I know it’s pretty hard to believe, but even though I’m a singer with aspirations to gain global fame, taking part of The Voice, X Factor or Got Talent is really the least appealing road to me to get me there. I rarely even watch these shows in full. I just catch bits and pieces. Even though, I do find them as entertaining as the next, as an artist I do believe you lose all creative control once you get through the auditions.
But reading up on Sam Bailey’s story, I can imagine why she decided to audition….. and then went ahead and won X Factor in 2013.
Prior to that though, she’d been singing for 20 years and often had to combine it with a regular job. That sounds all too familiar to me. At the time of X Factor, she was working as a prison officer and showed her character in full, both soft and tough.
Nicole Scherzinger’s response to Sam’s audition of Beyonce’s “Listen” was: “That’s exactly how it’s supposed to be sung. Singing for your life”. This is could also be the response to her new single, the lead single of her upcoming independent album release, expected next year.
Since X Factor, a lot has happened to Sam, which is showing just how tough this woman is and how persistent in pursuing her dream. In the year following her X Factor victory she had chart success, her own album and her own headlining tour, but very quickly got dropped by Syco. And that leaves her to do it all on her own now.
The first single, “Sing My Heart Out”, describes her story. The song is a big, dramatic ballad, which you would expect from singers like Celine Dion and Tina Arena. Expect that, and if you like those type of songs, you won’t be disappointed at all.
I always have a weak for songs like that, because they are such a joy to sing as a singer (even though my voice is so not intended for big songs like these). It just makes it all come together; emotion, technique and just the sheer joy of singing your heart out as loud as you can.
Considering the fact that Sam has spent some time playing in a musical between her first album and the album yet to come, it is not a surprise that her big voice would only get bigger. Still, I think it’s done tastefully, because, let’s face it, this song (the topic, the melody) could leave you enough space to take it extremely over the top.
I think Sam will continue to appeal to a mature audience and reach some of the fans of the previously mentioned Celine Dion and other grand artists like that. She just may prove that she can actually do it alone after all.
