I think Utada's event at Sephora at the Hollywood & Highland mall was one of the most unorganized events I've been to in LA. There was nowhere on the email blast that stated wristbands were being handed out to fans who wanted to be able to meet Utada.
After spending hours waiting in line we started noticing people had wristbands and then 5 minutes later security said anyone without a wristband wouldn't be able to see Utada and "for their best interest should leave" instead of waiting around to get their hopes crushed.
I think having booked such a small venue was the first mistake and for not making it clear to either get there really early or even call Sephora to book wristbands was the second mistake. Tons of fans including myself were turned away from seeing someone we waited hours for to see. I know it's not her fault for booking such a small venue but to not think a huge international superstar would have a large following and book a small mall venue thinking that would suffice was a huge mistake on Island Def Jam's part.
It's sad to say I waited to see one of my favorite artists just to get turned away in the end due to bad organize and communication between her fans.
Hopefully they will try to correct the issue with some free press or better yet a larger venue that will hold the amount of fans that turn out to see her next time.