I'm not sure when I'll ever complete the story on this adventure!
I wanted to share something quickly though. After Mass this afternoon, one of my friends approached me and said that I am sounding better lately. She asked if I had found new confidence or something. I smiled and told her that it was probably due to my preparations for "The Voice" auditions! I'd been paying more attention to how I sing. I'd been singing more when out and about.
That compliment was worth the whole process. :-)
(Plus -The church music director has approached me first about singing the past couple of funeral Masses! If I'm going to be promoting myself as a funeral singer....)
Saturday, February 2, 2013
Tuesday, January 22, 2013
The Voice Adventure Continues --- Through the Audition --->
My friend dropped me off at the convention center around 1:30 PM. They were letting folks wait inside, so I wasn't stuck out in the cold for a long time. I headed to the restroom before getting in line. Once in line, I realized that I didn't have my cell phone on me. I headed back to the restroom to see if I had left it there. I checked, but didn't find it. :-( What a drag. If I had not lost my phone, I would have had many pictures to post in this blog. I would have taken pictures of the crowd in various stages of the process. I would have taken pictures of backdrops with "The Voice" logo...perhaps even pictures with me in front of "The Voice" backdrops. But, alas, not such pictures were taken.
I am one of those people who tends to obsess over things. (shocking to many of you, I'm sure) So in preparation of my audition, I'd been tweaking my diet. I took some fruit with me to snack on during the waiting time. The website about the process recommended taking snacks. When I brought the apple out of my bag, others in line said things like, "Wow. That was a good idea. I should have brought a snack!" Umm...it was recommended on the site. I took an apple because a musician friend of mine said that she ate apples throughout the day of a big audition a while back. I nearly think that the apple just made me more hungry!!!
Also, since I didn't have my phone, I "had" to talk to the folks around me. I learned that one fellow in line with me was from Florida and had been encouraged by his daughter to try out for "The Voice." I would guess that he was in his 50s. The girl I sat next to lived just 20 minutes away -- she's in community college. Another girl in line near me was a minor (sophomore in high school, I think). She said that she was a recording artist. I wasn't able to talk to her more in depth about it. We ended up being separated in the herding process. One fellow in my group said that this was one of the things on his "bucket list", so why not!?! :-) I saw people from teenagers to folks in their 60s. One of the guys I ended up chatting with is part of a band. The college student I sat next to hadn't decided what song she was going to sing until it was her turn!
Once we were in our group of ten (see previous post about how we ended up in a group of ten), we were led into a room. We turned in our Artist's Passes and sat along a wall. There was one girl sitting behind a computer at a table facing us. That's it. One girl to determine our fate! One by one we were called forward. There was a big green X on the ground. We were instructed to stand on the X, tell what we were going to sing, then sing a verse + chorus of our song.
I don't remember what each of the 10 people sang. A few stood out. A few did not. One girl sang "On My Own" from "Les Mis." Back in high school, I was AWESOME at that song...still am. ;-) I had briefly considered it for this event. Glad I didn't choose it. I would have embarrassed the other girl. She was not awesome at it. She was ok, but not great. The guy who was there because it was on his "bucket list" wasn't great. The girl who sat next to me decided (at the last minute) to sing something from The Judds. It was EXCELLENT! In my opinion, flawless. The guy I had been talking to who was in a band sang as if he was in a band. I know what I mean...even if you don't. I don't really know any other way to explain it.
The fellow who was there because his daughter wanted him to be stood up and started to sing. Then he stopped. He asked our "judge" if he could use the words. He had just learned the song that week (his daughter picked it). The judge said that it was fine with her. He used the words. Sorry to say that it took me a minute to realize that I did know the song he was singing. :-(
There was a girl wearing a short skirt who had long hair and sang something by Celine Dion. She was good, but didn't really make an impact on me. There was a guy with blonde hair who sang something country...not on pitch. There was another guy who sang who didn't make an impression on me at all. I can't tell you what he sang. That's 8. Hmm. I guess there was another person in the group, but they (apparently) made no impression on me at all because I don't even remember anything about this person!!!
