About two weeks ago, I was at the recording studio, and I was telling the producer that the talent show I wanted to compete in had sadly been cancelled. Imagine my surprise when he asked me if I wanted to sing at an awards ceremony that they were going to be holding. As you can imagine, I said “yes” right away. He told me to prepare just a few songs, and I immediately knew that I was going to sing “Pie Jesu,” as I always put it into my set, because I love singing it.
I also decided to put in “Time to Say Goodbye,” as it is becoming a tradition for me to end my sets with that song, so I put it at the end.
So, at that moment, I had a beginning and an end, but I didn't have a middle. It didn't take me too long to think of my second song, “Silent Night.” The awards would be held at the end of November, so it was a perfect song choice, and I don't think there is a single person who doesn't know this song.
I only had around two weeks before I was due to perform, so I got practising, and when my singing teacher and I had the songs well learnt, I had the arduous task of choosing a dress.
I knew I wanted to wear a long dress; I love wearing them, because I just feel so elegant. I chose a gorgeous purple, diamond-studded gown with a black bolero jacket.
On the evening in question, I began to warm up my voice. I do vocal exercises every day, and I made sure to warm up for at least thirty minutes, covering all of my range; I didn't want my voice to crack during those high notes!
When I had managed to get into my big purple dress, my Mum did my hair (I can just about put my hair into a ponytail) and she stuck little diamond gems all over my hair so that it sparkled along with my dress. Add silver shoes and a matching diamond necklace and I was all ready to go!
I also decided to put in “Time to Say Goodbye,” as it is becoming a tradition for me to end my sets with that song, so I put it at the end.
So, at that moment, I had a beginning and an end, but I didn't have a middle. It didn't take me too long to think of my second song, “Silent Night.” The awards would be held at the end of November, so it was a perfect song choice, and I don't think there is a single person who doesn't know this song.
I only had around two weeks before I was due to perform, so I got practising, and when my singing teacher and I had the songs well learnt, I had the arduous task of choosing a dress.
I knew I wanted to wear a long dress; I love wearing them, because I just feel so elegant. I chose a gorgeous purple, diamond-studded gown with a black bolero jacket.
On the evening in question, I began to warm up my voice. I do vocal exercises every day, and I made sure to warm up for at least thirty minutes, covering all of my range; I didn't want my voice to crack during those high notes!
When I had managed to get into my big purple dress, my Mum did my hair (I can just about put my hair into a ponytail) and she stuck little diamond gems all over my hair so that it sparkled along with my dress. Add silver shoes and a matching diamond necklace and I was all ready to go!
My Nan and Granddad took me there, and I was all set with my video camera, my backing tracks, and my trusty water bottle. I was so cold I was wearing thermals under my dress! The event didn't start until 7:00pm, but we got there early in order to do a sound check. There were lots of people there already, and they were all very friendly to me. I got lots of compliments on my dress, which made me smile.
The man who had invited me, Paul, came to me after my sound check and explained how the evening was going to unfold. The Heartlands Community Awards would be for people who had made a difference in their area, no matter how small; the host would explain what the award was and who it was for, and then the person would come up to receive it, and I would sing them out at the end. I asked what order the entertainment was going to be in, and what time I would go on stage, only to learn that I was the entertainment! I alone would be performing. I felt so honoured. Of course, if I had known earlier, I would have put in some more songs, but there was no time.
Then the ceremony commenced. It was really nice to see all of these teenagers receiving awards for forming youth clubs and other such things.
The ceremony seemed to go very quickly. Maybe time speeds up when you're nervous. Before I knew it, I was being introduced, and I made my way to the stage. I thanked Paul for inviting me, and I explained the meaning behind my first song, “Pie Jesu,” and launched into it. As soon as I began to sing, I didn't feel as nervous, which made me very glad. The audience applauded when I had finished, and I invited them to sing alone with my next song. Unfortunately, nobody did, but I didn't mind, and when I had finished, I jokingly thanked them for singing along, which got a few chuckles. One lady would later tell me that nobody sang along because they couldn't match the high notes, which made me laugh.
I then sang my final song of the night: “Time to Say Goodbye.” For this piece, I decided to walk about the stage, holding the microphone. I'm sure I spent most of the song hoping that I wouldn't trip on my long dress, but luckily I didn't, so that was a relief.
I finished my set to applause and a few cheers, and I resumed my seat as the event wrapped up.
I spent a while talking to people; one lady was in tears because she loved “Time to Say Goodbye” so much. While I was happy that she liked it, I was upset that she was crying. Everybody was so nice to me, I hope I get to do it again soon.
We managed to video my performance, which you can see below.
After a while, we headed phone, and my Mum took a few photos of me in my dress in front of the fish tank. Our cats loved my dress, especially the two kittens; where ever I went, they followed, playing with the hem. You can see Twilight, my sister's cat, in one of the pictures' below.
All in all, I had a wonderful time, I met a lot of lovely people, and now I'm rehearing for my next event; the Mad Hatters Charity Tea Party on December 17th.
Until next time
Lauren xx
The man who had invited me, Paul, came to me after my sound check and explained how the evening was going to unfold. The Heartlands Community Awards would be for people who had made a difference in their area, no matter how small; the host would explain what the award was and who it was for, and then the person would come up to receive it, and I would sing them out at the end. I asked what order the entertainment was going to be in, and what time I would go on stage, only to learn that I was the entertainment! I alone would be performing. I felt so honoured. Of course, if I had known earlier, I would have put in some more songs, but there was no time.
Then the ceremony commenced. It was really nice to see all of these teenagers receiving awards for forming youth clubs and other such things.
The ceremony seemed to go very quickly. Maybe time speeds up when you're nervous. Before I knew it, I was being introduced, and I made my way to the stage. I thanked Paul for inviting me, and I explained the meaning behind my first song, “Pie Jesu,” and launched into it. As soon as I began to sing, I didn't feel as nervous, which made me very glad. The audience applauded when I had finished, and I invited them to sing alone with my next song. Unfortunately, nobody did, but I didn't mind, and when I had finished, I jokingly thanked them for singing along, which got a few chuckles. One lady would later tell me that nobody sang along because they couldn't match the high notes, which made me laugh.
I then sang my final song of the night: “Time to Say Goodbye.” For this piece, I decided to walk about the stage, holding the microphone. I'm sure I spent most of the song hoping that I wouldn't trip on my long dress, but luckily I didn't, so that was a relief.
I finished my set to applause and a few cheers, and I resumed my seat as the event wrapped up.
I spent a while talking to people; one lady was in tears because she loved “Time to Say Goodbye” so much. While I was happy that she liked it, I was upset that she was crying. Everybody was so nice to me, I hope I get to do it again soon.
We managed to video my performance, which you can see below.
After a while, we headed phone, and my Mum took a few photos of me in my dress in front of the fish tank. Our cats loved my dress, especially the two kittens; where ever I went, they followed, playing with the hem. You can see Twilight, my sister's cat, in one of the pictures' below.
All in all, I had a wonderful time, I met a lot of lovely people, and now I'm rehearing for my next event; the Mad Hatters Charity Tea Party on December 17th.
Until next time
Lauren xx
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