Monday, March 31, 2008

Everybody Wants to Sing!

I was channel surfing this morning and caught a performance by Chikezie on Regis and Kelly. He was so genuinely nice, humble and sang with amazing technique, control, heart, ease and confidence. I think he is one of the very best singers this year from Idol and I am sorry to see him go.

However, when Regis asked how he was doing since he got voted off the show last week, he said he was relieved. He said that now he didn't have to prove himself to the 3 judges and didn't have to sweat through the Wed. night show waiting to see if he was voted on or off. And finally, he said that he was happy to be away from Simon, who enjoys being brutally honest a little too much. I was glad he was so candid with his opinions. Mostly, everyone seems too afraid to speak up against Simon's sadistic tendencies, because he is "the boss" of the show. I for one would never want to be judged by him. Show business is hard enough without someone trying to insult you for the fun of it. Although Simon has some good points, the way he says things is cruel and brutal. Does he think that's what America wants? Meanness is not appealing to me. That is why I haven't watched it for all these seasons. Due to my students constantly asking me what I think of the various singers, I decided to watch the whole season this year. It has been interesting and at times painful so far. I always cringe when Simon gives his critique. I do believe he gets pleasure from making the most cruel comparisons such as telling David A. the song sounded like "a theme park song with animated creatures". Is that necessary? Maybe he could say that the song didn't suit him as well as some of the others. Okay, I've made my point.

And one other thing. I was on the radio the other morning, I thought because I am a singer, performer and vocal coach, I could give some professional insight. Instead, I was asked questions like, "what do I think of David A.'s cruel stage father" and "did I like the new stage?" Why do people want to harp on the gossip and unimportant details? Isn't it more interesting to talk about what it takes to get up there and perform through stage fright and sickness, and cruel judges during this contest. At least I would find that more interesting. I think this show is such a hit because, as my grandmother always used to say, "everybody wants to sing". So don't we all want to know how to get up in front of people and express ourselves completely? I have so many students, young and old who yearn to feel free when they sing. There are great tricks to helping you get through the nerves. I have struggled with stage fright my whole life as so many performers do and have used these methods to help me through. I know I'm not the only performer who has dealt with it. Al Jolson used to throw up before every show. Barbra Streisand stopped performing live for 30 years because of it. I am very impressed with the singers on AI. They get up there and do it. Maybe someone will ask me about things pertaining to performing sometime. Do you have any questions out there? I'm glad to answer them if i can.

2 comments:

Unknown said...

I agree with why would somebody make fun of the weakness of others in front of almost the whole world. So to those who have fear of being in front of many people I want to share some tip to fight the fear:

stage fright can leave many singers disoriented and searching for the lyrics they thought they knew. Many experts say that you don’t know your performance well enough unless you can perform it under any circumstance at any time. While this might sound extreme, it is a sure-fire way to calm your fears about messing up your act or forgetting your lyrics. But what does it take to be able to perform anywhere, anytime? Try some, or all, or these practice techniques to help you get there. Before you know your performance, you should be able to sing it perfectly just after waking up in the middle of the night and in front of any audience.

Vickie said...

That's a great suggestion. Practice makes perfect.