As an artist there is a fine line between appealing to the public and staying true to yourself. Do we stay within the confines of our own vision or do we relax the boundaries a little to let a new brand of audience come in?
When I was studying music in college there was a definite dislike among my peers for the 'crossover' type classical singers of the world. The likes of Katherine Jenkins and Josh Groban were seen to have turned their backs on their true background and to have lowered their standards in order to appeal to a wider audience. I always felt torn when these debates took place as I was knee deep in my classical studies yet my heart was siding more with the crossover singers.
At the ripe old age of 31 I have now realised why I felt so torn back then. While my peers felt that these famous singers had turned their back on their roots I think these singers probably always had a passion and love for the more contemporary style of music. I came to this conclusion because that is exactly how I feel. As a child my favourite singer was Celine Dion. As a teenager I listened to the Frames and Damien Rice on loop. When I began vocal training I simply fell into the classical world and went from there. Now that I no longer have anyone telling me what to sing and how to sing, I feel I can use my training to compliment the type of music I love to perform. I ask everyone to try not to judge people for the way they express themselves. We can only appeal to a certain number of people and my hope is that, if we stay true to our hearts, people will inevitably be more drawn to our creations.
When I was studying music in college there was a definite dislike among my peers for the 'crossover' type classical singers of the world. The likes of Katherine Jenkins and Josh Groban were seen to have turned their backs on their true background and to have lowered their standards in order to appeal to a wider audience. I always felt torn when these debates took place as I was knee deep in my classical studies yet my heart was siding more with the crossover singers.
At the ripe old age of 31 I have now realised why I felt so torn back then. While my peers felt that these famous singers had turned their back on their roots I think these singers probably always had a passion and love for the more contemporary style of music. I came to this conclusion because that is exactly how I feel. As a child my favourite singer was Celine Dion. As a teenager I listened to the Frames and Damien Rice on loop. When I began vocal training I simply fell into the classical world and went from there. Now that I no longer have anyone telling me what to sing and how to sing, I feel I can use my training to compliment the type of music I love to perform. I ask everyone to try not to judge people for the way they express themselves. We can only appeal to a certain number of people and my hope is that, if we stay true to our hearts, people will inevitably be more drawn to our creations.
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