Episode #018 Ten Reasons Why New Singers Fail and What to Do About it

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Welcome back. Welcome back to Why New Singers Fail and 10 Things You Can Do About It. Hey there aspiring vocal virtuosos, and rock stars. Are you tired of hitting all the wrong notes and ending up sounding like a screeching cat instead of a singing sensation? Fear not, I've got your back on this singing journey, and today we're going to uncover the secrets of why new singers often hit a sour note, and more importantly, how to turn things around and hit the high notes of success.

So I'm so glad you're tuning in, whether you are listening to the podcast or you are watching this on YouTube, you're catching a replay somewhere. [00:01:00] Today's topic is really catered towards singers, new singers, hobby singers. Maybe you are an emerging artist. You're not quite. You know, signed to a label or have a manager yet.

But I'm hoping what you will take away today are some encouraging, supportive tips, some tricks, a couple of tweaks. If you are feeling discouraged you know, try some of this stuff before you throw the towel in and give up today's quote. If I Cannot Fly, Let Me Sing by Stephen Sondheim and he, we know that name many productions, lots of musical theater, Broadway challenging stuff, big, difficult.

He did things with music and production that you don't see anywhere else. So that is our quote [00:02:00] today. Again, if you are a singer, you are in the right place and it does not matter how much experience you've had. This podcast is really geared more toward the newer. Upcoming, maybe you're considering, maybe thinking about singing as a career, here are some things, ten things that you can do, or ten reasons why new singers fail in the first place.

So the number one reason, pitfall of new singers. You know, maybe you've belted out and you're singing in the shower or you're one of those who's like to sing in the car and you've thought I might actually have some talent. Maybe you've had family members or some friends. I get a lot of people coming through the studio who they've had people close to them that they trust say, you know, you ought to consider, you know, going and doing some gigs, go do some open mics, or maybe, you know, write your own songs.

And then you step up to the mic. At that open mic or maybe karaoke. [00:03:00] And it's as if your vocal cords are playing hide and seek, like they're nowhere to be found, right? Or you go to sing and something comes out that you were not expecting. So listen, don't worry. Because you're not alone. Many new singers face common pitfalls that hold them back from unleashing their true vocal potential.

So a true story, very recent. In fact, I may even be meeting with this client at the time that this is released, but I just had somebody reach out to me and it's a common story. I hear it all the time over 20 years. This stuff keeps coming up that this person's. partner reached out to me over a year ago on his behalf and they're actually only now taking action.

But what I understand is this is exactly what happened. He was at a karaoke party. He got up to go do a couple of songs. Voice did not [00:04:00] perform the way he fought. In fact, how often we get up thinking that we know a song we've heard it all our life and then we go to sing it and it's like, Wait a minute.

Where is it? Where did it go? I thought I knew this song way better than I did. So fast forward This person is coming in to sing, singing pretty quickly here and it is really just for the purpose of getting a couple of karaoke songs under his belt, you know, really getting strong, building some confidence, learning some tools and how to use his voice.

It's a very common story. The second reason why new singers. Fail is what I call the overnight sensation syndrome, right? One of the most significant hurdles is falling for that overnight sensation myth, right? You've seen the reality show, someone goes from singing in their living room to topping the charts in a week.

Okay, here's the real deal. Behind every instant [00:05:00] success, there has been an ocean of practice, hard work, and dedication. Right? Let's talk reality TV and behind the scenes for a second. There is no overnight. There, I mean, the only exception to this whole idea of overnight, first of all, We, it seems like it's overnight from our perspective.

It's like from one second they're there and then the next thing they're all over the place and we hear them everywhere. Okay. Most of the time there has been a ton of hard work training just like for any type of physical event or a triathlon or there's been preparation before they show up on the scene this way.

We don't see any of that. And that's anything that's in business, you know, we see our friends, entrepreneurs, business people, you know, they just start [00:06:00] this new thing and, you know, a month later they're off the chart and raking in the big bucks. It's not true, right? The online business, you'll follow these five steps and you too can have an online business.

I'm telling you, it don't work that way. Nope, it's a lot of smoke and mirrors and BS. And if you're feeling any emotion come through me on all of that, there's a reason for it. Ask me how I know this stuff doesn't happen overnight. So I want to come back. The only exception. To that might be my brother, Nikki, your, there were a whole bunch of kids who during the pandemic started writing music in their garage and started collaborating and playing around and putting some stuff out there and just kind of the snowball thing happened.

