Inside The 2011 NewNowNext Awards

The NewNowNext Awards air tonight on Logo, and this year, I was fortunate enough to nab a ticket (+1) for the event, which taped last week. I really had no idea what was in store for me, but the evening proved to be quite fun, especially when my friend Richard and I got placed essentially in the front row. If you don’t mind me being a little braggadocious, we were directly in front of True Blood’s Joe Manganiello and Kristin Bauer, behind actor Colin Egglesfield and singer Robyn, and down the row from Tabatha Coffey. My brain nearly exploded. Plus, not so far away were Gretchen Rossi and my favorite restauranteur, Lisa VanderPump. Okay, one last braggy thing: we had better seats than Paula Abdul (although, she got a couch).

Anyway, after the jump are grainy pics from our cell phones.

To give you an idea of how close we were, this was the view from our seats. There’s a high probability you might see me on the telecast as various luminaries receive awards. Fun fact: Carrie Fisher nearly tumbled down these very steps.

Singer Wynter Gordon sings a song in the middle of the audience. We later chatted with her, and she was quite lovely. Quite quite.

During a break, Tabatha Coffey stands to stretch her legs. She’s the blonde blur in the background (as opposed to the blonde blur in the foreground). Sadly, this was taken after Robyn had left her seat, and thus I was unable to complete the trifecta of blonde blurs.

Another blurry yet stirring image of Paula Abdul, Adam Lambert, and Aubrey O’Day (in the red).

James Van Der Beek hosts the awards. As you can probably tell, our view has changed a touch. Turns out we were sitting in Wynter Gordon’s seats; so we were moved from our plumb position to a slightly less but nonetheless still very plumby second position.

There was a lot of moving around. Aubrey O’Day was constantly in a new seat. Eventually she wound up in front of us. Here she is from a highly unflattering angle. Sorry, Aubs.

Adam Lambert stands proud.

Richard with the Angry Birds.

Richard with Wynter Gordon. She was all smiles and sweetness, but when it came time for a photo, she turned on the “FEROSHA,” as they say.

An errant Van Der Beek.

Giant balloons bounce across the audience during a performance by Oh Land. I felt like this was a metaphor for our fragile yet buoyant existence. And/or a simple reminder that the gayz like balloons.

Robyn sings.

THE END.

Fun times had by all. Be sure to tune in tonight at 10 PM, especially because the lovely and wonderful Michelle Collins will be reporting from backstage!

Oh, and if you’re bored, check out Richard’s website. Also feel free to become fans of his plaid shirts.