chapter9: blow the internet up
april 3, 2009

  It’s now April, and it was the first day of the 7STARz Carnival Tour. The first stop was Los Angeles for a three-day concert. They were at the Staples Center for final tech and dress rehearsals.

 When the STARz bands arrived, Breanna got in front of 8STARz, and gave a smug smile. Maddie asked, “What do you want?”

 Breanna asked, “Were you given your dressing rooms?”

 “Not yet. Why?”

 With that, Breanna dragged the 8 to a door that had a unisex sign. She said as she opened the door, “This is your dressing room.”

 The 8 saw inside the bathroom. It was dirty, and it stuck. Emily said in a disgusted tone, “Ew! No! So gross!”

 Hayley added, “This is, like, so not our dressing room!”

 Ryan asked, “You’re joking, right?”

 Breanna said, “Nope. Enjoy getting shit on your shit!”

 With that, Breanna walked away, with an air of arrogance. Emily asked, “Okay, this is, like, so gross!”

 Ryan asked, “How can we get ready for our big premiere when we’re in a shitty bathroom?”

 Greg said, “Look, this is just temporary. Once we get people talking, we’ll get a real dressing room.”

 Sarah chimed in, “Greg’s right. We get will that dressing room, but we have to earn it. So let’s rock the stage and shock the audience.”

 The members agreed, and started getting ready.

 It’s now evening, and it was time for the concert to start. 8STARz were strutting backstage, getting ready to go on stage. They wore their very-much altered uniforms. 

 The girls wore white, sequined sport bras; blue cropped, studded, half-sleeved blazers; blue super-short pleaded miniskirts with chains, stars, crossbones and the 8STARz logo, and tulle underneath them; and combat boots with scratches, crossbones, and the band logo.

 The guys wore white tank tops that showed off their newly chiseled six-pack abs; blue, half-sleeved blazers with studs and chains on the shoulders; blue skinny pants with holes, tears, and chains; and combat boots with scratches. Both the guys and the girls had the band logo sewed onto the blazers.

 When the 7STARz members saw the 8 strutting in their new uniforms, they weren’t too pleased. The 8’s uniforms were supposed to a slightly ‘flashier’ version of their Jefferson Academy uniforms. Instead, their costumes were sexy and provocative. 

 Breanna got in front of them, and demanded, “What the fuck are you kids wearing?! You’re supposed to be a Disney band, not RBD and the Pussycat Dolls!”

  Maddie said smugly, “You’re about to witness the newest Twitter trend. Besides, we’re already YouTube and MySpace famous. We’ll building our new fan base with our grand premiere.”

 Then Emily said in a snobby tone, “Time for 8STARz to shine, and 7STARz to lose their shine. Wait, you don’t have shine!”

 With that, the 8 went on stage as the first song came on. It was Blow It Up. It had a version of rap, set to a rock-pop song. Pretty much the entire band sang together. Next was RockStar, and the girls sang this song. After that was their YouTube hit, Forever. Ryan sang Vaughn’s part. Then they closed the show with their upcoming debut single, Explode. The leads were Emily, Sarah, Greg, Maddie, Alec, and Ryan.

 During the performance, the audience recognized the 8 from both YouTube and MySpace. The 8 seemed very kid-friendly and innocent. Instead, the band was dressed provocatively, and even a few dance moves were sensual. The audience was shocked to see this Disney band like this. But just because they were shocked didn’t mean they didn’t like it. Half of the people were kids and teenagers, and they loved the 8’s premiere! The girls screamed for Ryan and Greg. The parents weren’t too crazy for 8STARz’ looks and dance routines.

 After it was all over, the 8 left stage in excitement. They couldn’t believe the audience was cheering for them. As they were heading towards their unisex bathroom, Breanna stood in front of them.

 Sarah asked, “What now, Bree?”

 She said angrily, “Don’t call me ‘Bree’! I can’t believe you got the audience go crazy for you! You’re…you’re a fucking kiddy band!”

 Greg said smugly, “Yeah, well, we’re not a kiddy band anymore.

 Emily added in a snobby tone, “Be sure you check Twitter tonight and tomorrow. We should be trending very soon.”