But I will tell you, even some of the artists that I worked with during the pandemic and right after who were rising to the top really fast. [00:07:00] Some of those people, some of those bands aren't even alive anymore. They're gone. They were a flash in the pan. They were on a roll. They were, the listenership was growing.

The video views were growing. The listenership the likes, the subscriptions. I 25%.

Of the people I was working with back then are no longer on the scene. You know, Nicky, I keep going back to Nicky because he might be the exception. This kid was one of those people in the right place at the right time with the right people. And I'm not going to say he's an overnight sensation, but because he, and he's has been working his butt.

If you are not a fan you can go find him and I'll put some information in the show notes. He just now has merch available for purchase. He's been really busy touring this year. But it's a whole new ballgame for [00:08:00] him. And there was a lot of work that went into him getting there. He might be the exception to being even close to an overnight. sensation and it really did not happen overnight, but it didn't take super long either for him to be where he's at now. Reality TV, there's, it's exactly, well, first of all, there's nothing real in reality TV.

It is scripted, it's edited beyond Soundbites here and there and strung together to give us the viewer a very different picture from what really went on, you know, I will say, because we got to explore that a little bit personally with my oldest son, who was a minor at the time. I think that it was the voice we were headed out to and I had to go down there with him because he was a minor and we were going to be living in the hotel while they shot for the whatever the show was they were [00:09:00] getting ready to do.

Transcribed And, you know, and I mean, you know, God bless him. My son knew as a young child. knew he was going to be doing something with music. Was asking for an agent at the age of three or four years old. I don't know if y'all remember the Barney show. He wanted to be on the show with Selena Gomez and Demi Lovato.

And I mean, as a child, he knew this. Now I, we did not, we didn't promote any of that. That's just who that kid is to this day, loves and hugs to Ghost Rider. There's a lot that goes on behind the scenes. And, you know, I middle America is they're buying all that. They're taking it as being true and, Oh my gosh.

And there's always, you know, they're looking for the rags to Richard riches story, they're looking for that hardcore, you know, from nothing living on the street, you know, busking with the guitar. to [00:10:00] that rise to stardom, you know, there may be some of those, but again, there's a whole bunch of stuff that we do not see.

And other than for, you know, entertainment value, you know, there's that a lot of behind the scenes. So let's look at the third reason why new singers fail pitch problems. I talk a lot about pitch, right? When you're just, maybe even just a tad bit off, right? The dreaded pitch issues. Your favorite artists are able to hit those high notes effortlessly, and you wonder, why can't I do that?

But guess what? Even Beyonce... Wasn't born hitting all the right perfect notes at the perfect moment, right? All of this takes practice It's training just like learning any other new skill Sometimes it's just a little vocal finesse to nail Those big notes or those low notes, depending where your pitch issues are.

Please don't be [00:11:00] afraid to seek guidance from a vocal coach or a singing mentor, right? This is just like learning any other new skill or sport or learning a new language. Pitch, my friends, is fixable. It's just training. It's just learning a thing. A few tools, some tricks, some, I call it the, your toolbox is what I work with them with my own clients.

The fourth reason that new singers fail is really the confidence. Just lacking the confidence, right? You know, you're about to perform in front of a live audience and suddenly your knees are shaking, your palms are sweating, right? It is, it's common, right? It's that fight or flight thing in our brain going, okay, you know, I'm about to be chased by a lion, right?

It's. It's deeply ingrained. It's all of that unconscious stuff that happens when you take the stage, whether it's karaoke, an open mic, the recording studio. I know that [00:12:00] when before I ever my first couple of videos through Kerry Murphy, the it factor shout out my professional positioning videos that are on my.

website were done through her three day program. And I mean, this is something I've done for over two decades. I've gone through her it factor at least, you know, two times, I believe. And you get up and as soon as the camera starts rolling, I've completely forgotten everything that I was going to say, I have forgotten my entire presentation, and there's something about the lights.

the camera, that it's a total mental thing. Now, this is a podcast. If you are listening on the podcast this is also being shown on YouTube. So when I record these sessions, I am actually on a camera. The only reason I am able to come in the way I do Well, well, one, I really, there's just no more pressure on myself [00:13:00] to be perfect any longer.

I'm just having fun. I'm just trying to get this incredible, simple information out to as many people as I possibly can. So you don't have to wonder anymore. Can I sing? Can I learn the skills? Can I do this and join the big kids on a big stage someday? So my point is I'm confident enough now when that camera starts rolling.

