A Singer Is Only A Singer Because They Have The Courage To Be One

I want to get a little personal, if that’s OK?
More time than not, I see people rise above others because of their chutzpah, their “charisma” or dare I use the word “balls”.

So I want to talk broadly first, and then zero in on singing.

We’ve all heard the term “little man complex” or, where many believe it came from, “Napoleon Complex”. We see the short guy dominating the big guy because he has the audacity to stand up to them with abilities that are perceived, real, or both.
In Napoleon’s case, of course we know he was an incredible strategic commander with incredible boldness.

Please hang in there with me on this, I believe it will be worth your time.

We see “plus size models” garnering more “views” on the internet and in print publications, as many point out they feel they are “sexier” than the dollies that are skinny and edited-to-perfection picture-perfect. Why is this? It’s because they carry themselves with an attitude, and a “bigger personality” than the rest of their competition.

I do want to be clear about something. This does not mean they are “better” necessarily, it simply means that they cast aside the stereotypical mold of what people are conditioned to believe is “perfection” and they fearlessly use their God-given abilities.

The reason I want to be clear about this is no one wants a doctor as their doctor just because he’s arrogant, conceited, full of himself and thinks he’s the best doctor in the world. They want a doctor based on performance, schooling, and their ability to truly help people.

But there are other professions that are subjective, such as art, music, acting (to some degree) and so on. Whereas in sports there is usually a fairly clear point system that determines ability, art is much more subjective.

With that said, and for fear of sounding like I’m picking on someone, if you look at the Kardashians, maybe someone should have just changed their name to “Audaciousians”. I’m not aware of any amazing acting skills, singing skills, or other artistic skills, other than just being plain bombastic.

This now brings me to my point.
A singer is only a singer because they have the courage, or “guts” to be one.

Singing is most definitely in the category of subjective art.

Let me list a few singers that I personally feel do not have “great singing ability” but certainly carved out an incredible career.

The first one is maybe one of the greatest songwriters of our time that has done more to influence people than any other singer that I am aware of.
That singer is Bob Dylan. I don’t want to belabor this, but I do want to point out just a few people who covered Bob Dylan’s music.

Adele, Jimi Hendrix, George Harrison, Norah Jones, The Black Crowes, Michael Bolton, David Bowie, Garth Brooks, Jeff Buckley, Johnny Cash, Eric Clapton, Kelly Clarkston, Joe Cocker, Coldplay, Ministry, Phil Collins, Sam Cooke, Joan Baez, Elvis Costello, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young, Miley Cyrus, Neil Diamond, Guns ‘N Roses, etc…

Yeah, between you and me, Bob Dylan could hardly sing his way out of a hat. And yet, he was able to convey his stories, his melodies with his songwriting, and change the face of music history with his artistry.

Again, I’m not looking to pick on anyone, but let’s list a few other people that don’t have the greatest singing abilities: David Bowie, Mick Jagger, Rick Ocasek, Joe Cocker, Chrissie Hynde, Lana Del Rey (ooh, I’m going to get hate for that one), Johnny Cash, Mark Knopfler, and this list goes on and on…

But what do they all have in common?

Guts, Courage, Audacity, Charisma, Boldness, Fearlessness… all of the attributes that display confidence, regardless of what people or the press think about them.

Now, we could take one of the worst voices here being Bob Dylan all the way to one of the greatest voices being Luciano Pavarotti.

How much gray is in the center? How much room is there between Bob Dylan and Luciano Pavarotti?

Quite a bit, right?

My suggestion to you is: there is a lot of room in this area for you and your voice to do what you love and to share it with the world.

A singer is only a singer because they have the courage to be one.

Ken Tamplin Vocal Academy – Where the PROOF is in the SINGING!