The First Time You Ever Sang For Anyone

[Cruel_Sandwich]

Posted: 6/30/05 at 8:11pm

I thought it'd be fun to ask what everyone's first experience singing for someone was. What did people say? Were you nervous beforehand, afterwards, during?

[Rathnait62]

Posted: 6/30/05 at 8:23pm

Who remembers?

[Georgeanne]

Posted: 6/30/05 at 8:25pm

I don't exactly remember the first time, but I'll do this past year's choir solo competition, which was sort of the first time I had sung in front of a stranger by myself without a screen. I had done it the year before, with just a week to prepare, so I hadn't done as well as I could have the past year. I was up against high school juniors and seniors, and I was in seventh grade. My director suggested they change it, and they said they would. I got an 85/100.

This past year I got about a month and a half to prepare, so needless to say, I was ready. I was singing rather difficult songs for both my showtune and my art piece. When we got there, I wasn't scared at all, I was confident and ready to sing my heart out. Then we found out they still hadn't divided the age groups up, so that kind of diminished my confidence. No worries, no worries, I was still ready.

I was very confident and not at all nervous until about four minutes before 'showtime'. I found out that my judge was a voice professor. I was basically shot, and I just kept thinking "I can't do it."

Well, it was too late to turn back now - and I got in there and I did it. The professor helped me and then I left and got my score. This past time, I almost made it to the sing off. I got a 94/100 (the highest in my school!). Thirty minutes later, I found out it looked like you needed a 95 or better to get into the sing off. That was a loss, but oh well!

I'm still reallyyyy proud of that.

I didn't mean for it to get this long. Sorry!

Posted: 6/30/05 at 8:31pm

I remember when I was in 9th grade I got up to audtion for Guys and Dolls and the moment I finished singing Happy Ending everyone was staring at me. Then I sat down and everyone was like "You have such a great voice where have you been hiding?" It was kinda odd, my singing wasnt shown off in that show but in Damn Yankees I got a part that had me sing by myself, I was nervous but everyone after the show praised me and one little kid asked for my auto. I made my lifetime.

[My Fair Lady]

Posted: 6/30/05 at 8:35pm

Well, I'll just do the first time I sang alone in public. When I was in 4th garde I had my own song in our dinky little school play, but I wasn't very good. My first time actually performing decently in public singing-wise was when I auditioned for My Fair Lady.

[SallyBrown]

Posted: 6/30/05 at 8:37pm

GUH! I dunno, a long time ago. When I was a toddler I always sang just..everywhere, to the radio, when I was bored, no matter who was around. I was a very outgoing kid lol. Um, as far with a microphone and a real audience? Second grade talent show....I sang "Over the Rainbow".

[Cruel_Sandwich]

Posted: 6/30/05 at 8:46pm

I just realized that, in my haste, I neglected to mention my own bizarre virgin singing experience.

Aiight. I decided to audition with "Origin of Love" from Hedwig and was already incredibly nervous. (My singing voice is radically different from my speaking, so I'm always nervous that this would throw people off or something. I don't know. I'm paranoid, yo) So I made my way singing it and stuff until I was stopped in the middle of the song so that the director could say "Well, you have a voice but...I can't relate to that very well. Could you sing "Tomorrow"?"

"But...umm...I'm, like, not a small girl..."

But despite that, I went ahead and sang it anyway. Got through it without cracking or getting too nervous. But it was all cool in the end. Gotta love Annie.

[SallyBrown]

Posted: 6/30/05 at 8:47pm

Cruel Sandwich, I hope you don't mind that your story made me giggle. That's actually really cute, I've never heard a guy sing "Tomarrow" but come to think of it, guys do good belting, sometimes better than girls. May I ask how old you were when this happened?

[Cruel_Sandwich]

Posted: 6/30/05 at 8:48pm

Haha. Last October.

[Georgeanne]

Posted: 6/30/05 at 8:50pm

Cruel Sandwich, yours made me giggle as well. I can see that happening to a particular aquaintance of mine, actually.

[BabyJohn]

Posted: 6/30/05 at 9:10pm

Well, I come from a musical family so I sang in front of an audience but my first concert solo was last year at our Regional Honors Choir. I sang "THe Longest Time" by Billy Joel.

