Ok, so I naively thought this day would never come, but I have been busted. I mistakenly believed that I could get through my adult life without this being brought up 13 years later, but people are smart and the internet is wide. So after more than a few “Who me? I don’t know what you’re talking about, haha” comment denials, I’m coming clean. My name is Sherry $herdog, and I was on MTV when I was 17. And it was easily the most embarrassing compilation of moments that could ever be edited together.
I’m an over-sharer, so some folks might wonder why I’d try to hide from this video. And to you I’d say: it’s one thing to invite people into your home and share a video that accidentally features your bra laying out on a bedroom chair or an interview where you flail around nervously or admit that you walk around covered in dog fur and cream cheese smears, but it’s a whole different ballgame to say “Let’s take a time machine back to my most awkward moments as a seventeen year old girl being surprised while life-guarding and told she’ll get to interview Eminem for a show called FANatic on MTV – oh look, I have the whole thing on video for you, let’s all sit down and watch it together.” Now excuse me while I giggle uncontrollably for ten minutes. I do that when I’m nervous.
Allow me to spill a few secrets: shows like this are a smidge set up. It’s not to say that I wasn’t completely Marshall Mathers obsessed (I was) but there are certain things you’re highly encouraged to mention so that you come across as the most deserving fan. Things like “I aspire to be a rapper someday.” I’ll pause while you snort whatever you’re drinking out of your nose. It’s true that my best friend Mariam at high school talent shows (we once donned orange puffy vests and belly shirts and parodied the Eminem/Dre duet Forgot About Dre) but it’s a Jersey thing. You had to be there to understand that it was not meant to be taken seriously. So no, I didn’t actually hope I’d be touring the country as a famous female rapper when I grew up.
Of course the show sets up situations too, like us going to the old burger joint where Eminem used to work before the interview…
… but it was pretty cool as a teenager to see some random restaurant and think “he really worked here just a few years ago flipping burgers?” Fun fact: the people I’m serving at that table in the restaurant are the limo driver and one of the production people who carted us around.
Another fun fact is that I hardly knew the girl who surprised me at the pool and came with me on the entire adventure. See, MTV required that the “friend” of the person being featured was 18 or a parent would have to accompany the fan and the friend (which I’m guessing cramped the crew’s style). So when I was going through the whole “you might be a finalist” phase of the process, they asked me about my friends and I gave a list of all my best 17 year old buddies and they sort of heavily suggested that I list someone over the age of 18. So the girl who worked at the front desk at the Marriott (where I was a lifeguard for years, represent) got listed – and she was the friend they picked to surprise me. And yes, it’s still really cool to be in a limo when you’re 17. Especially if you flash the peace sign with your sleeves rolled up.
Here’s where it gets extra embarrassing. At some point in the interview the word “phat” inexplicably slips out of my mouth. I never said that word before and have never said it since. I can only blame the loss of my whole damn mind at the thought of sitting next to a hip-hop star and somehow thinking $herdog could pull off a term like that. And I couldn’t. It rung in my ears for the rest of the interview while I continued to grin like a crazy person and giggle nervously. Although a lot of this experience is what I like to call “retroactively embarrassing” (since at the time it was really cool and I felt really lucky to be chosen), the moment I realized I said “phat” on national television was the moment that I wanted to punch myself in the face.
Then they asked me to rap. Repeatedly. It’s bad. Very very bad. Oh and about the pigtails, I wanted to wear a ponytail and an arm band (yes, an arm band) but the crew gently suggested the pigtails and no arm band. I’m thankful they nixed the arm band but still a little weirded out by the pigtails. So without further ado…
As for how I even got on the show, my friends dared me to send in a tape since I really was a hardcore fan and they thought I had a shot at being chosen. Meanwhile I believed I had zero chance, hence me doing all sorts of ridiculous things that I thought would never be on TV/YouTube (like sitting in a tub full of M&M’s) because I truly believed with every fiber of my being that I would never make the cut.
