The Role Of The Wedding Singer
Luca Salamone
Most of us love to sing.
Our voice is one of life’s little gifts; the gift that keeps on
giving - in the shower, in the bath, whilst driving alone!
One evening last summer Sally, my fiancée, gave me a call on
the way home from work. She left a voicemail, however, not
quite being used to using a hands free kit, failed to hang up.
She then proceeded to leave me with a very dramatic rendition
of 'I will survive' by Gloria Gaynor. It made for a highly
entertaining and embarrassing CD which I play from time to time
in my car and at family gatherings.
Sally won't sing in public unless plied with alcohol, but when
alone she clearly lets rip and turns her car in the Albert
Hall.
I think this is true for most of us, but not many people would
consider standing in front of an audience on a regular basis,
singing their hearts out and taking money for it...Or would
they?!
• Who are the professional singers and who are the money minded
impostors?
• How can you spot a true professional?
• What is the role of the Wedding singer?
Sally and I are currently organizing our own wedding
(surprisingly enough Sally didn't throw me out after the whole
Gloria Gaynor CD thing!) As we both work in the business, we
know exactly what we want and how to spend from our music
budget. We are both very particular about singers, bands and
DJ's because we know how many clowns there are out there (And
not the funny kind!). For our reception we have decided to
completely eliminate the DJ and hire an old style Juke box.
This just leaves the singer. Having seen a few we find that our
discussions on the subject seem to throw out the same conclusive
truths. You'll probably find that you too do the same thing, for
example when watching programs like X-Factor. After seeing so
many acts you literally become an expert (or at least an expert
on what you like).
The following should help you in determining what the role of a
professional singer is (Particularly for weddings) and what
qualities you should look out for before making your choice.
THE VOICE:
This is completely up to you. Everyone’s voice is different and
therefore it is sometimes difficult to compare one persons
singing voice to another. Although I believe that a singer
should have a great voice, there are many different sounds and
styles to choose from. One thing I cannot stand though on a
personal level is the singer who has no style or sound of their
own and so imitates the sounds and styles of others (unless they
are purposefully doing so for a tribute show). Watch out for
this.
A singer should have good demo tracks no matter what. If they
sound flat on the demo (After possibly numerous takes in the
studio) then God help them when they are live! Try to suss out
what type of singer YOU like, and then focus on that when
continuing your research.
DRESS STYLE:
The professional wedding singer should always look smart. Jeans
are for pub singers or very rich and famous celebrities who
don’t have to make an effort any more. Really, the singer
should be slightly overdressed in comparison to the guests, but
not so much so that they look like a cabaret reject.
EQUIPMENT:
Although they say “A bad workman always blames his tools” If
they have bad sound equipment they WILL sound bad even if they
are a great singer! A professional singer should keep up to
date with the latest technologies; after all it is their job to
sound pleasing.
FEES:
Wow, this is a tough one! Sometimes you get people who are
great but charge insanely low fees, then you can also get the
ones who charge a fortune but who are awful.
I always get put off when I see that a fee is low; I think we
all do it with certain products. We think “Well hang on, why is
it so cheap? There must be something wrong with it”. Although
this isn’t always the case I still find myself sticking to that
old rule, but if you’re curious just dig deeper and find out
more about the singer (Demo’s, repertoire, etc) until you are
completely satisfied.
I think that with wedding singing being such a specialist
service, people can literally charge whatever they want, which
is why you tend to get agencies and managers piling on large
commission fees.
PACKAGES/ SERVICES:
A wedding singer should be as accommodating as possible. Their
packages should fit to your day and they should be flexible,
committing the whole day to you.
Beware of those who say “yeah, I’ll be your DJ as well if you
want”. Being a professional DJ is a completely different job
and skill, to being a professional singer (you wouldn’t hire a
plumber to fix the television would you?).
From my experience certain singers tend to do this so they can
cash in on the full day. They just leave a play list running on
their laptop and pray that people don’t ask for many requests.
IN CONCLUSION:
If you look in the right places, in the right way and for the
right qualities you will find many good professional wedding
singers out there. They will look stylish, sound magnificent
and treat you and your guests to a 5 star performance that will
be talked about for years to come.
Now go on! Pull up your Simon Cowell pants and let the judging
commence!!
About The Author: Luca Salamone Website:
http://www.vocalshow.co.uk
Biography: Luca is a professional
trained vocalist performing for a variety of events including
wedding receptions. UK Wedding Singer.
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