[Georgeanne]

Posted: 6/30/05 at 9:18pm

The first time I sung solo in front of strangers with my choir, however, was a part in my choir's spring concert in seventh grade. I sung parts of "Shout" by James Brown - from "I still remember..." etc.

I've always been more of a singing by myself person, it was a strange experience to sing solo with a choir backing me up.

[stonewall2]

Posted: 6/30/05 at 9:31pm

Five years old, the school play -and I was the ONLY first grader in the whole show(!!)- and I was Mama Bear, of Three Bears fame. My big moment arrived and I stepped onto the empty stage and warbled "Papa Bear, Baby Bear- Come to breakfast"! God, was I cute!!!!!!!!!!!!

[luvliza89]

Posted: 6/30/05 at 9:34pm

The very first time that I can rememeber was singing "Over The Rainbow" for any family gathering we had. Sometimes I would borrow my cousins Dorothy dress and get all gusied up and sing it. My parents wouldn't let me get a dress of my own because I was a small boy, but I LOVED getting to wearing my cousins!

The first time I sang in a show was in Oliver! as Dodger, which was really fun (I auditioned with "Get Happy" from Summer Stock ), BUT my favorite was when I got to pick my own solo song for our Choir show in High School. It was my first time singing onstage alone while not in a musical and I chose to sing "I'm The Greatest Star" from Funny Girl. I even went out into the audience and asked them "Yeah think hunky guys are gonna stay around forever? I should think not!" That was a BLAST.

[incendiary_wit]

Posted: 6/30/05 at 9:39pm

The first, first time was when I was in the carseat, gurgling along to the tune of the songs on the radio. Then I'd randomly run around my house singing.

When I was younger, I'd sing and dance to "I Just Can't Wait to be King" from the Lion King and people found it adorable. (to this day, it's the best song I can sing)

I remember in 6th grade, the subsititute ran out of busy work for us, 20 minutes shy of next period, so my 'friend' Andrea asked if I would sing. I agreed, got up and sang "As Good As I was to You", "He Loves Me (He Loves you Not), and "I'm Not a Girl, Not Yet a Woman" (gimme a break, I was in 6TH GRADE!)

First Broadway singing experience was performing parts of La Vie Boheme with my friends Alex and Evie. People clapped and called us insane...we took it as a compliment.

Wow, this has been a lovely trip down amneisa lane.

Updated On: 6/30/05 at 09:39 PM

[heaja123]

Posted: 6/30/05 at 10:05pm

i cant remeber the first time but the "best" time was when i went to see La Cage and after the Show i was talking to Merwin Foard who played M. Renaud with some of my friends, and we asked him to take us backstage, and he did! so i told him about how my dream is to be on broadway and he was like well why dont you sing us something , so i sang "on my own" i no so cliched but it was the only thing that came to my head, and before after and during i was hysterical crying cause i coudlnt beleive i was singing on a broadway stage that real performers sing on. all my friends were totally amazed and i couldnt beleive i had just done that.... yeah it was the best day of my life! haha

[RentBoy86]

Posted: 6/30/05 at 11:26pm

I sang "What is it about her?" from The Wild Party infront of about 20 other choral/musical theater students. They all applauded and clapped. I was so nervous, my knees were shaking. I don't mind being on stage and singing but being in a little choir room with people about 5ft away from me just staring freaks me out. But I hit all the notes and they all said i was great. One of my friends from high school asked "I didn't know you could sing like that!" and I just laughed, cause this was the guy that got all the leads in all the musicals.

[singingwendy]

Posted: 6/30/05 at 11:32pm

Well....first time I was asked to sing solo I was 6...and they needed a soloist for this one piece of music we do in our church every Christmas Eve. Traditionally it is sung by a 5th grade student, but at that time, there were so few kids in our church, I was that only one in the junior choir who hadn't sung it yet. So, the choir director asked if I'd do it. Of course, when my mom asked me if I wanted to do it, I said, "Do I have to?" LOL! But, I did fine (and went on to sing it 3 more times before I graduated HS).