MTV does a really cruel thing to make you think you weren’t chosen (at least it felt cruel at the time) in order to get that completely surprised ‘surprise shot’ when they sneak up on you. They’re in pretty constant contact with you for a while to collect things like “what you would ask if you were chosen” and “who you would bring as a friend if you were chosen” and then they say you’re a semi-finalist but it’s not a done deal, and then they cut off communication for a few weeks. Total radio silence. So you go from being hopeful that you might get picked to completely and utterly bummed out that you didn’t make the cut after thinking “dude, I might actually get flown to Detroit to meet Eminem.” Which is a pretty cool concept as a 17 year old.
This is of course when you forget about the footage of yourself in a tub of M&Ms and it sounds like it could be The Coolest Thing You’ve Ever Done and not The Most Embarrassing Thing Ever a decade or so later. But I have to admit that as a teenager it was an amazingly fun time. I got to fly somewhere with a camera crew and without my parents, they put us up in a cool hotel, and Marshall was actually a really nice genuine guy (now I’m going to get weird and tell you that he had the best looking hands I’ve ever seen in my life). And he did kiss my neck, which at the time made me believe we would soon be married and we’d go on to have three bouncing babies named Slim, Shady, and Stan (kidding). Dude, I took a picture of my neck after it happened. I’m that girl (can you believe I managed to bag a guy like John? I still can’t).
So I’m extremely grateful for the experience. It just felt like… let’s not all watch it together on video and relive my teenage awkwardness together. But I guess now my “secret past” is out. In summary: it was pretty amazing (it made “the morning announcements” at my high school – haha), but the fact that the footage from a defunct show from over 13 years ago is now somehow on YouTube is something I never imagined. Oh well. The cat phat is out of the bag.
Now you tell me your most embarrassing secrets so we’re even. Go.
Tara says
When I was like 11 or 12, I got an “article” “published” on my favorite (at the time, ha ha) website, Neopets. It’s SO TERRIBLE. Here, I hunted it down and everything. Never mind the fact that 12 year old Tara thought she’d be playing on this weird website when she was 18. Awkward…
http://www.neopets.com/nt/week41/neofuture_article.phtml
YoungHouseLove says
Haha- I love it! Hilarious future predictions.
xo,
s
Kristy says
$herdog, I am so embarrassed for you that I can’t even bring myself to watch the video! Hilarious & so cute of you to share!
Sionnan says
hahaha that is hilarious! but ooooh “so cool” at the same time! i was nervous for you just watching it, i think i would have thrown up as i was talking to him, so major points to you! and i totally would have taken a picture of my cheek… and slept with that apron over my pillow at night. you did that too, didn’t you? ;)
YoungHouseLove says
That apron has a place of honor in our house. It’s totally in the “things we would grab in a fire” pile. Haha.
xo,
s
Madeline Kronfeld says
WOW! I always wanted to go on that show and interview Seth Green :) You sounded just like Tai from Clueless when you said “yeah.” Too funny!
Kati says
Dying laughing! The 1999 teenager in me is in awe. Please tell me the next house tour will feature some of your mad rap skillz $herDog!
YoungHouseLove says
Oh my gosh, that might have to happen.
xo,
s
Ronica says
Best. Reveal. EVER! Way to go $herDog. PS – My first car’s license was BE PHAT. What was I thinkin’?? haha
YoungHouseLove says
Hahahahhahha, that’s amazing.
xo,
s
Laura says
Oh em gee. You were still adorable, even during your awkward teen years (hey, well all had ’em!). What made you finally reveal this gem?
YoungHouseLove says
Lots of comments and emails about it – apparently folks are onto me. Haha.
xo,
s
Meredith says
I LOVE IT. This made my day.
I sang “Love Shack” at work wearing hot pink high heels and a blond wig in a (successful!) attempt to win a vacation day. Totally worth it, but I’m glad it’s not on tape anywhere.
I also sang a duet on the radio with a stranger in an (unsuccessful) attempt to win $1000. That can be found on YouTube, but the world doesn’t need to know about it.
Thanks for sharing, Sherry. Truly, truly awesome.
Ashley says
WOW, beyond hilarious. I actually remember watching this episode when it aired (I was in high school too). Please show Clara this video when she is 17 – her embarrassment might top yours. :) We love our $herdog.