And then there was me...using a pitch pipe, singing "Ave Maria." I'm not exactly sure what I might have sounded like to the other 9 (and judge). Personally, I think I nailed it. People who have heard me sing it know that I can sing it quite well. Since there really isn't a verse/chorus format, they got to hear me sing the whole first verse. :-) I closed my eyes early in the song, so I couldn't even gauge reaction from the judge. Although she didn't seem to really react to anyone.
After we were all finished, the girl said, "Sonya and Timothy, stay behind. The rest of you can go." And we were ushered out, our wristbands were clipped, they kept our Artist's Passes and we no longer existed...never had. Sonya was the girl in the short skirt who sang Celine Dion. Timothy was the guy who didn't make an impact on me...so he certainly wasn't bad.
You may hear me saying that they didn't pick me because my skirt was too long. The other girl who I recognized from waiting in line who was holding a "red card" was wearing heels and a tight, short animal print dress. She was quite pretty and it looked good on her. She had long blonde hair. Her cell phone matched her dress. So I do have some shaky ground to stand on when I say I should have worn a shorter skirt.
IF I had gone back on Sunday, I would have worn jeans, a fleece top, and heeled boots. No short skirt there either.
Well --- as the group before us exited the audition room (those who no longer existed), I saw tears in their eyes immediately. I thought to myself, "No big deal if they don't pick me. I'm not going to cry."
I did not cry as I was leaving the room. My first thought was to find the girl who I sat next to who did an awesome job on her song by "The Judds." I wanted to tell her how great she was. Well, she totally vanished as soon as we walked out of that doorway. Gone. I was kinda bummed. But searching for her kept my mind off of myself for the moment.
More to come...
If I had not lost my phone, I would have been able to "Tweet" throughout the process. I would have been able to respond to text messages that said, "Any news?" I would have been able to spend the time playing "Words with Friends" and such. I could have spent my time playing on Facebook. But no. I had no phone.
Having no phone "forced" me to do other things with my mind. I was in the first "holding area" during the 3:00 EST hour --- the Hour of Divine Mercy. I had my rosary with me, so I sang (softly) the Chaplet of Divine Mercy during that time. After encouragement from folks here at home, I had decided to sing "Ave Maria" for my audition piece. "Ave Maria" is more than just a song. It's a prayer. Throughout my waiting, I was singing it in my head and remembering it as a prayer. "Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee! Blessed art thou among women and blessed it the fruit of thy womb, Jesus!" (Of course, that is as much of the prayer that I was going to be able to sing.) So the thought of this being a prayer was on my mind the whole afternoon.
I am one of those people who tends to obsess over things. (shocking to many of you, I'm sure) So in preparation of my audition, I'd been tweaking my diet. I took some fruit with me to snack on during the waiting time. The website about the process recommended taking snacks. When I brought the apple out of my bag, others in line said things like, "Wow. That was a good idea. I should have brought a snack!" Umm...it was recommended on the site. I took an apple because a musician friend of mine said that she ate apples throughout the day of a big audition a while back. I nearly think that the apple just made me more hungry!!!
Also, since I didn't have my phone, I "had" to talk to the folks around me. I learned that one fellow in line with me was from Florida and had been encouraged by his daughter to try out for "The Voice." I would guess that he was in his 50s. The girl I sat next to lived just 20 minutes away -- she's in community college. Another girl in line near me was a minor (sophomore in high school, I think). She said that she was a recording artist. I wasn't able to talk to her more in depth about it. We ended up being separated in the herding process. One fellow in my group said that this was one of the things on his "bucket list", so why not!?! :-) I saw people from teenagers to folks in their 60s. One of the guys I ended up chatting with is part of a band. The college student I sat next to hadn't decided what song she was going to sing until it was her turn!
