From Fired to Hired

I lost every job I ever took as a background singer. Now, that's not to say I haven't done background vocals many times in my life on gigs and various things, but the three times I took a job that was specifically as a background singer, I got fired. I found out years later that for one of these jobs, the other background singers worked hard at getting me fired from a big gig ‘cuz one of them was afraid I would replace her.

I had NO idea this had all gone on. Maybe it was the universe telling me this isn't the place I'm supposed to be or who knows, but let me tell you the story about the first time I got hired to sing backgrounds for an artist. 

I was about 17 years old and it was my first gig as a background singer. One of the background singers I hired to sing on my demos brought me to a gig. I was new at doing background, so I wasn't super fast — it took me a minute to find the harmonies, and I couldn't hold them that well— I had spent a lot of my time singing solo and writing original songs. And after some time, they very nicely fired me from the gig. I asked if I could stay and do it for free.

I wanted to learn how to do it.  I wanted to succeed at something I set out to do. And they said yes. So I drove over an hour away for rehearsals. I was always on time.  I did my homework.  I was 10 to 20 years younger than the other background singers. And they definitely had stronger skills, but I was doing twice the work. At the end of the rehearsal segment, they offered me the gig to go on the road for two months. I was very proud of myself for putting in the work and going from fired to hired!

What could've been the worst moment, a huge setback, something that stopped me from pursuing what I love is only an obstacle I chose to overcome. And I work my butt off to do it. It's so long ago, but I remember my feeling of triumph. How much do we live to forget in a lifetime, and I remember this.