 With that, the 8 went to their “room,” leaving Breanna fuming. Once the 8 entered, they got on their phones, and checked on their Twitter apps. They saw they were trending high. There were hashtags, such as #8starz, #hollisterboycandance, #haddiemoran, and #8starzbetterthan7starz.

 When they read this, Sarah told Maddie and Ryan, “Okay, you two are geniuses. Your altered costumes and the slight change in our choreography got us trending! You two should team up.”

 Ryan and Maddie exchanged looks, and Maddie laughed nervously, “I don’t know about that. Ryan, what do you think?”

 He answered, “I guess we could team up to help make the band racy.”

 With that, Maddie’s green eyes widen. She said, “Okay.”

 It’s the next day, and the STARz bands were still in LA. At an elite coffee-shoppe, Vaughn was there. He recently got both a movie role, and a major spot on a reality show. He was given a small role in a major movie, but he was going to get a huge paycheck if the movie becomes successful. As for the reality show, it was a search for the next sitcom star, and he was one of the contestants. Truth be told, he was more interested in acting than becoming a popstar.

 Vaughn was at the coffee-shop, looking at his phone. He was on all three of his apps, MySpace, Facebook, and Twitter. He heard that his former band, 8STARz were trending really high. They were one of the most talked pop acts on both MySpace and YouTube.

 He was still angry with the 8 for kicking him out. He knew he was better and hotter than any of the other members. But instead, he felt they were jealous of him. Now? In his mind, he’s doing better than his former band. Yet, he couldn’t believe they’re once again the most talked-about pop act in America. This time, it’s their provocative clothes and somewhat sensual dance moves.

 As he was on his phone, Breanna entered the coffee-shop. He looked up, and saw her come in. He got up from his seat, and approached her. She saw him, and asked, “And you are?”

 Feeling offended, he said, “Breanna, you added me to 8STARz. I performed with them before they kicked me out.”

 Breanna blankly stared at him, then she said, “Oh yeah, the glasses guy who can’t really sing or dance.”

 “If I sucked, then why did you add me?”

 “I don’t know. Our producer wanted a nerd in the band.”

 “Okay, that sounds like bullshit.”

 “What do you want?”

 “I want to know what you think about 8STARz overshadowing you and 7STARz on the internet.”

 That apparently Breanna, so she asked, “What do you mean ‘overshadowing’ 7STARz?”

 “You don’t know? 8STARz are being talked about all over MySpace, Facebook, and Twitter. People have uploaded videos from the concert on YouTube, and their performances are getting more hits than the 7STARz videos.”

 Breanna was apparently becoming angry. Vaughn noticed, so he said, “I’m guessing you’re not too happy with this.”

 As soon as she was given her iced coffee, she crushed it with her hand, spilling the drink all over. Then she said, “I can’t believe those bitches!”

 That made Vaughn confused, so he asked, “What’s going on?”

 She grabbed him, and sat him down at a table. She sat down herself, and said, “Okay, you want my opinion? You got it. We never wanted 8STARz, but our fucking manager and Disney executives did. It’s all because of the shit we were caught doing. When they were formed, we were hoping this band will stay on Radio Disney. But what they did do? They become YouTube and MySpace stars! And now they’re trending on Twitter? What’s next? They top the charts alongside The Black Eyed Peas and Lady Gaga?”

 They were silent for a moment, then Breanna came up with an idea. She asked, “Vaughn, how did you feel when 8STARz kicked you out?”

 He replied, “Pissed. Why?”

 She explained as she evilly grinned, “How would you feel about keeping 8STARz from topping the mainstream charts?”

 That made Vaughn nervous, so he said, “I don’t know. I mean, I’m not happy they’ve moved forward without me. But I’m to start filming a movie, and a reality show. I’m cool with my life now.”

 “But how would you feel if 8STARz become a flop?”

 Vaughn thought for a moment, and said, “It would be satisfying. I mean, they all suck in dancing and singing. They can’t even act to save their lives. But I don’t know.”

 “Just team up with me to take down your former band. They should be easy to take down as long as they haven’t released anything yet. Besides, they’re a spin-off band. Spin-offs rarely take off.”

 Vaughn was quiet for a minute or two. Then he said, “You know what? I’m in.”

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IN THE PIC IS 8STARz' "popSTARz" UNIFORMS. AND IN THE VIDEO IS THEIR DEBUT SINGLE, 'EXPLODE'>>>>