Once we were in our group of ten (see previous post about how we ended up in a group of ten), we were led into a room. We turned in our Artist's Passes and sat along a wall. There was one girl sitting behind a computer at a table facing us. That's it. One girl to determine our fate! One by one we were called forward. There was a big green X on the ground. We were instructed to stand on the X, tell what we were going to sing, then sing a verse + chorus of our song.
I don't remember what each of the 10 people sang. A few stood out. A few did not. One girl sang "On My Own" from "Les Mis." Back in high school, I was AWESOME at that song...still am. ;-) I had briefly considered it for this event. Glad I didn't choose it. I would have embarrassed the other girl. She was not awesome at it. She was ok, but not great. The guy who was there because it was on his "bucket list" wasn't great. The girl who sat next to me decided (at the last minute) to sing something from The Judds. It was EXCELLENT! In my opinion, flawless. The guy I had been talking to who was in a band sang as if he was in a band. I know what I mean...even if you don't. I don't really know any other way to explain it.
The fellow who was there because his daughter wanted him to be stood up and started to sing. Then he stopped. He asked our "judge" if he could use the words. He had just learned the song that week (his daughter picked it). The judge said that it was fine with her. He used the words. Sorry to say that it took me a minute to realize that I did know the song he was singing. :-(
There was a girl wearing a short skirt who had long hair and sang something by Celine Dion. She was good, but didn't really make an impact on me. There was a guy with blonde hair who sang something country...not on pitch. There was another guy who sang who didn't make an impression on me at all. I can't tell you what he sang. That's 8. Hmm. I guess there was another person in the group, but they (apparently) made no impression on me at all because I don't even remember anything about this person!!!
And then there was me...using a pitch pipe, singing "Ave Maria." I'm not exactly sure what I might have sounded like to the other 9 (and judge). Personally, I think I nailed it. People who have heard me sing it know that I can sing it quite well. Since there really isn't a verse/chorus format, they got to hear me sing the whole first verse. :-) I closed my eyes early in the song, so I couldn't even gauge reaction from the judge. Although she didn't seem to really react to anyone.
After we were all finished, the girl said, "Sonya and Timothy, stay behind. The rest of you can go." And we were ushered out, our wristbands were clipped, they kept our Artist's Passes and we no longer existed...never had. Sonya was the girl in the short skirt who sang Celine Dion. Timothy was the guy who didn't make an impact on me...so he certainly wasn't bad.
You may hear me saying that they didn't pick me because my skirt was too long. The other girl who I recognized from waiting in line who was holding a "red card" was wearing heels and a tight, short animal print dress. She was quite pretty and it looked good on her. She had long blonde hair. Her cell phone matched her dress. So I do have some shaky ground to stand on when I say I should have worn a shorter skirt.
IF I had gone back on Sunday, I would have worn jeans, a fleece top, and heeled boots. No short skirt there either.
Well --- as the group before us exited the audition room (those who no longer existed), I saw tears in their eyes immediately. I thought to myself, "No big deal if they don't pick me. I'm not going to cry."
I did not cry as I was leaving the room. My first thought was to find the girl who I sat next to who did an awesome job on her song by "The Judds." I wanted to tell her how great she was. Well, she totally vanished as soon as we walked out of that doorway. Gone. I was kinda bummed. But searching for her kept my mind off of myself for the moment.
More to come...
Tuesday, January 15, 2013
What Happened to Me During My Trip to Chicago Part 1 - Before the audition
Last Friday, after I picked up the kids from school, I finished packing my things and headed up to Chicago. I drove by myself, which was quite nice. I didn't have to cater to anyone else's whims about when to stop, what to listen to, etc. I basically stopped when I felt like it and sang quite loudly the whole way up. I used the Waze app on my phone to find my way to my hotel.
Whatever did I do before navigation apps?!?!? I had printed directions from mapquest, like the "old days." I totally would have had to turned on a light to read the directions. This nice little device told me where to go next! Yay! Having a Smartphone is grand!
Before going on the trip, I had researched area hotels. At first, I thought it would be nice to stay in a hotel near the Convention Center. Rooms in that area were $90+ / night. PLUS you had to pay for parking, breakfast and internet. Yeah. Internet. What a rip off!
