When the stage goes dark, after Cassie's rather vindictive comment about Katie, there is a quiet sort of hushed ripple of applause around the arena. After a few seconds of silence on the stage, a single chord plays out, slow and quiet, yet somehow resonating acoustically around the arena. At the sound of the guitar, the silence in the arena is replaced by a wall of noise; the crowd cheering and applauding Katie Coyle. The backing track then comes on, playing a loop of a picked and slow acoustic piece over and over on repeat. After a while, it starts to fade, and the audience cheer, a swell in sound rising and washing over the dark and empty stage. Just then, the sound of the backing track, playing the same song again, comes back on, the loop playing softly and elegantly as the audience slowly applaud in time.
About a minute later, the stage darkness is replaced by the light on the big screen. It shows a picture of all the FCA winners from earlier tonight, eliciting another huge swell of noise from the seating area. The screen then goes dark once more. At that time, another acoustic guitar section begins, and the crowd moan ever so slightly, before a little ripple of laughter starts, and the applauding in time with the music comes in once more. As the track plays, the stage is suddenly illuminated by ten letters at the back of the stage, movie style and brilliant white, lit in contrast against a dark stage, reading K-A-T-I-E-CO-Y-L-E. The crowd start to cheer as the name of the headliner is at last shown on the stage. The lights are static and bright as the sound of the backing track fades for a second time.
As the cheering from the crowd reaches a deafening crescendo, and they cheer Katie and start to chant her name over and over, there is a large creak on the stage. The K in Katie's lit up name starts to sway slightly, as once again, there is a huge creak emanating from the stage. The letter then appears to break free from its moorings, and starts to fall, turning upside down and swinging by just the bottom corner of the K as people in the crowd collectively gasp.
A few seconds later, the cable holding the letter appears to snap, and the K falls dramatically to the stage. As it hits the stage floor though, there is a massive explosion, with fireworks, mostly pink and blue, erupting in all directions across the stage, bathing the performance arena in colour, which is only replaced by a thick smoke, covering the stage and not allowing anyone to see what is thereon. As the smoke starts to slowly subside though, the stage lights come on slowly to show a lone figure, Katie Coyle, standing there grasping a guitar tentatively. As the crowd get their first view of the singer, the noise rises again, and the cheering reaches a level not seen so far tonight. Katie beams out across the crowd, bowing slightly as the crowd cheer her name. She smiles and then turns to her band, nodding. She turns back to her mic and taps her foot in time as she says, "1..2..3..4"
Katie starts to strum the very familiar, slow and emotive opening chords to one of her biggest hits, 2011's Take The Blame. The crowd cheer as they realise what song she is playing, and Katie has to fight herself as she tries to stop the huge smile reaching from ear to ear. Katie nods slowly along to each beat of the song, the soft drum beats in the background, as her curly hair bobs and bounces ever so slightly to her motion. She opens her mouth, her eyes closed as she begins to sing the opening of the huge chart topping single, the soft and emotive words of the emotive verse being sung back at her from the floor down below, causing Katie's face to break into a smile, and her eyes to open as she makes her way through the opening verse.
Just like a bird she flies, so high and all alone//
The names still hurt her now, just like the sticks that broke her bones//
Just try to fight, to fight, but she still feels the pain inside//
The stab wounds in her back weep like the eyes set in her mind//
When it comes time for the chorus, the guitar stops, and Katie smiles at the crowd. She takes her hands from her instrument as the drum plays slowly, and she puts her hands up, brushing her hair from in her eyes. "If you know this one I want to hear you sing it with me," she says quietly, an inconspicuous statement followed by another loud cheer. Katie smiles and strums her guitar again as she makes her way to the chorus. Her eyes open wide as the crowd sing the words back at her, loudly and in time with her own haunting and flowing voice. She smiles as he sings it, looking out over an adoring crowd who sing every single wonderful lyric back at her.
Why d'you try to fight it, you were not invited//
Don't blame it all on us, you couldn't see what you ignited//
We all tried to warn you//
We gave you someone to crawl to//
Shoulder your own shame//
And take the blame//As the song draws to a close, Katie plays one last chord on her guitar, reaching for the bottle of water at her feet, and smiling. She takes a swig as the massive wall of cheering dies down, before screwing the lid back on and beaming at the crowd. She steps up to her mic. "Fan's Choice! Wow! What a reception. Thank you guys so much. It's wonderful to be here. This is the first time I have ever played live in the US. To have a chance to show you guys what I can do is wonderful. It's fantastic." She smiles and waves as the crowd cheers again.
