Sunday 20 May 2012

Professional Backup Singer. My first time ever!

I only started singing seriously 3 years ago. And honestly, I don't know if every singer feels the same way as I do but I really don't like my voice. YES. My secret wish was to have a soulful and cool voice. The voice that has the capability to go here, there and everywhere. The voice that would always be pitch perfect. With loads of stamina. yada yada yada.


I am still discovering my own VOICE. The plus point that I have about my voice is that it is unique. Very me. Which is great because that means no one sounds like me. And yet, I also sound like a bit of this and that. My secret wish is to have a voice & be able to sing like Michael Jackson, Stevie Wonder, Jay Kay of Jamiroquai, Chaka Khan, Mary J. Blige, Ben Folds, Siedah Garrett, Maysa from Incognito years, that crazy singing keyboardist from Dirty Loops, Erykah Badu, Adele, Sakura, up and coming Kimbra....oh my gawd. Loads. I want to sound like everybody! I wished to have a black, gospel-y voice. I also wished to have a cool sweet voice. Ish. Sounds so ungrateful & greedy right?


However, I have one important person to thank. She saved my life in so many ways and she is truly an icon to me. She is legen....wait for it...dary! Her name is KAREN O. She is the frontwoman of the alt-art punk band from New York, the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. I had a YYYs tribute band (HamsterDamnAged) a few years back and it got me singing seriously. And people started taking me seriously as a singer. Wow. Who would've thought, a female Richard Clayderman being taken seriously for her vocal work =P. But guess what? Being a Karen O impersonator opened so many interesting and fun doors for me! And one of them is to sing back up for Najwa Mahiaddin for her DFP show tomorrow night. Yes. Tomorrow night. Yes. That Najwa. I am so grateful & excited. I don't think many people know, and they are in for a nice surprise when they watch the show tomorrow night and I am right at the side with my tambourine and singing my harmonies out with semangat tahap gaban. Yosh!

Many great singers use backup singers either in large groups like Mariah Carey with her gospel choir or smaller groups of one, two or three or more. I love gospel choirs & gospel singers. They are just amazing. And the harmonies, if properly executed and arranged beautifully, can send shivers down your spine & give you goosebumps. But most importantly, it compliments the lead singer and the music as a whole. Hey, look at the picture below, even Amy Winehouse herself did backup vocals.
Mad props and much love to all the backup singers in the house! Now I am one of you, yay! *confetti*

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