I discovered a Super 8 near O'Hare Airport which was closer to $50/night with FREE parking, FREE breakfast, and FREE internet. PLUS - they offer free shuttle service to the convention center. Once I found this place, it was a no brainer. :-)
I had decided previously that I would go to Mass on Saturday morning. That would help me settle down and be prepared for the day ahead. I used the MassTimes.org app on my phone and found a nearby church with a 9:00 AM Saturday morning Mass. I also found a church with an 8:30 Mass with confessions following Mass until 10:00 AM. I programmed both addresses into my Smartphone navigation the night before.
I barely woke up in time to make it to the 9:00 Mass. Of course, I hit the wrong address on my phone and it took me to the wrong church at first. Grrr. Fortunately, I still had a little bit of time to make it to the other church for Mass. I got there at 9:00. The place was locked...of course. I tried every door I could find. At my home parish, there is one door that is usually open, but you have to know which one. None of these were open. FINALLY, an older lady opened a door and asked if she could help me. I told her that I was there for Mass. She kindly informed me that Mass was actually at 8:00. :-P I, not-as-kindly, told her that they needed to update their website. I asked if I could come in. I sat in the church for a while. I used the Laudate app on my phone so I could at least review the Daily Readings. As I was sitting in the pew, another older lady approached me and not-at-all-kindly said, "Ma'am. Are you here for a REASON?" I told her that I was there for Mass, but missed it because their website was wrong. She quickly informed me that I needed to leave...because she had to lock up. Well, I was trying to start off the day right, but missing Mass tore me up and I started crying. A little stressed out? Perhaps. I'm starting to cry as I exit the place and the first lady, who had opened the door, asked if I was ok. I said, "Not really." As I walked out. And that was that. I sat in my car and tried to compose myself for a bit. Since I missed Mass, I might as well take advantage of the other Sacrament that was available to me. So I had my phone take me back to the first church.
It was much easier to find my way in, since someone was coming out and the doors weren't locked. ;-) Finding the confessional was tricky. After wandering around a bit, I discovered a room with an open door and the profile of a priest. I entered and made sure I was in the right place. It's tricky in these "newer" churches where things are in the "wrong" place. I closed the door. The priest was probably a "retired" priest. He asked why I was crying. I told him that it was because I missed Mass. Not sure if he didn't believe me, or just forgot as soon as I said it because it came up again. I was recounting my experience to some others and they said that they would love to have a priest who really forgot everything they said right away during Confession. To me, it was annoying. He said the blessing of absolution so quickly that I would have had no idea what he was saying if I hadn't heard it before.
His basic advice was to remember that Jesus died for my sins and "shut up". He said he was quoting a saint. Um...ok. He also said that singing Christmas carols would help. (If you are wondering what I confessed, well, too bad. Ha!)
My phone took me back to my hotel. My friend from high school, Cam, lives in the area. She came over to the hotel to hang out with me before it was time to head to the convention center. I had arranged for the shuttle to take me. Cam arrived with some flowers and a "Good Luck" balloon. :-) Yay! When it came time for me to head that way, I asked her to drive me, instead of taking the shuttle. I was very glad that I did. Cam told me to give her a call when I was finished and that we would go out to dinner later. If only I could have called her. . . (more to come)
Whatever did I do before navigation apps?!?!? I had printed directions from mapquest, like the "old days." I totally would have had to turned on a light to read the directions. This nice little device told me where to go next! Yay! Having a Smartphone is grand!
Before going on the trip, I had researched area hotels. At first, I thought it would be nice to stay in a hotel near the Convention Center. Rooms in that area were $90+ / night. PLUS you had to pay for parking, breakfast and internet. Yeah. Internet. What a rip off!
