Anthony Fedorov and the fan who went to Philly for a viewing party
Legend has it that Rickey once went from New York City to Rob's house in Philadelphia for the first viewing party for Anthony Fedorov on the night he sang "I've Got You" by Marc Anthony.
If Fantasia made me passionate about American Idol and was instrumental in bringing fans to my blog, it was via Anthony Fedorov that I first made contact with fans of the show in a truly meaningful way. His fans and friends sent me pics and all kinds of info, and embraced me as their most visible cheerleader on the Web -- a role I will always cherish. And even if most of the Fedoration have moved on to Anthony's Official Fan site, they will always hold a special place in my Idol fan experience.
As a bit of perspective, when Perez Hilton was just starting out, back when he was called PageSixSixSix, he linked to me via one of Anthony Fedorov's pictures. He described Anthony as a cutie patootie and the best male singer of Season 4 among other praises. He even called me scrumptious! Teehee. Read it all here. Well, just this week, Perez called Anthony a loser for starring in the off-Broadway play the Fantasticks. I've been a bit pissed at Mario recently for his treatment of Sanjaya, but all I will say about this is that it's unfortunate -- millions of hits a day can truly suck the humanity out of a person. Meanwhile, two years later, we're still fans Anthony, and will not forget the 3 months of inspiration he gave us in 2005.
Anthony had a trachectomy when he was a baby. That's why he has that "hole" in his neck. (I finally saw it in person! -- Cute! LOL) He could have lost his ability to speak because of that, but he survived, appeared on Idol and is making a career out of singing. Many singers out there would drop whatever they are doing to get a chance to perform in the Fantasticks, and Anthony is doing that right now. I think that's still pretty good as far as careers go.
Anthony lost his only sibling, his brother Denis to cancer last year, and he is transforming that tragedy into something good as the spokesperson for the Sarcoma Foundation of America. After the performance, members of Anthony's fanclub gave him a donation on stage for the foundation.
It was great to see Anthony, and finally say thank you, shake his hand, give him a hug, listen to him thank me, and take pictures. I hope there are still more opportunities for him in the future. Go Bunthony!
Tonight however was made even better by getting a chance to see some of the fans face to face. I finally met oOo! How cool is that? And all those guys whose faces lit up when they saw me -- that was amazing. After two years, thank you for remembering. I love you all!
Sanjaya. Anthony. Fantasia... next.
Video clips:
Check Presentation
Anthony's Handsome Best Buddies
With the fans and Tom Jones, the writer, lyricist and director of the Fantasticks who also stars in the show as Henry