I just don't think about it anymore. I'm here with you my faithful listeners and viewers, and I'm just here. I'm in the moment. I know my material, I'm here to be of service and share with you, and I guess it's just the practice. You know, the more you do anything, the more relaxed that you're going to get, the more fun that it's going to be.

So confidence. is something that, you know, I think confidence, that confidence muscle is also a skill. It is something that with practice over time, you do it enough, you will be a little bit more confident. You'll be in the practice [00:14:00] of inhaling confidence and exhaling that doubt when it starts to creep up, right?

So the fifth,

I've lost one. I went from four, your confidence, to five, rewiring your mind for singing success. This is a little bit about what I was just talking about, right? Start visualizing yourself. Owning the stage, hitting those notes, engaging with your audience, right? Our mind is an incredibly powerful tool. When you see yourself succeeding, your actions will follow suit, right?

Believing in yourself and your voice. We'll follow visualization and repetition. I can't say enough about those two things. And those are also going to affect your confidence level, [00:15:00] right? Preparing for live shows, right? Whether it's a competition and again, not just for singing, whether you're a singer, whether you're a dancer cheer squad, lip syncing contest.

Okay. That believe it or not. I actually helped someone to prepare for a lip syncing contest. Lip sync, lip syncing, lip sync contest. I think lip syncing is even harder than anything else I've done with voice. Because the timing has to be absolutely on point. If you get up, and we've seen it. We've seen the live concerts.

Where the artist is lip syncing to their own material, and the timing has gotten off. There's a great video out, I don't know how old, I don't even know how it came across my feed, but it is the actress Anne Hathaway is lip syncing [00:16:00] to Miley Cyrus Wrecking Ball. This girl comes out, and I think it's a thing, this is like an actual contest, and it might be a thing among celebrities.

But she comes out. on fire off the chart. Her lip syncing is impeccable. I mean, she is so right in the pocket. Absolutely. Every word, every phrase, her movements, the choreography that she added into this right down to getting in the face of the people who are judging. It's like a contest. Like, I don't know what they do for prizes and things, but wonderful example of a lip sync contest.

It is not an easy thing to do. We think I thought it lip syncing. Oh, that's nothing compared to all the other things I've done with the voice. It's hard. Go try it. So I just want to come back to imagining yourself and I do still do this. Whether I am performing myself [00:17:00] or I'm doing a live presentation you know, hopefully you've prepared enough in advance, all the practical things, you know, all of the content that you're trying to present that then when it gets down to the actual presenting and I do this and I show my clients how to do this, you know, the venue, if you can get to your venue ahead of time and go.

You can also paste the stage and visualize where your audience will be. I mean, anything you can do in advance ahead of time. If you are having to travel to a venue, it's really great if you can get out there and walk that stage and get behind the stage and the green room and all of that business.

Anything you can do to prepare before your actual event or show or your gig is going to help also. with your brain to prepare in advance before you actually take the stage. The seventh thing [00:18:00] item here are affirmations. This one here, I am a singing super star. So again, this was primarily for singing, but positive affirmations can work wonders and boosting your confidence, right?

Repeating anything. I am. I am a natural born singer. I captivate my audience with every note. I actually have, please go grab, I will drop this in the show notes, go grab my, I am, 26 ways to access your voice instantly. They are, I am meditations. They start with I am. And I go through the whole alphabet from A to Z starting with I am A.

Amazing. You're inhaling the I am. As you exhale. The second letter in the alphabet B. Beautiful. That's what you're [00:19:00] exhaling out. Inhaling. I am for C. Courageous is what you would exhale. So that's a free gift. It's under 10 minutes long. You can pull that right up on your phone and have it available the next time that you're going to be showing up in public with your voice.

I'll put that information in the bio number eight embracing your imperfections. Now I love this when I really dug into the word imperfection and I'm sure I saw this somewhere, but I broke it down to I'm Perfect. I am perfection. You know, again, perfection, totally overrated. You know, even the pros have off days, right?

Embrace the imperfections and learn from them. Every squeaky note or cracked voice is a stepping stone to improving, right? Live recordings that these are great when you're [00:20:00] rehearsing or practicing for whatever you're going to be doing with your voice. This is where you will pick up on pitch issues.