I discovered a Super 8 near O'Hare Airport which was closer to $50/night with FREE parking, FREE breakfast, and FREE internet. PLUS - they offer free shuttle service to the convention center. Once I found this place, it was a no brainer. :-)
I had decided previously that I would go to Mass on Saturday morning. That would help me settle down and be prepared for the day ahead. I used the MassTimes.org app on my phone and found a nearby church with a 9:00 AM Saturday morning Mass. I also found a church with an 8:30 Mass with confessions following Mass until 10:00 AM. I programmed both addresses into my Smartphone navigation the night before.
I barely woke up in time to make it to the 9:00 Mass. Of course, I hit the wrong address on my phone and it took me to the wrong church at first. Grrr. Fortunately, I still had a little bit of time to make it to the other church for Mass. I got there at 9:00. The place was locked...of course. I tried every door I could find. At my home parish, there is one door that is usually open, but you have to know which one. None of these were open. FINALLY, an older lady opened a door and asked if she could help me. I told her that I was there for Mass. She kindly informed me that Mass was actually at 8:00. :-P I, not-as-kindly, told her that they needed to update their website. I asked if I could come in. I sat in the church for a while. I used the Laudate app on my phone so I could at least review the Daily Readings. As I was sitting in the pew, another older lady approached me and not-at-all-kindly said, "Ma'am. Are you here for a REASON?" I told her that I was there for Mass, but missed it because their website was wrong. She quickly informed me that I needed to leave...because she had to lock up. Well, I was trying to start off the day right, but missing Mass tore me up and I started crying. A little stressed out? Perhaps. I'm starting to cry as I exit the place and the first lady, who had opened the door, asked if I was ok. I said, "Not really." As I walked out. And that was that. I sat in my car and tried to compose myself for a bit. Since I missed Mass, I might as well take advantage of the other Sacrament that was available to me. So I had my phone take me back to the first church.
It was much easier to find my way in, since someone was coming out and the doors weren't locked. ;-) Finding the confessional was tricky. After wandering around a bit, I discovered a room with an open door and the profile of a priest. I entered and made sure I was in the right place. It's tricky in these "newer" churches where things are in the "wrong" place. I closed the door. The priest was probably a "retired" priest. He asked why I was crying. I told him that it was because I missed Mass. Not sure if he didn't believe me, or just forgot as soon as I said it because it came up again. I was recounting my experience to some others and they said that they would love to have a priest who really forgot everything they said right away during Confession. To me, it was annoying. He said the blessing of absolution so quickly that I would have had no idea what he was saying if I hadn't heard it before.
His basic advice was to remember that Jesus died for my sins and "shut up". He said he was quoting a saint. Um...ok. He also said that singing Christmas carols would help. (If you are wondering what I confessed, well, too bad. Ha!)
My phone took me back to my hotel. My friend from high school, Cam, lives in the area. She came over to the hotel to hang out with me before it was time to head to the convention center. I had arranged for the shuttle to take me. Cam arrived with some flowers and a "Good Luck" balloon. :-) Yay! When it came time for me to head that way, I asked her to drive me, instead of taking the shuttle. I was very glad that I did. Cam told me to give her a call when I was finished and that we would go out to dinner later. If only I could have called her. . . (more to come)
Monday, January 14, 2013
The Voice Audition Process
I thought I would explain the audition process for "The Voice" before launching into my experience's details. (PS- Don't click on the hyperlinks. Google throws them in as ads. They are not relevant to the post.)
Step One: Register online. I registered for my place in the audition months ago, before the venues were even announced. This step is crucial. If you don't register ahead of time, you won't be able to audition.
Step Two: A week before the audition date, your official "Artist Pass" will be available for download on the casting website. This is your ticket to the auditions. You have to show it multiple times during the process, so you can't do without it!
Step Three: Arrive at your venue. I don't think it matters how early you show up. I think I was there about 30 minutes before they started the process of herding the cattle of the crowd. There was already quite a crowd at that point. Fortunately, they let us inside, so there wasn't a long line outside of the building. There were a few different groups of people inside of the building. There were family members and friends with the folks auditioning at that point, so it was really hard to gauge how many folks were really there to audition. I didn't realize that my friend could have come in with me for this part of the waiting.
