As a teen growing up in Brooklyn, I always had a strong desire to attend the radio concert of the season. For one reason or another, my dreams were never fulfilled at any point during the mid-’90s. Fast-forward fifteen or so years & Z100‘s format has changed drastically. However, that didn’t stop me from accepting an invitation to cover this year’s shindig within a matter of seconds. Friday night’s press room (benefiting Food Bank For New York City) featured appearances by: Kris Allen, Ke$ha, Adam Lambert, Justin Bieber, Pitbull, Boys Like Girls, Jay Sean, Allison Iraheta, The Fray & Leighton Meester just to name a few. Over the course of the evening, I embraced my guilty pleasures while receiving the opportunity to ask Justin Bieber to name his favorite album of 2009 (Jay Z’s Blueprint 3) & inquire about Ke$ha’s fashion sense (‘I dig through the garbage’). Ha! I wouldn’t have traded the experience in for anything (except maybe a coffee date with Moz). All shots by Santiago Felipe.
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