Halo

I sang again in the Salmon Idol contest this fall, which was my 3rd year competing in it. Remember last year? Read HERE if you missed it. I knew I wouldn't be able to pull off the song I planned to sing, and I had convinced myself not to compete again. I resigned my thoughts to "I'm too busy to do it this year" and that was that. One afternoon at the end of August, I was driving alone in the car out of town and the song "Halo" by Beyonce came on the radio. Every time I hear that song, I think of BABY ZOEY, because it used to be on her and her twin sister Ayla's blog. I thought to myself "I should sing that song" and I got tingles down my spine. My next thought was "I should sing that song and dedicate it to Baby Zoey". And I had goosebumps for a full 30 seconds. I knew at that moment that I changed my mind--that I was going to sing in the Salmon Idol competitioon, and that the song I would sing was "Halo". Auditions were the middle of September, and thankfully, I passed. The director, John, edited the song to under 3 minutes and I began practicing.

All the contestants sang a group number at the beginning of the production in October. This year it was "I Wanna Dance with Somebody" by Whitney Houston. What a fun, upbeat song to open the night with! Several of us dressed up in 80's apparel for that number, including me:I was the 5th performer in the line-up, and after the group number I changed my costume and prepared mentally for my performance. I was so grateful that Josh was able to make it back from his meetings in Sun Valley to watch, because last year he missed it. Unfortunately, our DVD recorder didn't work during the competition and for the first time, I do not have a video of my performance. So I'll have to tell you what transpired instead.

At the beginning of the song, there is some instrumental music that lasts 30 seconds. I memorized a short 20-second speech to say during that time. I said "7 months ago tomorrow, our dear friends' infant daughter passed away when she was just 24 days old, which is the same age my sister was when she died. I dedicate this song to the memory of Baby Zoey and Baby Michelle; neither of whom I've met, but both whose lives have touched my heart forever."

I was wearing all black: long black skirt, black shirt, long-sleeved black blazer jacket, and I was wearing black earrings and black toenail polish. I started singing the song kneeling down, and during the part "...it's like I've been awakened..." I stood up to sing the rest of the first verse and chorus.The second verse was cut out of my version, and there was an instrumental bridge in the music, so I sang some of the longer interim "halo's" while I walked off stage and did a quick 10-second clothes change. I took off the blazer and skirt and walked back on stage to do the final chorus in a shorter white & black skirt, the black shirt, and a white feather boa.

I wanted my clothing and my actions to symbolize what the song meant to me. I prayed and hoped that I would give the song justice for my purpose in doing it. I felt peace after my performance, and was glad that I did it.

Everyone has repeatedly asked me how Salmon Idol went. Here's my long answer: It was fun to sing in the 80's number. It was incredible to sing for my inspiration Baby Zoey and my sister Baby Michelle. It was awesome to be in the spotlight onstage and hear the crowd cheer after. Unfortunately, during my song's intro, the tech stopped the music thinking that I wanted to do my dedication before the song was supposed to start, and so it threw off the mood I was trying to set for the audience, and it got me out-of-sync as I stood there, motionless, for 60 seconds waiting for my song to start again. I did not win, or even place in the top 3. Again. I admit I was disappointed. I was sad that I didn't have a video to playback and critique myself. I was sad that something I love doing, something I have a true passion for, which is performing, I feel that I'm no longer good at. I've come up defeated for 3 years in a row in this competition, and 3 strikes later--I'm out. I want to be involved in the production again next year because I love it and it's a wonderful fundraiser for the H.S. music department, but I will not be competing in it anymore.