[Cruel_Sandwich]

Posted: 6/30/05 at 11:41pm

first time I ever sang in, like, a musical was Once on this Island. I thought i was alright but not too impressive. Next day, my friend comes up to me and says "I didn't know you could sing! I turned my head for a moment and heard this male voice...singing...and then when I looked again I, was like, "Woah! Is that Jeremy?"" so that was cool.

[almostxfamous]

Posted: 7/1/05 at 11:54am

Well ... I auditioned for The Wizard of Oz and we had to sing "Follow the Yellow Brick Road" and "We're Off to See The Wizard". Ugh. My voice came out all weird, being that I was up there with my one friend who ended up getting Dorothy. After this, this kid I didn't even know, but ended up becoming friend with, said I did really good.

Then PUBLICLY, though I don't remember which came first, I had a solo in "We'd Like to Thank You, Herbert Hoover" in our production of Annie. That was just so fun, cause we were all bum-like and my clothes were all raggedy and I had like 8 jackets on and was sweating like a mother but I loved it.

If that wasn't it, it was when I sang "Without You" at the Curriculum Expo at my school. I did okay, except I forgot a line .. but no one noticed, because no one had any clue what I was singing. My voice teacher, who was also my music teacher, was accompanying me, and just mouthed me the next line. I blame my father. He kept looking at me. I was in all my glory though, singing a song from RENT.

No one noticed I skipped a line, and everyone said I did really good. What sucked was that I was also one of the Masters of Ceremonies and they had me introduce my friend. It was that same friend that got Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz. Ughh.

Anyways, it was fun.

heart.
mel
Updated On: 7/1/05 at 11:54 AM

[stylinbohemian]

Posted: 7/1/05 at 2:14pm

First time singing on stage was in Whale Watch, then alone on stage was for this High school thing I did when I was in 2nd grade, and I sang the theme from bye bye birdie!

[brdwaybaby17]

Posted: 7/1/05 at 2:24pm

I had my first solo when I was four years old. Everyone involved in the show knew I could do it, but other people were like, "Are you sure you want to do that?" to the director. When I did it... people couldn't believe that a 4 year old got up there and actually sang the song. I watched a video of it recently and I have to say, I was gosh darn cute. lol

[wickedbway]

Posted: 7/1/05 at 2:31pm

The only one I've really been 100% pleased with was my audition for our school's production of "Once Upon a Mattress" this year. I sang "A Change In Me" and it was utterly fab. I've had a lot more confidence since then.

[gavrochegirl]

Posted: 7/1/05 at 2:38pm

Oh god..I've never sung for anyone but myself! I'm too nervous to sing in front of people...(Yeah, that's going to land me the part of Gavroche) I'm actually more nervous singing at auditions, though.

[chaos_dragon]

Posted: 7/1/05 at 3:25pm

well, i've been in a few shows before, but the most impacting time was last year...

freshman in HS. I've seen the shows my school had been doing since i was in second grade and had seen almost every show they produced. it was my absolute dream to be in one of the high school musicals when i got there.

of course, auditions were quite traumatizing. the music director taught all the guys "Officer Krupke" and part of "Tonight" (we were doing West Side). After we learned it as a group, we had to line up and sing in front of, not only the directors and music director, but EVERYONE else that was audition (which was about 60 other people). Of course, being the nervous freshman, i was trembling out of my mind, but did pretty good. I at least got a name in the show (Snowboy).

this year's auditions felt so much better. I practiced ALL year, singing almost everyday, and noticed that I did in fact improve. So, when it came to my turn to sing, I did a lot better. Later that night, I was told to stay with a group of other people to do another song. We sang a "All Through the Night" from Anything Goes. It was awesome though, when i started singing, I looked down and saw the director's face....her jaw had dropped and she stared at me in disbelief. this was either because 1)i totally sucked or 2) she was blown away. Well, i guess she wasnt blown away, cuz I didnt get a lead or anything (I was the Steward), but she still thinks I can sing, cuz she already told me the lead next year is between me and this other guy...so we shall see

ok, that got WAAY to long. sorry for the gloating...but i had to.