YoungHouseLove says
Seriously, can you imagine how insanely uncool I’ll be if I show her this? Total cringe-fest.
xo,
s
Lauren says
I sent Hayden Christensen (of Star Wars episode 2 and 3) a letter my senior year asking him to prom. And my best friend sent one to Elijah Wood (post Fellowship of the Ring).
Be jealous. Ya’ll just wish you were as cool as we were…
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, imagine if they came though. Seriously that would have been epic.
xo,
s
Kait says
HAHAHAHAHAHA!
This seriously just made my day. As I was watching I actually said out loud “wait…was that a neck kiss!?” I can’t believe it actually was. This is so hilariously embarrassing (probably more hilarious to us that to you, hahaha)but I can just imagine thinking it was the coolest thing ever as a teenager.
Some family members of mine were also picked for an MTV show. It was one of those hidden camera prank shows, and it involved a ‘little people’ KISS cover band.
Lauren says
I used to watch that show, that is so cool that you were on it!
Bree says
LOVE that. Made me smile the whole way through!!
We all have moments like that as teens…just not all of us lived it out on tv and have to relive it on youtube, lol. Own your awesomeness…we were all crazy teens at one point. :-)
Jeanne says
That was awesome! I live in the “D”, in the 3-1-3….south of 8 Mile. haha.
Jennifer says
Three things that went through my mind: (1) “aspiring white rapper” — so cute! (2) do you still have that apron? and (3) we’ve got Rolling Stone at my library. ;)
YoungHouseLove says
Totally still have the apron!
xo,
s
Chris says
Ohhhh girl.. This made me laugh so hard! Isn’t it amazing at how great we think we look, until we look back about 10 years? I used to wear my hair like that. WHAT WERE WE THINKING!?
Tracey says
SHUT THE FRONT DOOR. Oh my gosh… I think I remember seeing that when it aired! How freaking awesome. I love the whole, “I was so happy that he was white…” LOL! You’re so cool, Sherry. Your persona as $herdog will live on forever now thanks to MTV! ;D
Lindsey says
Also… have to know – when did you first tell John about this?
My fiance came clean to me about a year ago that he sung in a cover band in high school. Sometimes we’ll hear a random 90s song on the radio and he will tell me his band played it – such as Creed or Silverchair. According to him, there are some VHS tapes out there, but I don’t think I want to see them. He does not have a good singing voice now, so I can only imagine…
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, I think I told him in the first few months of dating. I say him down and tried to prepare him but nothing could prepare him. He died laughing.
xo,
s
Karla@TheClassyWoman says
LOL! Sherry, you’re still the same person that is for sure in terms of personality! I wouldn’t have pictured that you were so into eminem. You did a great job on your interview, what a fun experience while you’re in highschool and thanks for sharing your ’embarassing’ moment with us.
BoredAtWork says
Favorite moment: “Eminem, that’s my dog!” So good.
Giordana says
“I am an aspiring white rapper!” I’m actually going to pee myself.
marisa says
this seriously just made my day!
nancyo says
this is the . best . post . ever.
Emma says
Lucky! :)
MissCaron says
Oh man, $herdog. That was fantastic! MTV spring break came to Daytona Beach when I was in High School (just north of there in Flagler Beach) and used to sneak down there with my friends to try and get on camera which we accomplished many times but I’m super glad that those videos have never surfaced and that MTV promptly left Daytona Beach for Panama City before I could do too many embarrassing things captured for all posterity. LOL
Jill says
You are abolutely FANtastic!!! :-) Just remember this in a few years when Clara jets off to interview her most favorite star. :-)
Thanks for making my Friday smile.
Macon says
I’m not sure if this is the most embarrassing thing ever but there is at least proof that it happened. For the day after thanksgiving a few years ago Old Navy had this insane plane to do a “gobble dance” for “gobblepalooza”. They sent a video and taught us the moves and when the music came on we were supposed to do the dance… Well I was in the back room with some co-workers goofing off and without my knowledge somebody thought to film it, and post it to youtube, and show it to pretty much everyone who worked there or would work there after that. I really got into. I’m basically flailing around doing a hybrid chicken dance. It’s worse then when I tried to do Zumba. I don’t think I’ve even showed my husband. P.S. I think I had the same shoes that you were wearing…
YoungHouseLove says
Hahahah, I think it sounds amazing. I demand a link.
