illuminate s.m

[1.2] meeting

meeting

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     When we get outside, there are standing 15-20 fans outside. How do they know where I am? This happens quite regularly, and I'm always stunned by how they manage to find me. Oh, I'm so stupid. Live interview with Nick Grimshaw. There's only so many places in London that I could be. Of course, they found me. But now that they're here I don't mind meeting them. They are after all the only reason that I am doing this. I tell Nick what I want, but him and Jasmine decide to go straight to the managment and they leave me alone with my bodyguard Magnus. I start at the end of the line and take a picture with each of them as well as signing autographs and talking to them. It takes me a good fifteen minutes to meet them all before Magnus drives us back to the label.

We don't speak on the way back, but I can see him looking at me quite intensely a couple times. I look over to him and give him a smile which he returns. As we drive up to the headquarters I don't know what to feel. Meetings are always tiering and it's so stressful, I've never been particularly fond of them. Coming up with tour ideas, album discussion, signing contracts, that the fun part of it. The meetings also include being warned, being forced to cut things I want to do and places I want to go, talking about how to tell the press no if they make up a stupid rumour, and the list goes on.

Luckily today's meeting is supposed to be somewhat fun, and I don't feel too bad before walking into Nick's office. As I walk into the room I see my closest part of the crew and a few heads of the management sitting around the table. "There you are hun! Let's start." Nick smiles widely at me as I sit down in the chair next to his and Jasmine's. "Good evening everyone. Today we are going to discuss the two promo-shows, the details about the rest of the promo-period before tour and announcement of new tour-dates. We better get started then."

The first we will discuss is the promo-shows. The first is in London the day of the release, Friday, and the next is in New York on the next Wednesday. We figure out what I'm going to sing for the promo-shows and where they will be, and the rest is pretty much already decided, but needs my clearance. "But there is one thing you have to decide Adria. When do you want to go to New York? You have interviews on Saturday and early on Sunday but you can go on Sunday if you want. You also have interviews in NY on Wednesday before the show. If you stay here we have many that wants interview before Tuesday, but you can go over there early if you want."

"When are you coming then?" I haven't been travelling to much on my own for the last year because of the danger of being mobbed ad everything. The thought honestly scares me if they aren't coming the first days. But on the other side I will get some days off, and that will not happen if I stay here.

"The crew flies over on Tuesday and Magnus can't come with you until Monday so if you want to go on Sunday you have to go alone. I'm sure that won't be a problem if you just lay a bit low and take it easy." I nod thinking the situation over. It would be damn great to have free-time alone without any stress, but I don't want to be...

"You know what? I think I'd like to go in Sunday actually. You guys can follow when you can but I don't mind being alone for a day or two." Nick smiles at me and writes down more on his notepad. After this we begin with the whole promo-period. It is crazy how my album is releasing next week. My second album. And I'm still eighteen. It is just as crazy that it's one and a half years since we did this last time.

Tour. It's one of the funniest things I know, and I love it, but I already dread the exhaustion that comes with that life. I love to travel because we never really could when I were younger. I love how I now can bring my mom anywhere she wants to go. Sadly, a part of tour-life is flying which means that you barely land in a country, sing, sleep and then you leave again. For the next tour, we have put up many dates in north- and south-America, Africa, Asia, Europe and Oceania. All in all, it is 62 shows. 62 nights where I have to give everything I can on stage. It's crazy how this is my second tour, my first all-arena tour, and some of the shows are already sold out. Is it weird that things sometimes feel quite overwhelming?