TJ Martell Presents FAMILY DAY LA

It was a beautiful and sunny day for Family Day LA on Sunday presented by the TJ Martell foundation and honoring Ken Bunt, president of the Disney Music Group.  It was an early start to get to Studio City in LA and head to the CBS studio backlot where a stage was being set up, booths constructed, and animals let into the petting zoo gates.  I headed over to the red carpet to check in and meet up with the other social media outlets there to take pictures of stars.  It was my first red carpet experience and man does it go by fast!  These stars get pushed and pulled along the line to stop for pictures and interviews while trying to do it as fast as they can so they can reach everyone!  I had a great time chit chatting with these talented folks while they were waiting for their representative to give them their next task.  I talked to Alyson Stoner about fashion and how she just wears her roommates clothes, and Asia Monet Ray showed me her tamagotchi pet.

The first performance of the afternoon was from Sabrina Carpenter.  This girl is so young but has the maturity and voice of an adult.  She is also the sweetest girl you could meet and her songs also had the sweetness of her personality.  Sabrina sang her new song Silver Nights and it was beautiful and a perfect download for the holiday season.  It’s available now on itunes!  Sabrina also did a cover of Meghan Trainor’s Dear Future Husband and knocked it out of the studio back lot.

After Sabrina left the stage, five mics and chairs were placed on stage as the crowd whispered excitedly to one another about who would be next.  Five amazing ladies took the stage and the audience screamed for Fifth Harmony.  These girls have been blowing up the music scene as the second season winners of the X factor and winning the MTV Video Music Award for Artist to Watch.  Fifth Harmony performed their song Sledgehammer along with their hit BO$$.  My favorite part about watching this group perform was how inspiring they were to young girls.  They brought up how ladies like to dress up but it’s not to impress other men, it’s to feel good about yourself and you should be doing that stuff for yourself.  They are very empowering women and I’m excited to see what steps they take next in their careers.

Things got a little country when Lucy Hale took stage.  Lucy Hale started as a singer but got a role on ABC Family’s Pretty Little Liars and has been so busy with acting.  Luckily Lucy just released her album Road Between and dazzled the audience with her tunes.   She started off her performance with Goodbye Gone.  Lucy’s voice is like a mix of Shania Twain and Carrie Underwood.  Needless to say, it’s amazing and if you’re into country girls, you HAVE to pick up this album because you’ll love it.  Lucy and her band also threw in a medley of old songs with a country twist and my favorite one to pop up was Piece of My Heart by Janis Joplin.  Lucy Hale ended her set with Lie a Little Better and headed off stage.

The girls were screaming, the sun was going behind the trees, and the parents were checking the time on their phones.  It was finally time for R5 to hit the stage.  Playing in their hometown, R5 started off their set with Things Are Looking Up and the whole crowd started singing along.  The band also played their new single Smile that just came out about a week ago and it was their first time ever playing it live for an audience.  You can also buy that single on itunes now!

My favorite part of the day though was at the end when there was a performance by the Los Angeles trapeze troupe Le Petit Cirque.  These stilt walking, ball balancing, tight rope tacklers are all KIDS who wow audiences at a professional level.  You can find out more about them by visiting the website www.lestudiola.com

Family Day LA was a huge success and the TJ Martell foundation raised around $30,000 just that one day in Los Angeles which all went towards researching to find the cure for leukemia, cancer and AIDS.  This year was also the first sold out event that Family Day LA has put on and by looking at how much fun all these kids were having, it’s going to be sold out for years and years to come.