xo,
s
Stacey says
what is it with us jersey girls and rappers?!? when i was a senior in high school, i cut school one day to be in a beastie boys video B) my friends and i had been to their concert in passaic the night before and were given passes to be in the video shoot. so, instead of sitting in english lit, i was doin’ the wop to “rhymin’ and stealin'”…over and over again. it was a blast and the back of my head is forever immortalized for half a second ;)
prior to that, my greatest fan-girl moment was sneaking into the garages at the then brendan byrne arena and getting to chase duran duran in their limos as they left the stadium. i still have the paper w/ the “limo dirt” handprints my friends and i made when we got home that night. soooo 14 years old lol.
FANtastic, indeed! ;)
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, that sounds like fun!
xo,
s
linda says
i was going to ask about the fate of the apron… but i see you answered that above!
nothing for you to be embarrased about!!
Kristen says
HA HA HA HA. This is so hilarious, and SO awesome of you to post!
I tried my hardest to get picked for the Fanatic episode for…wait for it…The Goo Goo Dolls. I was completely obsessed with them in high school.Just that is embarassing to me ;)
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, I had Iris listed as one of my favorite songs for years on my AOL profile!
xo,
s
Gale says
Yay! I thought I was the only one. I was OBSESSED with them!!
Cara says
So was this where the love of animals on walls began? I’m impressed you actually made the video. I never would have had the courage to do this at 17.
Elaine R says
My 14 year old past self is extremely jealous of you! However my now adult self says… I’m am so glad I never did anything like that… how embarrassing. Haha SORRY! My husband was listening while I watched and he looked up when you said “phat” and laughed. This will be an awesome story to tell your grandchildren someday!
Margo says
How on EARTH did this come to life? Was one of your readers trudging through an Eminem interviews database or something? Completely ridiculous coincidence!
Love the story.
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, a bunch of people recently emailed and commented about it saying they saw it on a forum or something. I was about to wet my pants at the thought of it spreading, but it seems like it already started to so I forced myself to cop to it. Haha. Still not sure if it was the right thing to do because I’m dying of embarrassment. Haha.
xo,
s
Katherine says
My husband would be so jealous!!!
Michaela says
Just when I thought I could love the $herdog more, I see this and WHAM. You made my day : )
bre buskey says
Hilarious!! All of my embarrassing moments seem less embarrassing now. :) Oh the things we do when we’re young, gotta love it. By the way, I’m 30 and still happen to love Emenim, he’s on my workout playlist on my ipod.
Kirsten says
Wow, that was amazing. Thank you for no longer holding that back. :-)
Cali says
This post was awesome! Thanks for sharing the embarrassing moment with us. Now we know where Clara gets her love of singing from!! Maybe you should put a beat to her “do, do, do” lyrics!!
Ariana says
This. Is. Awesome. I actually had a rap video I wrote/rapped get stolen off my computer and go viral. It was REALLY shocking, especially when I saw it on YouTube and had no idea how it got there. And then I have friend requests from people in Ohio, Kentucky, and Cali (I’m from FL).
I was mortified since it was just a joke to be seen by a few sorority sisters and our “label” (aka me) was not smart enough to censor the profanity. It ended up getting so many hits that I had to ask YouTube to take it down. I still get people who recognize me and ask me about it. I’ve got a lot of criticism for my lack of class (Now a days everybody wanna talk like they got somethin’ to say….), but nobody can say anything bad about my rap skills. White female rappers unite!
YoungHouseLove says
No way! That’s crazy! Someone stole it?!
xo,
s
Ariana says
Yes but it wasn’t malicious. One “watch this girl I know” email and suddenly I’m a YouTube star in Iowa. Andy Samberg ended up seeing it (the rap was to “I’m On A Boat”) and approved so I feel FAN-tastic again.
Some advice from one closet Eminem fan to another- don’t ever go to Karaoke. Because someone will get on stage and try to rap Renegades. And they will get it all wrong. And the sake from dinner will tell you that you should cut them off Kanye style and battle them. And win. And you MIGHT think it’s ok at the time when the whole crowd is chanting your name, but when the guy you like shows you the iPhone recording you will actually die inside. Not speaking from experience. (But seriously- we have been dating for 6 months. HOW did that not become an instant dealbreaker?? John- thoughts?)
