Winnipegger to serve as seat filler at music's biggest night

Amanda Buhse was selected from thousands of applicants to be a seat filler at last month's Primetime Emmy Awards. (Source: Amanda Buhse)

To artists and pop culture obsessives alike, attending a Hollywood awards show is a bucket list experience.

For Winnipegger Amanda Buhse, she can strike it off her list twice.

“It was the most incredible night of my life when I went to the Emmys, and I've heard the Grammys is even that much better, so I'm so excited to see,” she said in a phone interview with CTV News Winnipeg.

Buhse attended last month’s Primetime Emmy Awards as a seat filler. She had less than 24 hours to get to Hollywood for the ceremony after she was tapped through a website called ‘Seat Fillers and More’.

Monday, she got a call that lightning struck twice, this time for music’s biggest night.

“It gives me a couple of days to prepare,” she said.

“I can't believe it. There was over 30,000 people that applied, and they only are choosing 350, so I'm very, very, very honoured.”

Amanda Buhse can be seen in the crowd during the 2024 Primetime Emmy Awards telecast as Steven Yeun walks to the podium to accept his award for outstanding lead actor in a limited series or movie.

Given that this isn’t Buhse’s first awards show rodeo, she knows a bit more of what to expect at Sunday's ceremony. She says commercial breaks can be particularly chaotic, as attendees rush to get drinks, hit the bathrooms and chat up fellow celebrities.

While that’s going on, seat fillers like Buhse are filtered in so the crowd looks full when the broadcast returns to the airwaves.

“You might be sitting next to one celebrity and then the next commercial break, you're sitting next to a completely different celebrity, so it's kind of like celebrity musical chairs.”

For Buhse, the owner of local candle company Coal and Canary and a singer in her own right, Sunday’s show is particularly close to her heart.

As for the celebrity she’s most excited to see?

“I would be remiss if I didn't say Taylor Swift. I think everyone's pretty excited.”

Amanda Buhse got a prime seat to watch Sarah Snook accept her Emmy for outstanding lead actor in a drama series.