Step Four: Use the restroom. May sound silly, but if you are really drinking as much water as folks recommend, you will need to repeat this steps multiple times during the process. ;-)
Step Five: Once the time for the audition hits, they begin to let people in slowly. Each group/line is roped off to help with crowd control. When you reach the front of this part of the line, you are required to show your Artist Pass and Photo ID. It is at this point when friends and family have to leave.
Step Six: Security. Purses and bags are checked. The metal detecting wand is used for folks who don't have purses.
Step Seven: Wait in line again. There are five different lines, so help the process move efficiently. When you reach the front of this line, they check your Artist Pass and ID again. You are then given a wrist band. Artists receive a purple band. Minors and their guardians receive red bands.
Step Eight: Wait in chairs. They count folks off and send you in small groups to go wait to sit in chairs. Here is another opportunity to use the restroom.
Step Nine: Be herded to another room with chairs to wait again. It's very considerate of them to let you sit. The "crew" tried to make things interesting by playing a little "game" with us. Stand up and say your name, hometown and favorite song. The person who can remember the info from the two previous folks gets to sing his/her favorite song. Some good singers sang. Some bad singers sang.
Step Ten: We are counted out into a group of 10. We are led to a conference room. We had to wait outside in the hall for a while. The whole group took the opportunity to go to the restroom.
Step Eleven: The 10 of us are finally led into this room. There was one girl sitting behind a computer at a table. She was the lone "judge" of our group. One by one, she called us. Each person got up and stood on the "X" and sang their song. We were allowed one verse and one chorus. My song was just one long verse with no chorus...because that's how the song goes.
Step Twelve: The girl behind the computer says something along the lines of "The bar is set very high for this show...blah, blah, blah...Sonya and Timothy stay behind. The rest of you can go. We are then sent out of the room. They cut off our arm bands...as if we never existed.
I wanted to tell the girl who I had been sitting next to that she did an awesome job, but she vanished as soon as we walked out the door.
What happened with Timothy and Sonya? I don't know. They may have had to sing their second song, or perhaps they received the "red card" for a call back right away. I know that if either of them wins the show, I will be very proud to say that they were in my group. :-)
Step One: Register online. I registered for my place in the audition months ago, before the venues were even announced. This step is crucial. If you don't register ahead of time, you won't be able to audition.
Step Two: A week before the audition date, your official "Artist Pass" will be available for download on the casting website. This is your ticket to the auditions. You have to show it multiple times during the process, so you can't do without it!
Step Three: Arrive at your venue. I don't think it matters how early you show up. I think I was there about 30 minutes before they started the process of herding the cattle of the crowd. There was already quite a crowd at that point. Fortunately, they let us inside, so there wasn't a long line outside of the building. There were a few different groups of people inside of the building. There were family members and friends with the folks auditioning at that point, so it was really hard to gauge how many folks were really there to audition. I didn't realize that my friend could have come in with me for this part of the waiting.
Step Four: Use the restroom. May sound silly, but if you are really drinking as much water as folks recommend, you will need to repeat this steps multiple times during the process. ;-)
Step Five: Once the time for the audition hits, they begin to let people in slowly. Each group/line is roped off to help with crowd control. When you reach the front of this part of the line, you are required to show your Artist Pass and Photo ID. It is at this point when friends and family have to leave.
Step Six: Security. Purses and bags are checked. The metal detecting wand is used for folks who don't have purses.
Step Seven: Wait in line again. There are five different lines, so help the process move efficiently. When you reach the front of this line, they check your Artist Pass and ID again. You are then given a wrist band. Artists receive a purple band. Minors and their guardians receive red bands.
Step Eight: Wait in chairs. They count folks off and send you in small groups to go wait to sit in chairs. Here is another opportunity to use the restroom.
Step Nine: Be herded to another room with chairs to wait again. It's very considerate of them to let you sit. The "crew" tried to make things interesting by playing a little "game" with us. Stand up and say your name, hometown and favorite song. The person who can remember the info from the two previous folks gets to sing his/her favorite song. Some good singers sang. Some bad singers sang.
