For my first solo performance, I performed Hopeless Devoted To You by Olivia Newton-John from Grease. This piece was recommended by my itinerant vocal teacher, Barb. I haven't watched the musical but this song is one of my grandmum's favourite songs and the lyrics of the songs was something I used to relate to, being hopelessly devoted to someone I didn't have, someone who had me deciding whether to continue admiring them or to just give it up. It was a fond memory of mine, so it helped me to deliver the song well.
There were a few struggles while during practice. The song was familiar to me but I never got to listen to it as a whole. Memorising the lyrics took me a while because I had so many things to do that I didn't have enough time to know the whole words. The technique I used to deliver the song was a bit... off. Barb had pointed out some of my weak points in singing and she helped me to improve those areas which were successful after a few sessions of practices. I used to think that being a good singer was all about having powerful performances, having a strong stage presence and ability to reach very high notes. In my case, it became a mindset to me which didn't help me improve at all. Hearing the same feedback about my singing being strong used to give me a confidence boost because of that wrong mindset I've sunk in my brain. That changed when we had our practice performance and read Mr Sloan's feedback. It made me realised that even a few practices, I still perform but having difficulties enjoying the actual performance. It had me thinking that I perform because I want to achieve a certain technique, but not finding myself in the song even though it was a song that helped me relate to someone and myself in the past. I'm thankful for Mr Sloan for his honest feedback because it was something I've been looking for in my past performances other than hearing the same response over again. After that, I want more honest feedback and point out my weaknesses because I know it will help me to become a better singer. I would also like to thank Barb for helping me to improve and I'm still improving so I'm becoming more welcome to receive more honest criticisms!
I got excellence for this performance and I felt relieved because the reflections I've made and the help from my teachers' efforts to help me were all paid off. This performance really helped me to find what were the things I lacked and still lacking. It was really worth it after all the hard work.
I don't really have songs to choose yet because I'm thinking of a concept of songs that are different from the songs I usually sing. It's better to keep it a secret first because who knows? I might surprise you next time. :)
ORIGINAL PIECE:
MR. SLOAN'S FEEDBACK!
PERFORMANCE LINK: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1dQ2kM-PeDYAZBTYJr52yUgTep5_-jjOo/view
