“I can't say what my greatest strength between acting and singing is...I'll leave that to the critics. Maybe my best strength is performance itself, being with the audience and feeling what they feel, bouncing off of them.” FeelsI CanFeelingsActingAudienceStrengthSingingPerformancesCriticsBest Strength Author:Erica Schroeder
“I was not reluctant to become a singer. Singing has been an activity I've done my whole life, without thought.” Has BeensDoneWholeActivitySingingSingersWhole LifeReluctant Author:Nina Simone
“Every day has its emotional difficulties. I miss my mother whether I'm singing her music or not.” MotherMissingEmotionalSingingDifficulty Author:Nina Simone
“I'm glad I went through the training because I've met such great mentors and lifelong friends/collaborators along the way. Also, any training (acting, movement, dance, piano, singing, etc) allowed me to hone my skills and find an inner space of self-generating creativity.” WaySelfSpaceActingCreativityMovementMetsSkillsSingingTrainingGladPianoGreat MenEtcMentorLifelongCollaboratorsLifelong Friends Author:Jade Hassoune
“When I'm speaking, I'm more focused on the words as meaning. When I'm singing, I'm more focused on the words as sound. The emotion is more targeted when I'm speaking, more flowing when I'm singing.” SoundEmotionSingingFocused Author:Loren Mazzacane Connors
“I would sing myself with a tambura and just regular a cappella singing and practicing. I did that around 1973 and 1974, and I finally developed my own style of singing.” My OwnStyleSingingMy Own Style Author:Yoshi Wada
“I like the fervor of religious music, the zealous aspect - that preachers can go from a conversational cadence into this passionate singing.” ReligiousSingingAspectPassionatePreacherFervorCadenceZealousReligious Music Author:Yannis Philippakis
“I learned how to be more theatrical and have more fun, and to take a song and sing it over and over again in different ways, and make it different each time. I'm not just singing the song - it's this thing that's affecting me.” WayDifferentSongFunSingingDifferent WaysTheatrical Author:Angel Olsen
“Music is the first thing I ever cared greatly about. I've been singing and writing songs since I was six or seven.” WritingFirstsSongSixMusic IsSingingSevenWriting Songs Author:Angel Olsen
“I never imagined I'd meet Berry Gordy who told me when he first heard me sing, "You know, your singing's okay, but I like your harmonica playing better."” KnowsFirstsHeardLike YouSingingOkayBerriesI Like YouHarmonicas Author:Stevie Wonder
“I love Aretha [Franklin] and I've loved her all my life. I think she's an incredible songstress, obviously. She consistently has had this incredible voice. I remember when she was singing gospel in her father's church.” ThinkingRememberFatherVoiceChurchSingingIncrediblesConsistentlyRemember WhenFranklin Author:Stevie Wonder
“I really like Howler and an American band on Sub Pop called Jaill. There will always be new bands that I like, it's always been that way. I still go out to shows. One thing I don't like now is this idea that all singing needs to be expressed at maximum volume with so much bullshit sentimentality - it's pervading regular pop music.” WayNeedsStillsIdeasShowsOne ThingBandSingingPopsVolumeBullshitMaximumPop MusicSentimentality Author:Johnny Marr
“Occasionally, a great band would come along, like Blondie or OutKast who could be pop and bring interesting ideas into the mainstream at the same time. That's now gone, because of this weird mutation of pop, rap, R&B, bad rave, and supposedly soulful singing on top of it.” IdeasInterestingGoneBandSingingPopsRapMainstreamSoulfulMutationRaveInteresting IdeasBlondieOutkast Author:Johnny Marr
“I started playing the bass because nobody else would play the bass, and then I got bumped up into singing because no one else really wanted to sing. So I learned how to sing and I wrote the songs, so I tended to get the most attention.” PlayWantedSongAttentionSingingBass Author:Tom Petty
“The new solo album sounds like me: I'm singing about bad business transactions, bodily fluids, and courage.” SoundSingingAlbumsLike MeSoloFluidTransactionsBad Business Author:Kevin Drew
“While I'm singing complete gibberish to my son when he's in his crib, I'll occasionally think, 'This song I'm making up is actually pretty good.'” ThinkingSongSonSingingMy SonMaking Up Author:A.C. Newman
“It's cool because you don't know how certain songs are going to go over until you play them live. For some reason, "Shivers" gets a huge response. I was not expecting it. When I start singing in the middle of "Baby Get Worse", they go nuts. Just little surprises like that.” KnowsLittlesReasonPlayCertainSongKnow HowMiddleHugeBabySingingSurpriseResponseNutsExpectingShiver Author:John Britt Daniel