Step Ten: We are counted out into a group of 10. We are led to a conference room. We had to wait outside in the hall for a while. The whole group took the opportunity to go to the restroom.
Step Eleven: The 10 of us are finally led into this room. There was one girl sitting behind a computer at a table. She was the lone "judge" of our group. One by one, she called us. Each person got up and stood on the "X" and sang their song. We were allowed one verse and one chorus. My song was just one long verse with no chorus...because that's how the song goes.
Step Twelve: The girl behind the computer says something along the lines of "The bar is set very high for this show...blah, blah, blah...Sonya and Timothy stay behind. The rest of you can go. We are then sent out of the room. They cut off our arm bands...as if we never existed.
I wanted to tell the girl who I had been sitting next to that she did an awesome job, but she vanished as soon as we walked out the door.
What happened with Timothy and Sonya? I don't know. They may have had to sing their second song, or perhaps they received the "red card" for a call back right away. I know that if either of them wins the show, I will be very proud to say that they were in my group. :-)
Thursday, January 10, 2013
Getting Ready For The Voice
Being that I have a little adventure happening this weekend, I figured I'd reopen this blog...at least for a bit.
I leave tomorrow for "The Voice" Open Auditions that will be held in Chicago over the weekend.
I thought it would be fun to let you in on my "pre-audition" prep work.
#1 - Check NBCTheVoice.com regularly. This ended up working in my favor! After checking a gazillion times, I realized that I could sign up for the AFTERNOON session, so I don't have to show up at 7:00 AM ready to sing. That is so wrong for me in so many different ways.
#2 - Decide what songs to sing. This includes staying after work at the radio station to record myself singing, then emailing mP3s to some trusted friends. Reading blogs about audition pieces. Then singing a few selections for a few special people. Making up my mind. Changing my mind. Singing for other people. Making up my mind. Changing my mind. REPEAT. HOW DID I PICK MY SONGS? I went round and round and round on which to song to prepare for the a capella round. Everything from country, to Disney, to Broadway, to pop, to church music. I got great input from many different folks. I chose Schubert's "Ave Maria" because I got paid $125 for singing that at one funeral recently. If it's worth $125 for a funeral, perhaps it will be good for this too! I also had confirmation from others about this. My second song is "I Hope You Dance" by Lee Ann Womack. I chose this song because AVON did a voice competition a few years back, which I considered entering, but didn't. You had to make a video of yourself singing 30 seconds of either "I Hope You Dance" or "Wind Beneath My Wings." I learned the song back then, but didn't enter. I figure if that song was chosen for auditioning, perhaps it shows off different parts of the voice that a judge would want to hear. I stay on pitch during the song and sound pretty good at it. My youngest has been a tremendous help in choosing because she is not afraid to tell me if it was terrible!
#3 - Decide what to wear. The audition guidelines say to dress in a way that "represents you as an artist." Um...I'm billing myself as a funeral singer who works at a talk radio station. I considered station apparel at one point, but decided on a dress instead.
#4 - Train. This is probably too little, too late, but I started taking advantage of my new gym membership. I've been walking every day this week and one day last week.
#5 - Drink lots and lots of water.
#6 - Get my nails done. Ha! This is silly and I don't have great nails, but a little professional shimmer makes me feel pretty. I got a pedicure too! Not like anyone is going to see my toes, but a little relaxing and pampering was nice.
#7 - Do laundry. When I wore the dress I chose for the audition the other day, Bill commented that he had never seen it before. I wear it to church a lot, but he has been working on weekends for a while. He commented that he hadn't even seen it come through the wash. That's because I wear it for an hour, then hang it up when I get home. I decided that I should make sure it is clean for the big day. ;-)
The BIGGEST things that I have been doing is praying. I am praying novenas to St. Blaise, St. Cecilia and Our Mother Mary - Miraculous Medal. I have a candle lit at the Mary statue and at the Joseph statue at my parish. I went to Adoration for a little while this afternoon. Fr. Richard Watson gave me a special blessing after Mass on Sunday. I discovered that there is a St. Cecilia Catholic Church near my hotel in Chicago that has a Saturday morning Mass. I may have to get myself up to go to that!