This is where you will hear any timing issues anything going on with your voice that is off you know. Any cracking, any fry any breathiness those, the elements in the voice, earth, air, fire, water, metal. If you are singing a big and powering song and you want to get your audience excited, you certainly aren't going to be wanting to sing.

with a whole lot of water or air and breathiness that is not going to motivate your audience, friends. You know, the imperfection piece, use it to your advantage, right? Anything that is not where you want it or not where you're desiring it. Don't get stuck in it. Don't get caught in that, that Paralysis because it's not where you want it, but just use it as a [00:21:00] tool, right?

Get it to that place where it's good enough for what you're going to go do with your voice next. And be good with that, right? And give yourself a pat on the back. First of all, if you are listening to this and you are one of the people that are fitting this criteria, You are one of that small percentage on the planet that are stepping out, that are making yourself, putting yourself out there to, to, for criticism, right?

I'm doing it every week, every time I put a podcast, every time I put another video up on the YouTube, every time I post in social, I am making myself available to criticism. Now, I'm good with that. I'm wired To receive that, you know, I'm going to take what I like and I'm going to leave the rest and I'm not going to take it personally and on the rare occasion that I get feedback that is not in alignment with who I am and what I am on the planet to do, which is to share [00:22:00] this information and be of service to as many people as I possibly can to hold as many people's hands as I can to get them to a place of confidence and have their toolbox on hand.

Thank you. On the rare occasion that I come across or I get feedback that was, that I did not solicit that doesn't feel good. You know, my, my take is it really doesn't have anything to do with me. That's somebody on the other end who's having their own issues and God bless them. Maybe they find peace and serenity and work their stuff out.

But it's not for me and that's not for me to own. And that's. I'm giving that to all of you, the listener and the viewer you know, take what you like and leave the rest and definitely please, and I don't even know if this is one of our points today. You cannot take any feedback personally.

Feedback is exactly that. It is just feedback. Right? Take what you like. Leave the rest. If it's something helpful that you can use, you know, take it and tweak it and use it to your advantage. But don't take this [00:23:00] stuff personally, right? And if you're putting yourself out there, please know you are one of the most brave and courageous people on the planet already.

So let's come back to, oh, this one here. This is not exciting. The practice, practicing. Like a rock star, right? It's the practice that makes the progress. It's that doing all that not glamorous, not very fun, actually kind of boring. Who was it? Oh, Emily Baum. If you happen to hear this, she's a piano teacher down South Southern California.

She shared with me a video recently. She was being a The video was Celine Dion being interviewed by somebody famous. One of those interviewers. Anyway, he's asking Celine Dion, I'll go find that video. See if I can pop that up for all of you. But he's asking her, why does she still go to a vocal coach?

That was the first question. Yes, he's very puzzled and doesn't understand why she still goes to a [00:24:00] vocal coach. And her response is because it's, those are my workouts. Those are my warmups. It's just like going to the gym. I need to stay in vocal shape. I need to stay, I've got to keep my strength, my flexibility, my endurance.

And then he asked her, what are some of the exercises that they do when she meets with her vocal coach? Okay. From you know, the lip rolls to, I call it a vocal swoop. All kinds of silly things that, that don't feel like they're much of anything, but they really are. And if Celine Dion was, I don't know when this was filmed, but if she was still going to a vocal coach, you know, man.

The rest of us all need to be working with vocal. I have a vocal coach, shout out to Kimberly Ford, darling. I haven't seen you forever. She is my vocal coach. She is my jazz teacher. And you know, I go [00:25:00] and work with somebody else who is better than myself in order to stay up on my own game. So we all need coaches.

We all need mentors. We are the sum of the five people that we keep company with. If we get comfortable in our little place. You look at the five people, singers that are listening to this. Look at the five people that you're hanging out with, you know, is it your friends from school? Is it your people that you work with at the coffee shop?

Is it your family? You know, if you want to improve, if you want to get better, you need to invest in yourself, time, money. energy. And you know, don't think that all the little things that your coaches or mentors or teachers are asking you to do are not doing anything because they are. And most of all, in addition to preparing you physically, they're really preparing you mentally as well.

So keep practicing. Right? The songs to perform in a live performance are those songs that get stuck in your head. Those are the songs, you know, whether [00:26:00] they're original material or you're covering somebody else's material. Those are the songs. If you have to sing them one more time, you're going to scream, right?

Those are the songs that are stuck in your head. They're playing in your head when you go to sleep at night. When you wake up in the morning, it's the first thing in your head. Right? That's the stuff that you know so well, inside and out, like the back of your hand, or the front of your hand. Those are the best songs to go out and perform.

