Luck of the Call

Photo by Allison Stockwell

It’s Nov. 17, 2013, one day before the Selena Gomez “Stars Dance World Tour” concert at the Sprint Center, and then-seventh-grader Lauren Terry is riding in the car, waiting. She’s listening to Mix 93.3, trying to enter into their contest to win a pair of free tickets. After previously being unable to get tickets for the show she’d been thinking about for months, this is her last chance.

Terry waits through nearly an hour of songs like Royals by Lorde, Berzerk by Eminem and We Can’t Stop by Miley Cyrus on repeat until the DJ finally comes on to announce the concert contest details: they were looking for the 10th caller. Terry isn’t expecting to win, but she wants to give it a shot. Once the DJ gives the mark, she quickly dials the number and called.

The line is busy.

So, Terry tries another time, and once again it is busy. But after a few more attempts, the phone starts to ring.

“I didn’t really think I would win so it wasn’t that nerve-wracking,” Terry said. “Usually the lines were busy, so when it started to ring after a few tries I got excited. I had never gotten through before so I didn’t really know what to expect.”

All of a sudden, she hears the DJ from both her phone and the radio congratulating her on winning the pair of tickets. Shocked and practically speechless, Terry gratefully accepts her prize and thanks the DJ.

This was just the beginning of her streak of luck with winning radio tickets. Since then, Terry has gone on to win eight more contests. She’s won tickets for Phillip Phillips, Carly Rae Jepsen, One Direction and a Royals game from 93.3, Halsey, Ellie Goulding and Fifth Harmony from 95.7 and Sammy Kershaw from 94.1.

“It’s a really weird feeling to hear yourself on the radio,” Terry said. “After I win a contest I usually videotape myself and send the video of me on the radio into a group chat. One time, my mom asked me if I was on radio before I even told her.”

Her parents are in full support of Terry and have gone to many of the shows that she has won tickets to as well.

“She’s one of the luckiest people I know, and the more she wins tickets the less I have to pay for them.” Terry’s father said.

Through all of her years of luck, the most memorable event for Terry was when she and her friends won tickets to see One Direction in concert last year.

All of the other contests Terry had entered were simply won by being the correct caller. For the One Direction contest, the challenge was to prove you were the “biggest” fan. The contest was hosted by Mix 93.3 and they required photos or videos proving how much of a fan you were.

With the hope of tickets in their minds, Terry and seven friends decided to set out and create a video. They made One Direction masks and wore them as they danced around in front of Kansas City’s famous landmarks from the Kauffman Center to the Nelson Atkins Museum of Art to the tune of “That’s What Makes You Beautiful.”

Their video ended up winning them the “Grand Prize:” 10 tickets to the sold-out show, a night in a private suite and an unforgettable night for Terry and her friends.

Terry still enters the contests whenever she hears about them, and doesn’t see herself stopping anytime soon. To this day, she sits by the radio waiting for the moment to call in hopes of getting lucky, just like the other nine times she has.

“I seem to be pretty good at it, but I’m still really surprised when I win even though I’ve won so many,” Terry said. “I call in to try and win a lot but I know that the chances of winning are small. So if I do [win], I’m still shocked.”