Making the Mag: Live from the Teen Choice Awards!

K. Mazur/TCA 2008/Wire Image

Chace and Zac were but 2 of the hotties running around the 2008 Teen Choice Awards!

We sent our intern Emily to get the behind-the-scenes gossip at this year’s Teen Choice Awards, and boy, did she bring back some fabulous scoopage!

Being an intern at Teen, you get some pretty cool opportunities, but I was way excited when the people at Neutrogena invited me to be their special guest at the 2008 Teen Choice Awards, held at the Gibson Amphitheatre at Universal Studios Hollywood! As I searched for my seat, I bumped into Shenae Grimes, star of Degrassi: The Next Generation and the new 90210, who was swarmed by fans but was all smiles while taking photos and giving out autographs. I was seated on the aisle in the second row, which I soon found out was the route that all celebrities had to walk to get to their plush white leather VIP couches. I was in awe being within arm’s reach of so many young celebs!

Zac Efron caused a huge stir as fans ran to get an autograph. Chad Michael Murray, Chace Crawford (who got my vote for choice hottie — wow!), Ed Westwick, Channing Tatum, Jesse McCartney ... I caught myself staring, drooling, and snapping pics as I turned my head to see these Hollywood hotties walk past.

Am I forgetting something? Oh, yes, the lovely ladies of the evening! Blake Lively, Leighton Meester, Sophia Bush, Fergie, and Jordin Sparks were all present and accounted for, smiling as they walked through the crowd. A certain female celeb (who shall remain nameless) had an embarrassing moment when she was walking down the stairs and tripped! Luckily she didn’t kill herself in those heels she was wearing!

One of the biggest surprises of the evening happened during Miley’s performance of “7 Things” (she was also the host, ya know). She ran onto the floor, up to Selena Gomez (who was clapping along), and smiled and sang to her, as Selena sang, smiled, and laughed along with her. Does this mean the end of their rumored feud? We hope so!

Zac looked cozy sitting next to girlfriend Vanessa Hudgens (winner of Choice Female Hottie.) The couple talked and laughed throughout the show with the couple in front of them: Fergie and Josh Duhamel. It looked more like a double date to me!

Meanwhile, Choice TV Breakout Show Gossip Girl stars Chace, Leighton, Penn, and Blake squeezed onto the same couch. Leighton and Chace seemed buddy-buddy playful. I caught her poking Chace in the face, then giggling. At one point Leighton ran out of the room while talking on her BlackBerry ... which made my curious mind shift into overdrive trying to imagine what was going on!

Teen cover girl Hayden Panettiere was Miss Popular. One minute she was chatting with Channing Tatum, Jenna Dewan, and James Marsden. Then, she stopped for a hug and a few photos with Chace Crawford (lucky, lucky girl!). Then, she followed that up with a quick chat with Fergie!

Katharine McPhee and Jesse McCartney presented together and gave each other a high five while cameras were on the nominees. During one break, Miley Cyrus hung out on Will Smith’s couch chatting with Will and his son.

When Adam Sandler walked onstage, Will Smith attempted to pull him down or de-pants him ... either way, it was funny!

During the show, Selena was joined by Demi Lovato. Demi gave a thumbs-up to fans who were yelling her name. The two gave a standing ovation to their buds the Jonas Brothers. Speaking of the Jonas Brothers, the crowd gave a deafening roar at any mention or sighting of the boys, or Miley, for that matter. In fact, at one point a girl from the crowd ran past security to try to get to her!

Once the show ended, the stars (and I!) got their party on. The official VIP after-party was at an arcade down the street at Universal City Walk. Guests were given a gift card to play games, a dinner of pasta and tacos, and, the best part of all, a gift bag filled with loot from sponsors like Neutrogena, Dr. Pepper, and Fox. What a great night!