Watching Glee is one of my favorite things to do on Tuesday nights. The more I look, the more I am surrounding by music. Today anyone with a webcam and access to Internet can have their 15 minutes of fame from their own home. Glee is pivotal here because they have opened up the doors to so many people by their open casting call out on Myspace or their voting on favorite covers of the songs from that week’s show. Ellen DeGeneres has even done her part to give these small-town people a way to be heard. She’s just started her own record label and signed a middle schooler as her first artist!
It’s all about ability. People with the talent to do great things are being given the perfect outlets for their success. These talents are everywhere and it’s great that people in high places are helping out. My favorite example of this type of participation is American Idol. They have been giving people the chance to shine for nine seasons! Tonight someone else will win and go way beyond what they could have done on their own. Their life will change.
Music is becoming revolutionary in the way people listen to it, sing it, and share it. Showcasing your gift is a personal thing but with Youtube you can make it global in one three minute clip. I watched two sisters try out for Glee’s next season with their videos on Myspace. They are so talented and not even 20 years old. I found their Youtube channel from here where they did a cover of a Lady Gaga song.
I’m certainly not the best singer out there. It’s not likely that I will be famous for it or even known for it. However, I will share it. I want to be able to inspire the people who might even be too shy to sing in their bathroom and post a video of it. It’s crazy to think that people would want to hear you but if you hide your gift from the world you could be missing out on the opportunity to be heard. Don’t deprive the world from what you have to offer.
If you were waiting for a personal invitation…that was it.
Performing in front of an audience can be a threat to some people. Sharing a talent can be nerve-racking and make a person feel uneasy even in the midst of their family and friends. I recall this experience with vivid clarity.
Last month my dad had asked me to sing during the sermon he was to preach at my uncle’s church in Brazil, IN. Making a joke, I shrugged it off. He had told me three weeks in advance to the sermon. The constant probes made me feel like I was letting him down because I had already made my decision.
Singing in front of that congregation was my worst fear at the time. My family was going to make up about 80 percent of it that Sunday. My sister was always the singer, so she was my main concern. Feeling shadowed by her talent most of my life, I did not want to perform alone with her in the audience. Even in the midst of family I feared I would be judged on the performance.
What’s worse is that the day the sermon took place. I had to personally explain to the secretary who did the programs that even though my name was in the bulletin, I would not be singing. My grandparents were there and they sarcastically commended the performance I never gave. Afterward I pretended the whole situation didn’t affect me, although it clearly had.
I’m not sure why I couldn’t sing in front of that congregation, but I could sing in the privacy of a practice room that was sound proofed. I can sing in the car over any distance and I can sing in the shower without feeling judged. The video I posted was played in class two days ago. I’ve never gotten such a hot flash from embarrassment.
This is me singing in a practice room at BSU. It’s part of an experiment I’m doing for a class. I hope you all enjoy it and please leave comments. BTW, the middle of the song where it looks like I stopped is the interlude. Enjoy and thanks for listening!
Youtube isn’t something I’m on frequently but today I searched for singers. I met a girl named Katie from the U.K. She’s young but is passionate about singing. She told me that her parents had encouraged her to pursue it and in the future she sees herself performing on a stage for an audience. She has dealt with a lot of critical comments on her site but she keeps posting videos. They aren’t the most flattering and she does it because she wants to make her family proud and she said they are proud of her. People have told her that she can sing like her friends and family and she’s been singing since she was 3 or 4. Katie has a passion for singing, she just doesn’t know she’s not that good. Try to get past her English accent in the video and tell me what you think about Katie and what’s she’s doing online.
The video previously on this site from youtube is apparently unavailable. Not sure what happened to Katie but she isn’t at the same account.
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