Liz the Superstar

My friend Liz registered herself in the "Numbers Idol" competition, which was being held at Numbers Cabaret on Davie Street, and ran from the beginning of February straight through to the end of April.  Think of "Canadian Idol" or "American Idol", and you have basically the same thing in the West End of Vancouver.  Liz has been following her dreams of being a performing artist for some years now, and she even brought her guitar and sang an original song for us a couple of years back at my 40th birthday.  She is lead singer in her own band, has been attending open-mike sessions for years trying to gain exposure in her industry, and has been working in the studio with her band on an on-going basis.  But when I went to cheer her on for the final night of the competition, I could not believe she was the same woman!  She not only has developed and strengthened her voice significantly, but her stage presence is completely unlike it was before.  Before Liz was a bit timid and soft-spoken, but now she's a rock star bombshell just belting out the tunes!  Because of her incredible abilities, Liz made it through to the final 3.  It was a super exciting evening! 

There was a real panel of judges from the recording industry, a great MC, and a huge crowd of people who had regularly been attending the competition every Sunday and Wednesday night since the beginning.  I only caught the very final night, and it was intense!  Liz blew my mind with her money notes, and I could see how having been mentored by the judges for the past 12 weeks had given her an incredible chance to gain personal confidence on stage, and power in her already perfectly pitched voice.  The finalists had to sing three songs each that evening, and every time Liz sang I got chills and almost cried.  I was jumping up and down, clapping my hands like a school girl, and was only one of the many who were very vocal about the support for her.  She was incredible, and I was super impressed by how much she's grown as a performer.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S9lwdAHu7o0

At stake was the prize of having three songs produced by GG Garth at the world class Nimbus School of Recording Arts, $1500 and invaluable coaching and training.  It is the big break that every artist waits for all their life! 

In the end, Liz came runner up.  But I thought she got seriously robbed!  Not that the other two finalists weren't great, because of course they were.  But Liz's voice far outrocked either of theirs, her pitch was perfect, clear, and her stage presence was real and emotional.  Most of us couldn't believe that she didn't win first! She still grabbed $1000 in prize money and invaluable lessons, and she definitely is a superstar and a winner in everyone's eyes!  Bonus for her: she also made a ton of great new friends who are all doing the same thing, and now she's collaborating on new songs with some of them.  Way to go Lizzie!  I'm super proud of ya, girlfriend!

C xoxo