After 13 years of loving her, Esther Karaiskos finally got up close and personal with singer and actress Jennifer Lopez, when she was called on stage at the Rod Laver arena this month during Lopez’s tour of Australia.
The 24-year-old fan said Lopez noticed her singing and “going wild” to all her songs that half way through singing her first ever number one hit If You Had My Love, she asked Karaiskos to join her on stage and sing along.
“It was a real shock and didn’t expect it,” Karaiskos told Neos Kosmos. “I was quite shy on stage because I was that close with my idol.”
Going on pure adrenalin alone, a very nervous Karaiskos joined the 43-year-old artist and sang along to the song that started it all for her.
“She kept hugging me and encouraging me when I got on stage, and I think it was a crowd pleaser everyone enjoyed it and i think she did as well.”
Karaiskos – who went to the concert along with her sister Gloria – said it was good old fashioned Greek kefi that got her noticed by her idol.
“I had my hands in the air and was going crazy the whole night so I guess I stood out being Greek.”
And now, the news has travelled to Greece with fan club J Lo Greece picking up on the story. Even her cousins in Athens and Patras have seen footage of their Greek Australian cousin singing up a storm with J Lo. She said people in Greece have been contacting her via Twitter and Facebook asking what the Lopez is like.
Karaiskos – who paid over $800 for the priviledge to meet her idol and be in the front row – said her appearance on stage may even make the Jennifer Lopez tour DVD. She was interviewed backstage about her experiences on stage with Lopez.
“I felt like I’ve grown up with her and she’s a big part of who I am,” says Karaiskos when asked ‘why J LO?’.
“She came from the Bronx and she’s still Jenny from the Block yet she’s really classy; she started from humble beginnings and achieved her dreams and I like that.”