#1 - Check NBCTheVoice.com regularly. This ended up working in my favor! After checking a gazillion times, I realized that I could sign up for the AFTERNOON session, so I don't have to show up at 7:00 AM ready to sing. That is so wrong for me in so many different ways.
#2 - Decide what songs to sing. This includes staying after work at the radio station to record myself singing, then emailing mP3s to some trusted friends. Reading blogs about audition pieces. Then singing a few selections for a few special people. Making up my mind. Changing my mind. Singing for other people. Making up my mind. Changing my mind. REPEAT. HOW DID I PICK MY SONGS? I went round and round and round on which to song to prepare for the a capella round. Everything from country, to Disney, to Broadway, to pop, to church music. I got great input from many different folks. I chose Schubert's "Ave Maria" because I got paid $125 for singing that at one funeral recently. If it's worth $125 for a funeral, perhaps it will be good for this too! I also had confirmation from others about this. My second song is "I Hope You Dance" by Lee Ann Womack. I chose this song because AVON did a voice competition a few years back, which I considered entering, but didn't. You had to make a video of yourself singing 30 seconds of either "I Hope You Dance" or "Wind Beneath My Wings." I learned the song back then, but didn't enter. I figure if that song was chosen for auditioning, perhaps it shows off different parts of the voice that a judge would want to hear. I stay on pitch during the song and sound pretty good at it. My youngest has been a tremendous help in choosing because she is not afraid to tell me if it was terrible!
#3 - Decide what to wear. The audition guidelines say to dress in a way that "represents you as an artist." Um...I'm billing myself as a funeral singer who works at a talk radio station. I considered station apparel at one point, but decided on a dress instead.
#4 - Train. This is probably too little, too late, but I started taking advantage of my new gym membership. I've been walking every day this week and one day last week.
#5 - Drink lots and lots of water.
#6 - Get my nails done. Ha! This is silly and I don't have great nails, but a little professional shimmer makes me feel pretty. I got a pedicure too! Not like anyone is going to see my toes, but a little relaxing and pampering was nice.
#7 - Do laundry. When I wore the dress I chose for the audition the other day, Bill commented that he had never seen it before. I wear it to church a lot, but he has been working on weekends for a while. He commented that he hadn't even seen it come through the wash. That's because I wear it for an hour, then hang it up when I get home. I decided that I should make sure it is clean for the big day. ;-)
The BIGGEST things that I have been doing is praying. I am praying novenas to St. Blaise, St. Cecilia and Our Mother Mary - Miraculous Medal. I have a candle lit at the Mary statue and at the Joseph statue at my parish. I went to Adoration for a little while this afternoon. Fr. Richard Watson gave me a special blessing after Mass on Sunday. I discovered that there is a St. Cecilia Catholic Church near my hotel in Chicago that has a Saturday morning Mass. I may have to get myself up to go to that!
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
FAWMING in 2012
YES! I AM FAWMING! Slowly, but surely. I have two collabs going up this week. I am using 
to host my songs. :-) I will post the links here once I have things up and running.
to host my songs. :-) I will post the links here once I have things up and running.
Tuesday, March 3, 2009
FAWM is over
Of course FAWM is over now since it is March. My kids totally out-did me this year. At least we made it to 14. This is probably my lamest year ever. :-( Hopefully I'll be able to make something out of nothing from what I posted. Hard to say. I just didn't ever decide to use my time to attempt anything fancy this year. People are always coming in and out to tattle on one another, so it makes it a little difficult to actually record anything uninterrupted, so I didn't try. I didn't feel like staying up extra late either (which I did in the past). There's always next year. In the meantime, Becka & Neleh can keep writing their songs and I'll sit back and listen.
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