"I want to play you another song just now. And I want to dedicate this song to two people who are very very special in my life. This track was one I released last year, and it talks about how I would happily put my own happiness far below those of other people who I really care about. So I want you guys to know that this song goes out to a wonderful guy sitting down there...Hayden Merjos."She smiles and blows Hayden a kiss. "And to my perfect little son, Lucas Coyle, who is at home just now with the babysitter. These guys mean a lot to me. This song goes out to you both. It's called My Smiles Don't Matter."
The cheering begins again as Katie smiles, and the camera cuts to Hayden Mejos who smiles and waves to the crowd, looking a little embarrassed at his dedication. Katie plays the slow picking part of the song as the band count in before joining in with the song, softly playing in the background. The stage lights behind Katie alternate between pink and purple throughout the first verse and the chorus, as she again sings with her eyes closed, her foot tapping slowly to the beat of the track as she makes her way through her own words, feeling every word of what could be her most emotional sing ever.
It's been a long time since you knew the truth//
You thought my smile was painted on//
Like a marionette, in the throes of youth//
If you'll be happy I'll be strong//
But my smiles don't matter as long you feel warm inside//
Turn a blind eye to my down-turned frown//
I'll try to keep it all, I'll hide//
No my smiles don't mean much, if it seems to make you blue//
I won't say it anymore tonight//
But when I'm alone I think of you//
When the wind comes…let it blow…//When the song gets to its quiet section, Katie stops playing and looks across her crowd once more. She sees arms waving side to side slowly, and looks at the small dancing flames of the lighters that are being held in the air. She blows kisses to the crowd as she she smiled and holds her finger to her lips as if to quieten them all down. She strums her guitar slowly and her quiet and beautiful voice flows out hauntingly over the crowd in front of her as she meanders through the very emotional bridge of the song. As she reaches towards the end of it, she allows her eyes to flit across the crowd, where they meet the gaze of Hayden Merjos, and she smiles sweetly at him.
And if I make you cry I'll go away//
But if you want me to, then I can stay//
Whatever you need, I will come through//
Because the only smile I care about…is one belonging to you//At the end of the song, Katie bows to the cheers of everyone in the arena. She smiles and blows a kiss before pointing to Hayden. She smiles again and waves. "Thank you guys. Thank you all so much. You are all too kind." She walks to the back of the stage and talks to her band again for a few seconds before nodding and walking back to the front of the stage. She waves again and throws a guitar pick into the crowd before picking up another and strumming the instrument again. She smiles and raises her hand to quieten down the cheering crowd.
"So....do we all want to hear one more song?" She smiles at the wall of sound that hits her square in the face. "Yeah? Awesome! I know you guys all know this song, and I want to hear you singing. This one is called House Of Cards." The cheering reaches another massive crescendo as Katie waves to those in the crowd one last time. The song begins, as the crowd clap along in time with the slow intro of the massive number one hit single. Katie grins as she plays, her eyes shining in the glorious light as the stage is awash with blue lights.
When she starts to sing, Katie allows a serious look to appear across her eyes as her voice comes floating in across the range of instruments, perfectly washing the song over with pure talent and class, and leaving the crowd looking on in amazement. She strums her guitar as she sings, hypnotising everyone who is watching on from the seats below.
Why is everything, why is everything so fragile?
It's like I'm standing, looking straight at the start of the end of it all.
Will I step in, or do I stop and stare for a little while?
All these things I feel like I can't do, I press my face against a cooling wall.
Everything felt so strong, it was built on firm foundations,
But then the winds came, yes the winds came, bringing stinging lacerations,
Remember when we stood tall, and presided over promised lands,
Remember when it all crashed, and we stood with the blood of their kin on our hands.The song continues absolutely perfectly up until it comes to the time for the last minute or so, at which point Katie smiles and lifts her microphone. "Ladies and gentlemen, as this is a very special occasion for me tonight, I wanted to share in it with one of my friends. It is wonderful to be here in front of you guys playing live and headlining an award show for the first time in my career. To join me up here and finish this song and the set, please welcome my good friend, and a very talented individual. This is Ryan Williams."
As Katie applauds, a massive cheer erupts for the Misery Loves Company frontman who makes his way to the front of the stage with his guitar in hand. He smiles at Katie, and the two start to sing the ending of the song, harmonising amazingly. Katie smiles over at Ryan as the song comes to a close and the lights on stage turn brilliant white, before turning back to normal. She waves to the crowd again.
It took a long time, forever to build this up so high,
But with a flick of the wrist, a blowing gust of wind,
Those feathered cards began to fly,
And I wonder, as it crumbles, if effort's worth the aggravation,
As his house of cards begins to fall,
I feel tears fall down, such a familiar sensation. When the song finishes, Katie walks over and hugs Ryan, giving him a small kiss on the cheek. She looks at the crowd and blows kisses out to them with both hands. "Thank you all. This has been a fantastic night and I love you!" Just then, the stage lights dim...
