Singer auditions: what do they mean?

Singer auditions can be fun and exciting or they can be brutal. But until you become a household name, auditions are inevitable in a wide variety of situations. Some auditions may have little consequence other than providing an outlet for a singer to hone those all-important listening skills. Others, like job auditions, may be important if you and your band want to eat next week. Auditions for nationally broadcast contests or for a major record label can make (or break) a career.

But what do singer auditions really mean? You should try not to take the outcome of the auditions too seriously. Those who have been on both sides of the judging table know that many, many factors influence the outcome of everybody Singer auditions. If you lose, it doesn’t necessarily mean you didn’t sing well or had a bad hair day. It just means you weren’t the one they were looking for. If he was, they would have signed him or immediately moved him to the next round. And if you do Winning or getting the gig doesn’t mean you’re the next Aretha; it just means that you were what they were looking for that day. Period.

Take a moment to put yourself in the shoes of the person auditioning you as an American Idol contestant, or to sing at your club, or for a record deal from a major record label. So ask yourself; what they want Here are three listening situations with different issues at play. Usually, these venues don’t look for the same things in a singer, therefore each should be skewed in his or her own unique way.

American Idol and AI type game show contestant

The American Idol picks indicate that they appear to have been cast in a show. They audition so many singers that they can easily improvise a diverse and balanced cast. So if you’re the wild and crazy girl with the weird hairstyle type and they already have 15 others of the same type, you’re out of luck. American Idol is in the entertainment business and not necessarily in the A&R business of grooming young singers, which is their right. So relax and do your best knowing that fate plays an important role in this gigantic competition. Oh, and you may want to brush up on your high notes and craft vocal fills, too.

Nightclubs and honkytonks

During singer auditions to book club dates, they don’t necessarily look for the best singers either; they are looking for someone who can sell beer. That is all. Or in a more expensive place, it would be wine and cocktails. If a singer can convince the club owner that he can sell drinks, he will get the job. Solution? For the honkytonks, give them a loud, high-energy, audience-engaging show, and you’ll be fine. For fancy dinners and cocktail parties, you may want to show that you can keep your music from interfering with romance or business conversation.

record deals

These are probably the most intimidating singer auditions of all. At some point during the negotiations, she will be asked to sit in an office and sing with just a guitar or piano in front of people she is asking to bet at least half a million dollars on her career. That scares! But again, how can you know what they are looking for?

You may know what other artists are on the label’s roster, but you don’t necessarily know how the label plans to fill out their roster and who else they may have committed to. So if they’re looking for a Latin act and you’re from Norway, don’t be surprised if you walk away empty handed.

Should you audition singers? Of course, if only for practice. But don’t judge yourself too harshly if whose succeed. or get, what in the South we call “The Big Head.” if you do succeed. You may or may not just be what they’re looking for this time. But take heart, it’s a big ocean and there are still plenty of fish out there.