My daughter speaking has always filled the quiet air since she was only 5 months old (when dadda first exited her lips). She was determined to add as many words into her vocabulary as her maturing brain would allow.
And Hooplakidz on YouTube, quickly became her first love.
Eventually, she would sing more than she spoke. And her ability to memorize multiple songs at one time was always impressive to me. But I was/am determined to be a humble mom, so I always kept my daughter's talents on the down-low, in fear of being -"That Mom."
At a later time, Frozen graced our lives and her nursery rhyme songs immediately transferred over to magical Disney princess themed songs. Quickly, she learned every word of each song on our soundtrack and little by little, she started changing her voice to fit the melody of, Let It Go.
At first, I didn't see the talent, because Idina Menzel sings so elegantly and high. My daughter was hitting the notes and sounded great, but it was in a different key. And being only 4-5 years old, I would just praise her for her ability and go about our days.
Since then, she sung Let it Go and Troll's Get Back up Again, in her kindergarten and 1st grade talent shows. It wasn't competitive, so there weren't any winners. And family wasn't allowed to attend because it wasn't a big-to-do. She would tell me it went fine, and that was it.
However, within the past year, she developed a love for America's Got Talent and loves watching these kids make their dreams come true. She started to see how they were able to take a song and make it their own -with their own abilities. Then, our home begun to fill with YouTube karaoke versions of adult songs and her belting out each line, almost perfectly.
When I would hear silence, I sauntered to her bedroom to see what happened. I would stand in her doorway, out of sight, and watch her quietly write down her own songs. She would cross out lines, add new ones, then sing a few lines, and make more adjustments. Her concentration and interest finally sparked a chord in me. I started to take her more seriously. And I helped her with songs and offered different suggestions as well.
Then, a few months ago, in passing, I heard her sing Alicia Keys, Girl on Fire (she heard it from a girl on The Voice Australia). And it finally all clicked. I was blown away. I realized her singing Let It Go didn't make sense, because that isn't her voice style. She doesn't have that choir sound. Instead, she has a soul voice, with a bluesy undertone. It's a signature voice that stands out. And that song emphasized it.
And she not only nailed the chorus, she blew it out of the water for only newly turning 7 years old...
So needless to say, my taking notice just took a front seat. And for her birthday, she was gifted an expensive karaoke machine from her Nana and Poppy.
Now, her aspirations upped to appearing on Ellen and being a famous singer.
But, I battle with privacy... I do on here too. I love to promote my way of parenting and hope my writings are relatable and help others on their parenting journey. But I keep what I can private, like names and locations. That's my balance, and after 3 years, I figured out how to navigate it all while still sharing.
But, to put a video out there, makes me nauseous...
So I constantly delay.
I kept telling her to work on a few things. Thinking, I'd buy more time. But within a day or a week, she'd perfect what I asked. Then, I would offer up something else and she'd blow past that as well --So on and so forth.
Until I eventually said, you should be able to sing the song 10,000 times and it should never sound different each time.
We were at that point...
Then, this past Thursday evening, I checked my daughter's backpack and saw an open mic talent show sheet for our local Harvest Festival. Problem was, it was for the next evening. I paced, wandered, and waded through my thoughts, until I figured I should included my daughter into the process...
She begged and pleaded to do it and assured me she was ready.
Friday morning, I called the person in charge to asses the situation. I didn't want my newly 7 year old involved in some mega catty competition -think, Abby's school of dance.
-They assured me that it was family oriented.
So come Friday, we registered for the open mic.
We didn't have music with us, as this was literally last minute. But the other contestants did. And they ranged from 18 to my daughter's age and they were all in one category.
My daughter started to get nervous, as her time was quickly approaching (as anyone obviously would). She rattled off that she didn't think she could do it, but when they announced her name, a switch went off and she walked to the stage. She asked me to join her, which of course, I obliged. So I sat with my feet dangling off the stage beside her.
She sung, Girl on Fire, acapella -she stood frozen in one place and barely looked away from me, but as she finished, the crowd cheered and she smiled the biggest smile and proudly walked off.
What a fete!
For her first time ever performing in front of anyone and trying to navigate a mic with surround sound, I was impressed.
And apparently, so were the judges, as they placed her third. The first and second place winners have performed before. And the first place winner was in a local theater group. So, with my daughter placing third among that pedigree, I was impressed again...
And her reward was to perform at the Harvest Festival on Sunday.
The day of, she worked the room, thanking the judges for the opportunity again and again. Many friends and family came out to support her, and the ones who couldn't make it, eagerly waited for the video to be posted on my personal social media.
Right before her performance, she was focused and still. She didn't talk much or move about. She was nervous, yet excited. And anxiously waited to be announced.
Then, right before walking on stage, she has another moment of panic. But this time, she said, "I won't let fear get in the way of my dreams," and took the mic from the stage manager and walked up the six steps to the stage, that overlooked about 50 people (with a crowd of 100+ passerbys in the background).
She announced her name and gave a thumbs up to the sound guy. I sat nervously on the ground in front of her -locking eyes. But when the music started, she didn't need me for comfort. She naturally transformed into someone else, effortlessly. And then, she started to sing. And I heard the random, "wow!" from behind me. And when she belted out the chorus, the crowd cheered -loudly. And the random passerbys, stopped and also cheered. Soon, people were watching and listening. And when she ended, she got a standing ovation.
She may have won third, but she gave a first place performance...
This time, she had stage presence, charm, and worked the crowd. And again, for just turning 7 years old, with no professional lessons, and her first time performing, I was proud. So proud, that I cried like a baby... Even other people cried too.
It was an awesome experience.
And she told the judges upon exiting that she'll see them again next year, but she's trying for first place.
The best part of this journey wasn't only the process, but also, the conclusion too. Because, as we all continued to talk so much about it, reliving the moment over and over, my daughter was over it. Yes, she was happy, but she was incredibly humble about it. Or, she didn't quite realize how awesome it all was and how big of a step it was for her. Either way, I was not only proud of her performance, but I was also proud of her character. And to me, that makes her more of a star...
And when I figure out how to watermark the video, I might post it on here... So stay tuned :)
And now, she's working on Andra Day's, Rise up.
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