A first-hand experience of the Radio 1 Teen Awards 2012 - what it was like to be there!

Here's a guest blog collaboration with someone who was at this year's Teen Awards:

signs directing us to the Teen Awards

 "I initially applied for tickets to Radio 1's Teen Awards on a whim - I didn't think I'd actually get such sought-after tickets, but seeing as I happened to be listening to the radio at the time they went on sale, I figured I'd give it a go. Let me tell you, I sure am happy that I was one of the lucky 9,000 who ended up getting a ticket, as the hours between 2 and 5 pm on Sunday 7th October 2012 were probably the most star-studded of my life.

The event was very smoothly organised, which is just as well considering all the attendees were between the ages of 14 and 17 (I would also estimate that a good 95% were girls, which is hardly surprising considering the two main performers of the afternoon were One Direction and Taylor Swift.) There were tons of stewards and signs lining the routes from all the nearby stations directing excitable teenagers to Wembley Stadium, and just as many when we came out. Our tickets told us which entrance to go to, and once there, we didn't even have to queue to get in. Just a quick ticket scan, handbag check and water bottle chuck and that was that, we were in! It was interesting quite how many of the lucky ticket-holders were buying all the over-priced merchandise inside, but I suppose the chances of going twice are incredibly slim, so why not eh? (Oh yes, I remember... I'm saving for designer handbags, obvs.)

the arena for the Teen Awards

The arena seemed ginormous, and was packed to the brim with screaming girls. There were cubes hanging from the ceiling, and throughout the afternoon, we were dazzled with balloons falling from the ceiling, gold streamers flying out, confetti and even fireworks. Radio 1 really pulled out all the stops. The atmosphere was absolutely electric while we waited for the Teen Awards to start. Everyone there was buzzing with teenage enthusiasm - I know my heart was beating a little faster at the prospect of seeing One Direction in the flesh. Our seats were pretty good too actually... We were so close!

The whole of the show/ceremony was broadcast on TV and radio, so there's no point in me going through the whole running order bit by bit here, but basically, IT WAS AMAZING! The afternoon was a constant stream of celebrities, not just those performing, but also loads coming out to present awards and greet Teen Hero winners. Let's see... Paloma Faith, Laura Trott, Jamie Laing (from Made In Chelsea), JLS, Jack Whitehall, Professor Green, Fearne Cotton and Greg Rutherford to name but a few! And if that wasn't enough, there were video messages from Daniel Radcliffe, Peter Andre, Tom Daley and more!

Nick Grimshaw was presenting the whole of the awards, with Gemma Cairney doing backstage interviews, and I must say they both did a cracking job at entertaining us. The whole afternoon was the perfect mix of musical performances, video clips, award presentations (such as "male hottie" and "best album") and chat. It was also great having the more serious Teen Hero awards for "normal" people who had done or been through incredible, inspirational things.

I think most of the audience members were amazed at the fact that One Direction were brought on to stage right at the beginning of the show, and then multiple times throughout the afternoon leading up to their headlining performance at the end. It's safe to say their many appearances went down well with everyone there. Myself included. (Hey, I'm only female!) And their banter with Grimmy throughout was top notch. No-one was surprised that the boys won each award they were nominated for (three in total) as the awards were voted for by Radio 1 listeners.

Taylor Swift performing at the Teen Awards

Taylor Swift was the stand-out performance for me (aside from 1D, obvs). She's a great performer and a fantastic role model for young girls. She even treated us to the first live performance of her new single! However, Neyo also  knows how to put on a show. Little Mix  brought back girl power with their two songs, and Fun got the show off to a fab start. In my opinion, Conor Maynard was slightly mediocre, but that's just me. A lot of girls love the guy. And appaz he was ill, so I'll forgive him.

Everything ran pretty smoothly. There were a couple of times were everything seemed to stop - nothing was happening, and we all just sat there while some music was played. I say we sat there, but a lot of girls were on their feet dancing.

One Direction performing at the Teen Awards!

Naturally, One Direction were the highlight of the afternoon. I saw a girl crying her eyes out in hysterics during their performance, and I doubt she was the only one. I think what girls love is 1D's banter and how well they get on together - you can see it on stage when they perform too. A lot of 1D haters say "They can't actually sing, girls just fancy them", but this just isn't true. They CAN all sing (but yes, we do fancy them). What's more, they're also fantastic performers, and the boys had a surprise up their sleeves for us... While covering an Ed Sheeran song, the boys literally flew over the audience while strapped on to boxes. (Hard to explain... See the pic below.) It was that extra little "wow" to finish off the afternoon. Not that we hadn't been "wowed" enough. I'm sure I'm not the only one whose ears were ringing and cheeks were hurting from smiling after leaving the arena. Well done, Radio 1."

One Direction singing whilst flying at the Teen Awards