Waterford girl attends secret session with Taylor Swift

Lots of 12-year-old girls are Taylor Swift fans. But not too many got to have the superstar bake her cookies like Waterford seventh-grader Emily Gutierrez.

While most of the world had to wait until last week to hear Swift’s new album “1989,” Emily was among a select group of fans who got a sneak preview from the star. The Waterford Junior High School student and self-professed Swift superfan was invited to the singer’s home in Los Angeles last month with about 30 other fans as part of the “1989 Secret Sessions” promotions for her new album.

The 24-year-old singer released her latest record Oct. 27 and with its media blitz came the revelation that she had given a series of living room listening parties to small groups of handpicked fans in L.A., New York, Rhode Island, Nashville and London.

Emily was selected based on her enthusiastic tweets about Taylor on her Twitter profile (@speaknowforevs). One day in mid-September she received a direct message from Taylor Swift’s official fan account, Taylor Nation, saying she was invited to a top-secret event. At first, Emily said didn’t believe the message, thinking it was a joke. The next day she received a call from the organizers confirming her invitation. She was allowed to bring her mother, Robyn Gutierrez, and older sister, Adriana Gutierrez, and together they drove from Waterford to L.A. on Sept. 20.

The only problem was they still didn’t know what they were invited to, exactly.

Emily was in the first group to take part in the 1989 Secret Sessions and, with a couple of dozen other fans, was whisked in a small bus from a parking lot meeting point to an undisclosed location. Once there, the group slowly realized they were in Swift’s personal residence. And then the singer came around the corner to greet them.

“We just pulled up to a house. We didn’t know whose house it was. My mom saw a sign that said ‘Beware Cat Attacks’ and we realized it was Taylor’s house,” Emily said. “We went into her living room and then a minute later Taylor walked around the corner with her cat, Olivia Benson. Everyone screamed and I cried – a lot.”

Eighty nine fans were picked for each city’s listening parties. Emily’s group was the first and one of the smallest, with only about 30 others attending. (There was a second, separate session in L.A. with 59 fans later that day.) Swift served home-baked cookies, sang along to her songs and handed out hugs throughout the events. Everyone got to meet and take Polaroids (a theme from her album) with the singer.

“When she came in, she pointed at me because I was wearing the same sweater she did a few years back and said we were twinning with the sweaters,” said Emily, who has the same “Love Potion No. 9” sweater as the singer.

All this personal attention from the country-turned-pop superstar was a whole new world for Emily. The 12-year-old has never met a big celebrity and had only been to one concert before in her life. That was when tween sensations Big Time Rush played the Stanislaus County Fair in Turlock in 2011.

Emily was too young to see Swift when she played the fair in Turlock in 2007. But she wasn’t a fan of the singer then, either.

It wasn’t until last year when Emily began listening to Swift’s music heavily. Since then, the performer quickly has become her favorite. Emily has turned into a true Swiftie, as Taylor Swift fans call themselves, with posters, blankets, notepads and more emblazoned with the entertainer’s name and likeness.

At the 1989 Secret Session, Emily got more swag to add to her Swift collection. The singer gave her fans special key chains customized for each city’s event, as well as T-shirts and calendars. But Emily and her family said it is the memories of meeting Swift that are the most special.

“She was so sweet. She acted like we were just friends hanging out. We waited in line to use her bathroom and she talked about her pictures on the wall and how she hung them herself,” said Emily’s mother, Robyn Gutierrez. “She sang along to her iPhone while blasting the songs. She was amazing and it was an amazing experience.”

Swift even took the time to compliment Emily’s 19-year-old sister on her eye makeup and hair. The three met Swift’s parents, who also attended the event, and they can all be seen in an official YouTube video posted about the 1989 Secret Sessions.

In all, Emily and the other fans spent about 31/2 hours with Swift. When it was over, they were asked not to discuss the song titles or lyrics they had heard until after the album was released last week.

Emily said she has been listening to “1989” nonstop since last Monday when it hit store shelves. Swift, for her part, can count Emily among her fans for life.

“I feel lucky enough to have experienced that,” Emily said. “She’s just so sweet and generous. She is an amazing role model. And it’s amazing how she takes time out of her day to talk to her fans and meet them.”

This story was originally published November 2, 2014 at 9:21 PM with the headline "Waterford girl attends secret session with Taylor Swift."