Those are the songs that now you're really being able to bring your own style in, your own interpretation. There are some great things going on with old music, old songs we've heard forever that are being remade. They're being covered in a new way in a different style. Maybe it was done as a classic rock song.

Now it's being done as an upbeat pop song or a EDM. So there you have. So much creative license to go and take something old and do something new with it. And the way that you're able to do that is [00:27:00] knowing that material so well that you're absolutely sick of it. So keep practicing. And then the last one I have here really is finding your unique voice.

I alluded to that a little bit, you know, while you're learning your favorite artists is fantastic. you know, remember to find your unique sound. Your sound is what will make you stand out from the crowd. Embrace your individuality and let your voice shine like the star that it is, right? This whole finding your unique voice, it's a process.

It's the process that leads to that evolution, that transformation. You'll play, I already mentioned, play with different genres, styles, mix it up, right? What are those things that you are drawn to? I, I do, I caution, especially new artists, From, you know, putting yourself in a box. I have a lot of emerging artists when they come in.

You know, I, you know, I'm a pop artist. You know, that that's my jam. That's where I hang out. And then we [00:28:00] start playing around with other styles and genres. And it's like, wow, I've got a young woman right now. She loves the big ballads. Lots of ballads. And her voice is amazing. We started playing with country music.

And. Wow. Total new sound emerged. I'll be meeting with her this afternoon and I'm really excited. We've got some new material we're going to work with. And it doesn't mean she can't still do those ballads, but just by changing the style of the song, something unique happened with her tonal quality.

She's doing some things stylistically that I had not heard when she was singing ballads. You know, play and don't, if you're a new artist, Don't put yourself in a box and say, this is all I do. Because there is a whole world of other things that your voice can do with just by playing and exploring.

And over time that may emerge, that may change. You [00:29:00] know, that's just, that's life. So be open to the other things, the other possibilities. Dear future vocal sensations. Remember that every legendary singer started as a newbie at some time. Don't be disheartened by the hurdles. They're simply stepping stones to your success.

Harness your mental power, embrace your uniqueness, and practice like a rock star, right? Before you know it, you're going to be hitting the high notes like a seasoned pro, right? Now, before you sign off, couple of things in the show notes. There are some things there. If you are one of those people, you're just not sure.

You just need a, you just need a starting point. You just need a baseline. Like you have no idea, maybe you're brand new to all of this information and you're curious, what can my voice actually do? What is the potential that my voice holds? Please go click on the link in the show notes from curious to confident.

It's a one hour session with [00:30:00] me. It's a full evaluation where I'm going to show you these things. I'm going to show you your octave range. I'm going to show you, I'm gonna give you your toolbox, your personal toolbox. for your voice. We're going to create a custom vocal workout. It's the first if you decide to stay on, it's the first audio file in a complete library that we create specific for you.

If you are getting ready to go into the recording studio, maybe you have original material you're getting ready to do and you're like you're losing your voice, you're suffering from vocal fatigue. Maybe you've been in the studio. And your voice is not performing the way you need it to write without even hearing a single note.

If that is happening to you, I am telling you the listener, or if you're watching on YouTube, if you are trying to record music because those are take after take, if you are losing your voice, if your voice is your throat is feeling sore. If you're not able to hit certain notes that you were able to hit to before you started in the recording studio, [00:31:00] I'm telling you right now, there's a couple of things going on.

Number one, you're probably not breathing correctly. And number two, you're not using your voice correctly. I mean, it's pretty simple stuff. And I can show you how to do that in the first 30 minutes. of one hour with me. Anyway, so there is that. In addition to that if you any value at all, if you're listening on the podcast, I'd love a five star review if you feel it's worth it.

If you're watching on YouTube, I'd love for you to subscribe, share it with someone you care about. Go book that first session with me. Come and join the community. If you are a woman watching the Facebook community, find your voice, rock your confidence, go jump into that group. I've got a special things unique.

To women vocalist, women entrepreneurs going on over there. And until next time, thank you again so much for tuning in this podcast, these recordings, these videos really are for you, the audience. You are the reason that I get up, that I do this hair and makeup, that I practice myself and warm up my voice.

And in the [00:32:00] meantime, please remember, keep inhaling confidence and exhale any doubt that you have about you, your voice. whether or not you've got anything to share with the world. So I'm telling you before I've even seen you or heard you sing a single note, you have something special and unique to share with the rest of the world.

And I'm here to help you find that until next time.