or any talent competition-Part 2
by Jeannie Deva April 2007
Watching American Idol week after week, you begin to hear a certain theme in the critiques given by Randy, Paula and Simon. Usually, it comes down to four things: is the voice developed to a professional standard, whether the singer was pitchy or not, correct song choice and a unique enough performance both visually and vocally to �stand out in the crowd.�
In part one of this article, we addressed vocal development and singing on pitch. Now let�s explore the last two ingredients that are important to any talent competition or audition.
Choosing the Right Song
You may have an excellent voice, but if you have not picked the right song, you have a big strike against you. It is tough to take a song that has become an �industry standard� and turn it into something uniquely different enough to give it your own signature. Choosing a competition song must include several factors: 1) You believe in the message of the song enough to pour your own heart and soul into it; 2) The style of the music allows you to do things with your voice that bring out the best in your tone and unique attributes; 3) It is a song that will not automatically compare you with the original artist; 4) It permits you to take chances both emotionally and vocally; 5) The song inspires you to make certain melodic and phrasing changes from the original recording while still keeping it true to style.
Having a good vocal coach is vital to accomplishing all of this and delivering a unique performance. You need to have someone who is both objective as well as knowledgeable in all the facets of how to bring out the best in your voice and performance.
Selling Your Song
Once you pick the right song, the task becomes how to really showcase your voice, be authentic and take the risks that will make this the most memorable performance your judges have heard. You need to know how to bring out the best of yourself and put it on the line.
Most successful performers develop these skills from experience over a long period of time. However, if you work on each aspect of performance as you do your voice, you�ll be able to acquire these skills faster than by trial and error. Have you worked on the physical presentation of your performance, videoed it, reviewed and corrected it until you can look at yourself in a video and know that it is good?
Taking Command of Your Performance
Otherwise known as stage projection or stage presence, the ability to command your performance space is an essential ingredient to your song delivery and performance success. If your attention is on yourself when you perform, you will not be able to emanate enough energy from the stage into the audience to create much impact. Conversely, extroverting your attention outward to your audience can help to give you a sense of space and certainty into which you can project emotion and your communication.
Being a dynamic performer does not necessarily mean jumping all over the stage. It does mean that you fill the performance area (rather than shrink from it) and give to your audience rather than being focused on receiving from them. I'm not saying you won't get anything back; it is just that while singing and performing, you emanate rather than receive.
Exercise to Help with Confidence and Extroversion
Believe it or not, here is an exercise that can help. When you walk down the street, say hello to people you pass. You can certainly choose not to address everyone. Just make it a point to find as many people as you can to say hello to and make sure they hear you. Then, when you�re in a store, say hello to people, say hello to the person at the cash register and find something about the person you can compliment or any other subject to start a conversation.
The point is this: Extroverting your attention and being friendly toward others will make you feel better and more comfortable with yourself. You bring this comfort and confidence with you on stage and into your performance. When you perform in front of a judge, you also need to have personal confidence and the ability to like strangers. If you shrink from them, there goes your voice and performance. You need to reach out instead. Make sense? Try it!
Cheering you on,
Jeannie Deva
�Jeannie Deva is a total asset to anyone who is serious about their vocals. They should get involved with her right away � the sooner the better.� David Frangioni, Audio Specialist for [Aerosmith, Elton John, Bette Midler]
