This past Sunday, we had tickets for the dress rehearsal of the 31st annual “Christmas in Washington” at the National Building Museum. This annual Christmas concert benefits the Children’s National Medical Center and is attended each year by the President, as well as many other Washington VIPs. We aren’t important enough to attend the actual concert alongside the President, but the dress rehearsal is usually just like seeing the real deal (more on this later). The National Building Museum is absolutely beautiful and seems to be the perfect location for this show. Unfortunately, I wasn’t allowed to take any pictures, but here is a picture from a previous year so you can get the idea.

Conan O’Brien hosted the show for the second year in a row. This year, the performers included Megan Hilty (Smash), Demi Lovato (The X Factor), Chirs Mann (The Voice), Scotty McCreery (American Idol), PSY (“Gangnam Style” internet sensation), and Diana Ross (you know who she is).

I was most excited to see Diana Ross perform. Although her music is before my time, she is a legend, and I thought it would be an amazing experience to see her live. However, she did not grace us with her presence during the dress rehearsal. Instead, a cheerful, elderly man filled in as her stand-in and quietly mouthed the lyrics to the songs Diana would sing later that night. You could see that he was feeling uncomfortable knowing the crowd was disappointed to see him instead of Diana Ross. But he made the most of it and even gave us a few laughs. As endearing as this old man was, I was still thoroughly annoyed that Diana Ross didn’t come on stage. Talk about a DIVA! Ok, so what if you’re a legend. Does that mean you are too good to rehearse? Are you too important to perform for the minions that could only get tickets for the dress rehearsal?

After the rehearsal was over, we heard that Diana Ross didn’t participate in the rehearsal due to a broken ankle because it was too difficult to get on and off the stage. According to this article, the claim is true. However, I have decided to reserve my judgment until I watch the show when it airs. You better have a gimp Diana!

With Diana MIA, the highlight of the show for me was PSY. He came out on the stage and started singing “Chestnuts Roasting on an Open Fire.” It was not going well and I didn’t think he was going to be able to pull off this classic Christmas carol. But a few notes in, he stopped singing and revealed that was not the reason he was there. Then he broke out into his Christmas remix of “Gangnam Style” and it was AWESOME! “Hey Santa Baby…Oppan Christmas Style!”

“Christmas in Washington” will air on Friday, December 21st on TNT. In the meantime, check out this sneak peak video:

If the video doesn’t load, you can also view it here.