), I knew I wanted to grab MGK. I love him- as an artist and a human being.

It took me a solid hour to get here. LA traffic never fails. What’s worse is the traffic getting into the stadium. This took place at the Stubhub Center in Carson. To me, the buttfuck of nowhere lmao. I’ve been here once for a boxing event. It was seriously by the grace of God that I caught MGK. Like, if I left the crib one minute later, I could have missed him. I arrive at the media check-in tent and was informed that he had already walked. That didn’t stop me.

I rush inside the stadium and run into Tamar on the way, who was actually sent to escort me. I was so impatient that I started walking on my own lmao. But she told me MGK was still on the carpet, and proceeded to page them to hold him for me. What a doll. That made my day. She knew he was the only artist I wanted to cover. Literally, couldn’t have been more helpful in that moment. Such a sweetheart.

I arrive to find a yellow carpet, against a really cute backdrop that had the KISS FM logo plastered all over it. MGK was busy taking pictures on the other end. I thought to myself, “oh thank God.” Until they brought him over, literally maybe in the next 10 seconds. I had just enough time to pull the DX mic that connected to my phone. Huge thanks to my baby girl Arianna for helping me record. She’s one of the cutest people I’ve met in media.

Damn, you guys. My heart. I don’t know what it was, but my heart felt for MGK today. Don’t get me wrong, he greeted me so warmly. He was so fucking excited for his album bloom to be out, and was even more excited when I told him I listened to it all day. He literally grabbed my head with both hands and thanked me. I was like omg lmao. Like I said, huge fan. Ever since his “Wild Boy” record. That shit goes too hard.

I asked some personal questions and you could just tell homeboy was hurt. He’s going through some stuff. I remember he had a near death scare at a show recently, and I was genuinely concerned for his health and well-being. Me, as a fan, so I could only imagine his friends and family. That same concern hit me tonight. I asked if sobriety was a struggle for him at the moment, in which he pauses and responds, “No comment.” That answered my question right there.

i will literally do anything to put on for an artist.

— Shirley Ju (@shirju) May 14, 2017

I literally felt for him for the next 30 minutes. Don’t know why I couldn’t let it go. I tagged along with Arianna while they got food in the main court, until my homegirl Sandrine showed up to be my date for the show. This Stubhub Center is huge, home to the LA Galaxy. I miss soccer so much. I stopped at this booth that had a soccer ball you could kick into a makeshift goal. I had a blast. I told the dude that my email address was still sjearthquakes2000@yahoo.com and how Landon Donovan was my password for years. Not sure if he cared lmao.

As my girl is getting her chicken fingers, we see MGK take the stage on the screen. It was time to hustle to the actual show. I wanted to get at least one video for DX. Our tickets landed us good seats, according to the staff. But you know me. I didn’t stop there lmao. Literally lead us all the way to the very front of the stage. Some of the workers were chill, but some were not. I just let my press pass do the talking.

.@machinegunkelly and @Camila_Cabello performing "bad things" at #wangotango pic.twitter.com/zsYPzBue69

— HipHopDX (@HipHopDX) May 14, 2017

So happy to get this close to MGK. But here’s the part that tripped me out the most. This many RT’s?! Not for MGK. But Camila Cabello. Damn. She is something else lmao. Truth to be told, I almost didn’t post this because the sound was terrible. But that didn’t matter. As long as Camila was in it, her fans were happy. My girl Lupe had to explain it to me. She said the Harmonizers are the second Beyhive. Say what? Lmao.

.@machinegunkelly playing the guitar with @Camila_Cabello is a beautiful thing. #wangotango pic.twitter.com/N2UbVJQAOQ

— Shirley Ju (@shirju) May 14, 2017

Camila is the one who left 5th Harmony because she was too good solo, allegedly. But anyways. MGK playing the guitar was a beautiful sight. In front of thousands of fans. And then I ran into my boo Nelson who told us the other pit was better, so we literally went all the way around lmao. It was the most diverse crowd tonight. Lots of teenagers, and teenagers with their parents. It was cute.

Next was Niall Horan, whom we enjoyed seeing all the little girls scream their heads off to. Flashback to when I was a kid. Actually, my parents were strict af. I don’t even think I was allowed to go to these things. And then, I joined the screaming teens. True life: I love Miley Cyrus. No shame.

Sorry, I had 0 service so I’m just going ot use KIIS’ posts lmao. Miley performed her single “Malibu” for the first time tonight. She looked drop dead gorgeous. And she definitely did not have a bra on lmao, but hey. She’s Miley Cyrus. We wanted her to play “Party In The USA” so fucking bad lmao but “We Can’t Stop” sufficed. It was balloons galore up on that stage. And she kept spraying everyone with a huge water gun. Miley’s so talented.

Halsey was next. She had on the dopest see-thru pants. She performed “Closer,” her record with The Chainsmokers, that had everybody singing along. Great record. Then, Maroon 5, whom I was waiting for the entire evening. They’re the kings of Wango Tango. You know they’re important when Ryan Seacrest personally comes out to introduce them. They played all their hits: “This Love,” “Harder To Breathe,” etc. It was so nostalgic. Hello, Adam Levine.

Someone hit me on the way home on the 110 freeway. Hello, life.