“My songs, well, they are sad, but in all of them the person singing them - me or whoever - is actually still trying and hasn't given up yet.” TryingWellsPersonsStillsSongGivenSingingGiven Up Author:Eric Bachmann
“I thought people wouldn't take me seriously if too much acting was involved in the singing. But now I love the idea of mixing everything together.” PeopleIfsIdeasTogetherActingToo MuchInvolvedSingingTake MeMixing Author:Charlotte Gainsbourg
“On-stage, I definitely want to use my real self because I'm singing to people who believe in what I'm singing, and I believe in what I'm singing, but they shouldn't be fooled because we all have fake selves and it's in there somewhere. It's not pretending to hurt somebody; it's just something that comes out of me, from my experience.” PeopleWantBelieveRealSelfUseI BelieveHurtStageSingingI Believe InFakePretendingFooledReal Self Author:Benjamin Clementine
“I felt like I was homeless anyway, so the change in environment wasn't that much of a big deal. I felt pretty much the same. After six months of living on the streets [in Camden], I started singing, busking.” BigsFeltDealsEnvironmentStreetsMonthsSixSingingHomelessSix MonthsBig DealLiving OnCamdenBusking Author:Benjamin Clementine
“When I started singing about my life and what I was going through, I felt more confident. It was my own life, I was being myself, I was telling people what was happening.” PeopleFeltMy OwnSingingHappeningsMy Own LifeBeing Myself Author:Benjamin Clementine
“I just wanted to perform. I just wanted to perform in whatever capacity, whether it was acting, singing, dancing, comedy - whatever it was, I just loved it and felt at my absolute happiest when I was performing for people.” PeopleWantedFeltActingComedySingingCapacityAbsolutesDancingPerformingSinging Dancing Author:James Corden
“All the words are already there when you're singing onstage, it's fantastic. You can lose yourself in what you've created. You're controlling this freedom.” LosesSingingFantasticLosing Yourself Author:Florence Welch
“I probably couldn't have the same experience listening to that song because I'm self-conscious about some of my singing parts.” SelfSongListeningSingingConsciousSelf Conscious Author:Babatunde Adebimpe
“It's not hard to connect with the music on an emotional level and get inside the songs. It's odd, very vulnerable, and slightly embarrassing to be standing and singing and playing music in front of a bunch of strangers.” HardSongLevelsFrontsEmotionalSingingStandingStrangerBunchVulnerableOddEmbarrassingPlaying Music Author:Matt Berninger
“My songwriting and overall approach to music go beyond just good singing and strong musicality - I want people, now more so than ever, to feel something and be moved somehow by the content I create.” PeopleWantFeelsStrongApproachSingingMovedSongwritingMusicality Author:Rayvon Owen
“Some guy is good at putting these verses together, and some guy is good at singing them. That's just the way it is.” WayTogetherGuySingingVerses Author:Frank Fairfield
“I had to come out on stage with my little staff and robe and I had this sun on top of my head that my mom made - that was the first time I was ever on stage singing in front of anybody. I realized that I was one of the best acts of the night but I didn't give singing much thought after that. I was really into playing baseball.” GivingFirstsLittlesMadeNightSunStageFrontsMomSingingFirst TimeBaseballMy MomI RealizedStaffRobesPlaying Baseball Author:Gonjasufi
“If anything, I don't have any intention of recording music that's just me playing acoustic guitar singing a song anytime soon.” IfsSongSingingIntentionGuitarAcousticsAcoustic GuitarRecording Music Author:King Khan
“I don't like bands who would play music like Code. I mean I hate most bands with emotional singing parts (I adore metal singing like Iron Maiden though!)” MeanPlayHateEmotionalBandSingingI HateCodeIronMetalsAdoreMaidensIron Maiden Author:Mat McNerney
“The fact of playing an instrument and singing... that I can try to make my dream of singing and becoming a professional musician come true is linked probably to the fact that I traveled a lot, which gave me an open mind and an ability to push my limits.” TryingMindI CanFactsDreamAbilityBecomingLimitsMusicianSingingInstrumentsTraveledLinkedOpen Mind Author:Rokia Traore
“I can change the arrangements on stage while I am playing or singing, doing signs to the musicians to change things because the audience is dancing or singing with us. That's the interesting part of the live show, actually, because everything is possible and everything can change.” I CanShowsInterestingAudienceStageMusicianSingingDancingArrangements Author:Rokia Traore
