30 Day Challenge - Day 5 Are Your Smule Sing! Perfectionist??

 

Okay, I'll admit it, I'm a bit of a perfectionist when it comes to a LOT of things.  For example, as a Realtor, I like to be very prepared--know my market, homes available for sale, homes that just sold, understand the home the client wants to buy or sell, be ready for the most common questions with answers and slides, and to "shine" as a professional when the opportunity arises.  

 

For months, I believed this "Type A" personality never rose its head on Smule Sing! In my "fantasy world," on Sing! I'm this funny, incredibly "laid back" person who sings for "giggles" on the karaoke app.

 

I think I had an "inkling" of the "perfection" issue when I "twitted" my pal, K who goes by the Smule tag @snoweepumpkin that she was taking too long to do a rap piece for me.  She told me she's a bit of a perfectionist and had to wait until she could do it to her personal standards before recording.  I think, at the time, I told her "hey, it's just Smule...don't need to be perfect, K." 

 

Yeah, Grace, take your own advice...

 

At the same time that I was advising Kay not to be "perfect", I was working on Frank's @starturtle's devilish Bare Naked Ladies "One Week" song challenge and was quickly racking up the number of takes past 30 tries to get it perfect (by that, I mean saying all of my lines without punctuating every other word with a curse word into the microphone).  By the time, I finally completed the song for Frank (after 100 takes), I started to think, "hey maybe I'm a wee bit of a perfectionist on Smule."

 

Then more recently, I got full on proof of my perfectionist ways here on Smule.  Here's just one week's worth of "proof":

 

- I did Adele's "Turning Tables" with the incredible tenor @IronPudding.  I probably did 6 takes before I felt kinda satisfied with the end product.  Only to the remove the song from his site because the volume was too loud.  By then the "Pudding" had already listened to the first song and commented, so he got to see me put up a song, tear it down, and put it up again.  Yep, now even the "Pudding" knows I strive for perfection--sorry about that big guy!

 

- My pal, Frank @Starturtle, noticed that I had sung and recorded two "Simply Red" songs, and removed both of them, only to put them up again, and then remove one of the songs because I just did not like it.  Yeah, pretty dizzying.  And, poor Frank, has more than once had to listen to me record a song multiple times (okay, I do it just twice) because I hated the first version so much.

 

- My best friend and frequent duet partner, Mitch @WLM_Mitch22_SF now has multiple versions that I've sung of the same song on his site (poor guy, I'm doing it to him too--sadly, I'm setting a poor example as he's done it right back to me too).

 

- Like my pal, Lou @Laudios whose vocals and song performances are nothing short of stunning, I "kill" more songs than I record.  In fact, when I really paid attention, I pretty much killed about 50 percent of the songs I sing.  That's a sure fire sign of being a perfectionist!

 

So what do you do to "break the perfectionist" habit?  Well, you engage in unacceptable perfectionist behavior by purposely "train wrecking" your songs.  Here's how...

 

The other night when my best-est bud and duet partner, Mitch, and I were texting and singing, and I was remarking that I had NEVER heard him sing Italian before (as he had just opened "The Prayer" on his site), we somehow ended up singing the Bocelli/Brightman duet "Time to Say Goodbye," which is--with the exception of two or three lines--all sung in Italian.  Let's just say, he sang the ENTIRE song including Sarah Brightman's part, so at one point I said "what are you doing?" followed by lots of laughter.  Toward the end, his comment was "this is ridiculous," and I just could not stop laughing.

 

We had such a good time that I suggested and he completely agreed (Mitch is always "game"--why I love that guy so much) to sing songs that we would never open as OCs on our site.  The requirement was that we sing songs we only knew "sorta," but not well, and then to invite the other person to a private "train wreck" moment in trying to sing the song.  We counted the "Time to Say Goodbye" song as the first "train wreck" song although I knew it, and he didn't. 

 

My first choice for him was Lady Gaga's "Just Dance," which I heard only once.  I recorded the song and said in the very beginning "I hope you know this one, because I don't."  In his duet, he responded that he had heard it and thought he knew it...My thought when I'm listening was "THANK GOD." Now I need to preface all of this with the following Mitch has a good enough "ear" to fake it--in other words, he can follow along with the music and sorta "anticipate" the next few notes to come darned close to what he should be singing in any song.  So while I, at times, completely gave up trying to sing the song, Mitch read the tabs, and faked his way to the end.  Again, we were both laughing.

 

I followed that with a tag to him to sing the theme song from LeVar Burton's popular PBS show "Reading Rainbow."  Again, more laughter, and both of us seemed relieved that the song was short!

 

Mitch chose the last of our four song marathon, and it was "Selfie" by the Chain Smokers.  Now I'd never heard the entire song (just bits), but I do know that our younger Smule users (typically "tweens" and "teens") absolutely ADORE singing this song.  Mitch even posted the words "OMG this is the most ridiculous thing" when he tagged me.  I don't think we "rapped" even one line of that song without breaking into hysterical laughter.  Contributing to the general hilarity was the fact that Mitch delivered every line in his very best "So Cal Valley" girl accent which had just a "hint" of Alabama undertones.  Just too funny!!

 

So a couple days after we did this, I got to thinking...wouldn't it be great if we could ALL do something this ridiculous!  So I have recruited my duet partner and best friend, Mitch B., along with my other frequent "partner in crime" Fernando Riley @Fernando Riley to help me host the first "Songs I'd Never Sing" event so that you, too, can join in the fun!!  We'll be doing this on April 18, Saturday night!  Check back to my blog for more information on this fabulous fun weekend activity!!

 

More About the Singers Featured Here:

 

@snoweepumpkin is K, and she's one tremendous singer.  K is also wickedly funny, and a true perfectionist at her craft--singing.  Join K on her site for fantastic OCs...she puts them up occasionally.

@starturtle is Frank who hosts fabulously fun duets and can be currently found dishing out a lot of cool Disney songs.  Frank just got a new microphone for himself that I think makes him sound "fabulous."  Check out the "new and improved" Starturtle on his site!

@IronPudding is a tremendous tenor with super fantastic vocals.  He only hosts one OC at a time, but every one of his OCs are full to the brim with singers.  Check out the "Pudding" on his site and sing the Adele song with him.

@Laudios is Lou from Australia.  A fantastic baritone with a great sense of humor and a voice that fills the room with its wonderful-ness. 

@wlm_mitch22_SF is Mitch B. from Alabama and is one of my best friends here on Smule and in real life.  He posts a lot of great OCs, so visit his site to sing with him. 

@fernandoriley is our own wonderful Fernando Riley from New York!  Fernando is a tremendous singer, a virtual vocal chameleon and a fantastic friend.  Visit his site for great OCs with the "golden voice."

 

Me?  I'm Grace and I go by the Smule tag @Pokeypal.  Join me for great songs and general mayhem here on Smule!!