As I have watched American Idol for some added blog inspiration this season, I am really feeling for the singers during their judgement from the panelists.  It brings back a lot of memories for me as a singer when it comes to receiving conflicting advice from your mentors.  It can be extremely confusing to the “green” and even not so “green” singer.  What do you take to heart, what do you learn from, and what do you ignore?

When 4 people are giving you conflicting advice, or even 2 people what do you do?

It is a very hard position to be in as a singer because we want so much to please the people in charge.  We need the job, we want to keep the job, and we have to get the next job.  Think of all the pressure and opinions one singing gig may have:  your teacher, any opposing teachers on your technique, your conductor, your coach, your pianist, your band members, or director, or choreographer, your producer, your agent, your parent, your boyfriend, the music critic, the audience…

Everyone has an opinion on how you should sing and what you should do to make yourself better.  Whether they are talking about your technique, your song choice, your fach (vocal category), your personal style, or your genre of choice.

This is a really tough position to be in.  For example on American Idol last night Randy told Katie Stevens that she was singing perfectly in her R&B genre while Simon Cowell said she was a country singer.  This is a young girl who is very talented who needs to find her way receiving conflicting advice by two highly acclaimed professionals.  How is she supposed to deal with that?

That is a lot of pressure.  All you can do singers is pick a few people to trust who have a great record of experience that you respect and listen to them.  Then take it all in and listen to your gut.  The truth is, it is you standing up there, being judged.  You need to feel 100% true to how you are presenting what you’ve got inside from the truest voice to the most honest emotions conveyed.  You have to be happy with your outfit and your own hair style.  You need to feel connected to your song choice and cozy in your genre selection.

At the end of the day, when the lights come down, the answer is in your gut and instinct. Use a few wise people to help guide you to that true place.  You are the one to receive the acclaim or critique of your performance no matter who told you to do what.  So own your decisions and choices, but make sure you do so with a professional positive attitude.

-I can guarantee you that you will be judged for them.

Sing well people!

written by Ariella Vaccarino creator of Voice Lessons To Go (singing lessons on CD) and author of Vocalize!

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I’ve blogged a lot about vocal health, how to take care of your voice, what to do if you are sick, when not to sing etc…  But then there is a certain reality, sometimes you have to sing anyway, whether your voice is healthy or not and that is what happened to Paige Miles, and due to that unlucky course of events, she has been voted off the show.  Unfortunately, everyone has short term memory in show business.

She started off the show strong with Simon Cowell telling her she had the best voice of the bunch.  Two weeks ago she got laryngitis.  Now just imagine this.  You are there for a chance of a lifetime and you laryngitis.  Under any other point in her life she would have been commanded to vocal rest by a doctor so that her chords could heal and recover properly.  This really takes a couple of weeks with laryngitis.

But, due to the circumstance she had to produce, this was her opportunity and moment, she had to sing. She probably was under doctors care and had some sort of steroid shot to get through her performance, (I’ve had to have that done).  I will tell you from personal experience, that it can get you through an important sing but you don’t get 100% out and it takes much longer to recover your voice long term then it would have without it.

Considering all that, I think she was able to do quite well last week.  But, unfortunately she paid for it with her voice this week.  It was so unstable and off.  Her poor chords sounded pretty fragile and abused.  They were just not “themselves”.

And sadly, she had to be judged anyway- “the show must go on”, as they say.  Everybody just judged her pitchy voice and was forgetting what they were going through.  Very sad for her.  It was just a stroke of bad luck, and sadly that happens in life.  You break your leg before a sports event, get sick on vacation, or laryngitis on American Idol- luck is just luck good or bad.

I just wish they could have given her more credit and have been clearer about why her voice was not producing.  They gave her compassion for her voice when she sang well the week before with the laryngitis, but acted like there was no excuse this week, 1 week later.

People always support you when you do well through a tough period, but sometimes things are tough and you can’t do well.  I am frustrated that they don’t have someone on that panel standing up for the “voice”.  You’ll find that the “people in charge” just want you to sing well, no excuses, not even the excuse of laryngitus. Excuses, to them are problem people- no matter the circumstance, no matter how unfair.

This business is tough and can be pretty ugly sometimes.   Thank God the singing can be so satisfying to balance it out.   Get yourselves a good support team around you of family and friends.  Be strong Paige Miles you are very talented.

written by Ariella Vaccarino creator of Voice Lessons To Go (singing lessons on CD) and author of Vocalize!

Are you ready for your next audition?  Sign up for my Vocal Assessment. Then send me a link or mp3 of you singing (audio/or audio visual) with your questions and I will get back to you with my feedback right away.

Follow me on twitter:http://www.twitter.com/singingvltg