The masters of ceremonies were keeping the audience entertained, for the moment.
Michael V. Martina / The Herald
Amateur singers and models strutted around the stage, drawing shouts and applause from more than 100 teenagers crammed against a stage in the middle of Alderwood mall’s main plaza Friday night.
Then a man walked out from behind a black curtain to the right of the stage.
The crowd erupted in screams.
The man briefly waved at the crowd and gave a wry smile. Then he wheeled out a bin from behind the curtain and walked off to the side.
False alarm. It wasn’t the person everyone was waiting for.
Minutes later, however, five guys all dressed in white moseyed out from behind the curtain.
B5, a popular hip-hop group, had arrived.
The crowd of teens and a stranded parent or two burst into screams.
Digital cameras and camera phones popped out of the crowd, and ear-to-ear smiles stretched across the faces of a front line of teenage girls waving their hands and aiming their point-and-clicks at the boy band.
Suddenly, no one was paying attention to the stage host, who spent most of the next hour or so trying to convince everyone not to crowd a table where B5 members were signing autographs.
Billed as a chance for teens to pick up some back-to-school goods and watch B5 perform live, the Teen People Magazine Rock ‘N’ Shop Tour is making its only Puget Sound-area stop this weekend at Alderwood.
It was a match made in commercial heaven. Hundreds of teenagers descended on a corner of the mall’s main plaza Friday night to shop, listen to hip-hop and browse fashion and glamour booths.
The giveaways, constant music and solo singing competitions turned the plaza into what one mother called a chaotic environment.
Between Friday and today’s events, the mall expects to draw about 1,000 teens, said Diana Carlson, Alderwood’s marketing director.
The national tour’s top attractions are pop singer Brie Larson and B5, which was enough to lure 14-year-old Everett resident Melina Silver to the mall.
“They’re hot,” Silver said bluntly when asked what she liked about B5.
Her friend, Alysa Yost, 14, smiled in agreement.
Roslie Hardi, mother of a 14-year-old son and 16-year-old daughter, was standing a good 10 feet away from the stage crowd, looking a little overwhelmed.
“It’s crazy, it’s chaotic, it’s loud,” she said.
The Bothell woman was there thanks to her kids.
While audience members gave their renditions of the “Titanic” theme song and Britney Spears hits, Everett 15-year-olds Nisha Patel and Lara Akanni were checking out the booths.
They were confident about their spending plans, saying they’d probably lighten their purses by $200 for back-to-school clothes.
They were less confident about whether they’d try out for the singing and fashion competitions.
“We might,” Akanni said.
“She will!” Patel said, nudging her friend and laughing.
At a Teen People giveaway booth, Amelia Matera, 24, was dishing out bag after bag of T-shirts, lip gloss and CDs.
“If you’re a girl, you want one,” Matera said.
Bins of giveaway bags rested next to the booth. Matera said there were 48 bins, and they were going through them at a fast pace.
“It’s been crazy,” she said. “My last mall promotion was with Washington Mutual. That wasn’t as big.”
Reporter Chris Collins: 425-339-3436 or ccollins@ heraldnet.com.
Today at the mall
When: 2 to 5 p.m. at Alderwood mall’s main inside plaza.
What: Fashion show presentation, singing competition finals, singer/actress Brie Larson will perform and sign autographs.
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