“My mother was a music teacher and my grandfather was a professor of music, and there was a lot of singing in the family. It wasn't like trained singing or anything like that, but it was singing.” MotherTeacherSingingProfessorsGrandfatherMy GrandfatherMusic Teacher Author:Ed Droste
“I had a record deal with Sony in the beginning of the 90s, and I was rapping and singing in my band.” DealsRecordsBandSingingRapSony Author:Volker Bertelmann
“My uncle was 16, in junior high, and he heard me singing and snatched me off the stage. I thought he was happy and was going to pat me on the head and say I was good. But he took me home and told my grandmother this youngin' was at school singing the blues.” HomeSchoolHeardStageSingingGrandmotherUnclesMy GrandmotherJuniorsJunior HighSinging The Blues Author:Mavis Staples
“I think I got interested in singing without being too over-the-top. I was more calmly singing the words - which I thought had really come a long way. I thought they were worth singing clearly.” ThinkingWayLongSingingLong WayOver The Top Author:Hamilton Leithauser
“The guys in high school were like, "You've got a nice voice; you should keep singing," but I never honestly thought that one day I'd be a singer. When you're young, you don't see the signs.” ShouldSchoolYoungGuyVoiceNiceLike YouOne DaySingingHigh SchoolSingersHonestly Author:Victoria Legrand
“There are certain recordings where my voice sounds good to me. Singing live I really enjoy, but I don't know how good it sounds.” KnowsCertainEnjoySoundVoiceKnow HowSinging Author:Doug Martsch
“It's really hard for me to capture this certain way of singing that sounds good to me. I don't really understand it, but hopefully some day I'll figure it out.” WayHardCertainSoundFiguresSingingHopefullyCapture Author:Doug Martsch
“People who were really good at playing or singing seemed boring to me.” PeopleSingingBoring Author:Doug Martsch
“Lyrics always fall short with the amount of energy thrown into the playing. Lyrics to some extent are just the product of a singer's insecurity with singing.” FallEnergyProductsAmountSingingSingersThrownInsecurity Author:Brian Chippendale
“Just because I said lyrics are a sign of the inability to sing doesn't mean....A) I believe that, or B) I don't think they're cool. They are cool. Words are great. I sing along with my favorite songs, but when I am drumming and singing, the words become a note that for me. In the process of playing they have more emotional impact as notes then an actual word.” ThinkingBelieveMeanSaidSongI BelieveProcessEmotionalSingingImpactNotesMy FavoriteInabilityFavorite SongDrumming Author:Brian Chippendale
“I am singing a genre of music that people are very protective of. I am being compared to the greatest vocalist of all time.” PeopleSingingAll TimeGenreProtectiveVocalistGenres Of Music Author:Michael Buble
“Sometimes I forget that the label's been around so long that some of the bands they're singing now might be influenced by the first wave of Sub Pop bands. Is there anyone on that label that you look up to or borrow from?” FirstsLooksLongSometimesMightForgetBandSingingWavePopsLabelsLook UpPop Bands Author:Hutch Harris
“It was a chance meeting with a lady at Mariah Carey's record company who was here in our office, actually. And I pulled her in here to this very office that we're sitting in now, and I played her the clip of me and George Michael singing. And I was like, it's joyful. And that's what people want.” PeopleWantChanceCompanyRecordsOfficeSingingSittingMeetingsJoyfulRecord CompaniesClipChance Meeting Author:James Corden
“I certainly think there are things that impressed me as a child about the church. The smells and the sounds and the pagaentry of it remained with me. The aesthetic I really love. I think a lot of my sense of melody comes from singing those hymns and doing the renaissance music and stuff.” ThinkingChildrenStuffSoundChurchSingingSmellMelodyAestheticImpressedRenaissanceHymns Author:Jonathan Meiburg
“I used to struggle a little bit with the idea of how to separate singing from acting and entertaining.” LittlesIdeasUsedBitsActingStruggleLittle BitSingingEntertaining Author:Dan Bejar
“Saying that you've got acoustic instruments and that's traditional and so people will think it's more intimate, that will always be the case. It's a more intimate sound, so it's going to sound more direct whatever you're singing about.” PeopleThinkingSoundCasesSingingDirectInstrumentsTraditionalIntimateAcoustics Author:Alison Goldfrapp