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, that’s so funny! I think our men must love us regardless of our momentary lapses of judgement. Haha.
xo,
s
Sarah says
omg this made my life
it sucks that now people consider the youtube repercussions of their actions :P
Sarah D says
lmao. you look almost exactly the same!
Colleen says
OMG! That just totally made my day!! Hilarious! (And I’m a little jealous! Ha!) I was an extra on Dawson’s Creek once, but it was this scene where Jack takes Pacey to a gay bar, and they only had me and ONE other girl as extas…the rest were guys! My husband likes to show that tape (because back then it was totally recorded on VHS) and tell people that I played 1/2 of a lesbian couple on Dawson’s Creek because I was totally on tv 12 times in that episode! LOL! I like to point out that I got to brush by Kerr Smith in the crowded bar at least 5 times so it TOTALLY made that day worth it! Ha! :-)
Colleen says
Apparently watching your video brought me back to junior when “TOTALLY!” was my favorite adjective :-)
YoungHouseLove says
Haha- that’s such a funny and random thing! Was Pacey as cute in person as he was in my head?
xo,
s
Colleen says
TOTALLY! ;-)
goldensarah says
Oh man, this is pure gold! My favorite part has to be the ‘ye-ah’ at 6:40. It’s kind of Jersey mixed with Texas or something. Love your spunk and massive amount of confidence throughout this video – your 17-year-old self was totally made for MTV. What a treasure. Clara will be soooooo proud! :)
Nicole J says
You are so brave for sharing this! Absolutely hilarious and so entertaining – thank you!!! P.S. – You hardly look any older now than you did when you were 17!
Lauren G says
This is hilarious. I needed a good laugh. It kinda makes me wonder what’s out there from my past. . . I’m thankful that there was no YouTube in ’99. Love it!
Sarah says
I’m dying to hear how John reacted when you told him this story…unless he is reading about it now too. ;)
YoungHouseLove says
I tried to prepare him but he died laughing. I told him a few months after we started dating. Wanted to make sure it wasn’t a deal breaker. Haha.
xo,
s
Dana P. says
I love this because it is the perfect encapsulation of teenage fandom. I was obsessed with former-The Voice contestant Tony Vincent when I was a teenager (in the 90s) and met him twice; in 1995 and 1997. At the 1997 after concert autograph signing he saw my t-shirt (which had a picture of us from the first concert on it) and thought it was so cool! He asked me my name and when I told him, he dropped his sharpie, looked at me and said, “No way! You have written me so many fan letters…give me a hug!!” and came around the table and bear hugged me. BEST.NIGHT.EVER!!!!! Then I felt super embarassed that he had actually read all my fan letters. But he was totally cool and acted like we were long lost friends. I feel like a dork telling that story, but it’s a great memory of being 17, just like that video is for you!
YoungHouseLove says
Haha- that’s so cute of him to recognize your name!
xo
s
Lizbeth says
Umm…awesome? So when I read the title of your post, of course, “Bust a Move” popped into my head. And then that phat bass line rolled through my mind throughout the entire post. And then, I had this mental picture of you and Eminem covering “Bust a Move,” you, of course, singing the “You want it, you got it. You want it, BABY, you got it.” I’ve had a really long week at work. From the bottom of my heart, thank you. :)
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, I would totally be down for that. Someone call his agent to see if he’s in.
xo,
s
Samma says
OMG! I am so seeing an Eminem House Crashing post coming from this. Make sure to mention that when you get his agent on the line! ;D
YoungHouseLove says
I seriously need to House Crash him. Great idea. I hope his people call my people. Haha.
xo,
s
rachel says
this video is hilarious! I love it!! I actually have some art from junior high still hanging in a bank in my city. It’s terrible!
Kelly says
Amazing. But how did you not address the “I’m an aspiring white rapper” quote from the clip? Please elaborate further and please tell me you have video of you rapping!
YoungHouseLove says
Haha, that’s in there towards the top of the post. Maybe in the third paragraph? Hope it helps!
xo,
s