Today I’d like to write about my Valentines Day this year.
Now, if it was any other Valentines Day, I’d only have
memories too private to share… but this year was quite different… because I was performing in a big concert, promoting the Student Olympics (“Universiade”) that will be held in .Shenzhen, China
in 2011.
It all came together organically. I met songwriter Alan
Roy Scott (google him if you have a minute – he’s amazing!) at a songwriting critique event this fall and became good friends with him. Alan had been commissioned to write a theme song for the Student Olympics and needed a female singer to record it… it was all too convenient. After the song was recorded, I was
told that the Universiade associates were coming to LA from China to organize a promotional event for the Olympics and I got asked to be part of it.
Anyway, with two days to go until the event, I was starting
to wonder whether it was going to happen at all… All I knew was that it was going to be held at the Pasadena Civic Center and that I was supposed to sing Alan’s song “Love is The Answer” (on my Myspace). I had no idea what the rest of the event was going to be like… I mean, it couldn’t be that they were renting out this big concert hall and flying from China just to hear Alina Smith sing one song…
The night before the day before the show (ugh – hideous
wording, but how can you say it otherwise?) I got a call from Alan, explaining that the Universiade representatives were in town and requested me at a press conference the next morning. I have never been at a press conference before, but I figured I’d do alright. After all, that’s the kind of thing one has to do as a musician. My only worry was that I knew absolutely nothing about this event, and the idea of having reporters ask me questions about it with cameras
pointing straight at my face made my insides squirm!
The conference wasn’t at all as bad as I expected; it was
actually rather enjoyable. When my business partner and I first got there, we met with the Universiade reps and they told us everything we needed to know about the event. Since the Universiade is a sporting event, I half way expected acrobatics and martial arts performances – imagine my surprise when I learned that it was going to be a concert with nothing but singers in it! They
were actually bringing in 13 singers from Shenzhen to perform in this show! Here is a picture of me next to the poster:
It was great to meet the other singers! Most of them didn’t
speak English so our communications were reduced to saying “hello” and some sign language. Most of them have never been to the US before. Luckily, one of the girls, Fan YuanYuan spoke English well so she was able to keep me up on what was going on and teach me a few Chinese expressions. When I was giving a radio interview, I said “Hey, everyone, I love Shenzhen and
I love you!” in Chinese… I was hoping they wouldn’t ask why it was that I loved Shenzhen so much, since I’ve never even been to China... luckily, they didn’t!
I spent the Valentine’s hanging around the theater with my
business partner and the other singers. We were there from 10 am to 10pm but it seemed to have gone much quicker since I was really enjoying myself. I have taught myself some Chinese expressions the night before so I was feeling very
smug, showing off my efforts to my new friends. I like to think that they were impressed!
The sound check was pleasantly surprising because all of the
performers in the show turned out to be really excellent! I was deeply impressed with all of them, particularly this guy, who could belt out higher pitch notes then most females there (without at all sounding like a girl!):
And this beautiful lady, who sang traditional Chinese songs in the most ethereal, florid voice:
Most of the individual dressing rooms were kind of dingy,
with peeling paint and broken AC, so I wasn’t surprised to find most of the singers hanging out in the common dressing room on the bottom floor (the dungeon, as I christened it). I chose to stay there as well – there was too much fun to be had, chatting with them and taking pictures. We were even playing together! Here I am singing “If I ain’t got you” by Alicia Keys with Zhang Lei, a great John Mayer-like performer. It’s too bad he’s isn’t singing it
this, ‘cause he has a very good voice. I apologize for the heavy background noise - we're in the dressing room right after the show and the others are leaving.
Anyway, the show itself went well and seemed awfully short
for the amount of time we spent preparing for it. It was great to finally walk onto that stage and perform after a long day of mounting tension. I didn’t have a good sound check, as I was unable to explain to the Chinese engineers that I
couldn’t hear myself very well, so it was a huge relief to see that the sound was fixed for the performance. The crowd was huge (the 3000-seat concert hall was filled to its limit) and they seemed very well-disposed towards all of the performers. I found it very easy and uplifting to be performing for such a big audience. I’ve heard many people say the same thing… When you’re singing for
such a vast mass of people, it’s not nearly as personal as when you’re playing at a club. You can’t read their faces, guess whether they’re digging you or not…
I can’t wait to post the professionally shot video of my
song as soon as I have it. The footage of this show will be broadcast ALL OVER CHINA, which is really great for all of the singers involved because we will be exposed to hundreds of millions of viewers! Mmmm… sweet publicity :)
Overall, it was a really great experience! It reminded me of
traveling all over ..Europe.. in my childhood days, singing
with my choir “Aurora”, befriending fellow performers from different countries. It’s an amazing feeling to be united in something artistic with people of completely different backgrounds and cultures…
What is YOUR experience of meeting foreigners (and I
don’t mean resident aliens living in the US – only people who actually reside in other countries)? Has it been illuminating
or challenging?
XOXOXOXO
Alina
P.S. To my regular blog readers, I apologize for not writing
more often. I am working on my album right now, and it’s really been a whirlwind. A good whirlwind if there is such a thing ;)
More Pictures from the Show:....
With great Chinese star performers :)