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Taking a break and Goofing on the #mic with Will and CJay lol #maketheworldriff Lolll 😎😆 At a live sessions video shoot for Alex Marshall. What a privilege to work with such a talented artist and and with so much incredible talent in the room! No better feeling than to be surrounded by those who bring out the fun in you and the best in you creatively!
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Clip from the #BroadwayComedyClub’s #OntheSpot singing #BrunoMars #IfIKnew. when nerves kick in, I’ll feel tense. My chest gets tight, my throat gets dry and my hands get cold even in a room hotter than July. I begin to second guess my know leg of the lyrics and think of every way I could mess up on the lyrics and on my delivery. Funny how insecurities can kick in when nerves strike you even when you truly love what you do.
I can honestly say that this performance served as a challenge for me. I challenged myself to get into a headspace where l reflect on why I do this and to trust in God and the peace he brings me through moments where I feel my anxiety can get the best of me. Although this isn’t the Grammys and I certainly won’t claim the best performance in the world award, I found that thinking about that was helpful and as small as this performance was in comparison to the largest venues I have sung at, this was significant and special for me and I was glad that I could put more emphasis on bringing joy and positivity to others rather than my own nerves and insecurities.
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#broadwaycomedyclub had to bring this song back after sitting in the sheet music vault for a bit thank you #onthespot #nyc 🎤🎶
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Westchester County Arena
As I recover from a stomach flu, we head over to the Westchester County Arena to prep for soundcheck. Even during soundcheck I could feel my stomach turning as we review the routine and check the mics for feedback. I attempted to use the rest of the time before our performance to eat lightly, hydrate and get my mind off of the discomfort enough to put on a great show. But of course, with the free brownies backstage… I still attempted to indulge just a bit. Can’t fight the sweet tooth! But overall, I did not want to be preoccupied with my stomach pain. In fact, I wanted so much to embrace and enjoy this experience that I had every intention to use the experience as my medicine and fuel to get better (or at least distract me from it lol).
SHOWTIME
It was a packed house. Right at the center, there were tables established as well as bars set up behind them. It almost looked like a benefit gala. Above and all around were upper tiered seating. There was a huge jumbo screen that said “SEDUCTION” in bright letters. It felt amazing! People crowded in front of the tables in order to get closer to the stage. They all seemed so excited and had sung each of our songs word for word.
When i got onto the stage, It wasn’t difficult for me to become suddenly liberated by my surroundings…the crowd, the lights, the sounds. It’s never difficult. But something about this show felt special in its own way. Perhaps it was the tough work week as well as the thought that I had just enough physical strength to get to this point and feeling a sense of gratification from it.
Interesting to me how this stage can make all of my efforts feel that much more rewarding once I set foot on it.
Overall, once I was on the stage, I didn’t feel sick anymore.
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When I just arrived to the dressing room... Before the makeup and glam..Still recovering from a stomach flu and fever and my tummy still in knots.. Still, I wouldn't miss this for anything...in fact, I'm convinced performing may be a good prescription 😂 lol! #showtime #getittogether #westchestercountyarena
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SOUND CHECK at the TAJ MAHAL In every sound check, we have to take the time to check our levels, areas of possible feedback and feel out the space and the texture of the floor (we wear heels and dance on the floor at some points lol). However, in the midst of testing our sound, we begin to vibe with the band behind us. We started a whole Latin party during sound check. The pro: we ended up incorporating it into our set for the show :) lol and anyone who knows me knows I'm always ready and excited for a salsa session! Lol
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I was surprised my homegirl captured this moment…entering the Mark G Atess Arena at the Taj Mahal in Atlantic City. We had another great freestyle show to look forward to. We were just walking in for sound check and at this moment I was looking at the stage and then the seats and cheese smiling. I couldn’t help it. Every arena i walk into my heart just wells with #gratitude. At this moment I felt the chilly arena air, the sounds emanating from the stage and bouncing off of every wall and seat, the colorful lights that left multi colored streaks in every direction. It was perfect. This month was intense and rough and I was genuinely happy to get another chance to entertain (at Etess Arena)
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I'm unpacking in my new home and I'm buggin out and tired... Time play sing-a-song lol..somehow when I get home and feel overwhelmed it helps to just sing around the house... It's like venting when you have no one to talk to lol #nlt #travisgarland #hesaidshesaid #timetoletgo #music #throwback #waybackewednesday #latinasingers
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TRANSITION Many were not aware of this. But during all of my rehearsals and traveling for shows, I was mentally preoccupied with finding a home. It had been emotional, stressful and truly exhausting. It all began on June 2nd. My lease just ended but I had just paid another month's rent waiting to hear a response as to why I hadn't received a new lease or when I would get it. Typically, you're informed 2-3 months beforehand. But the landlady never made mention of any changes or of any decision to not renew..until June 2nd. I received a phone call from her stating that she needed me out by August 1st. I was in shock and in disbelief that I not only had to leave, she pressured me to go in short notice. Her reasoning was simply that she wanted the apartment for herself. In the end, I told her I'd do my best to find a home but I could not guarantee I'd be able to find a home in less than 2 months. She proceeded to continue with messages that intended to instill fear in me and even guilt. This included the attempt to make me feel bad about HER not having a home and insisted she did good things for me because she rented me the apartment. Meanwhile, she had no regard for my homelessness nor my work on improving an apartment that was not in good condition when I initially moved in. Her stories continued to change as the pressure continued. She had every right to ask me to vacate. But her words only clouded my mind with negativity as I suddenly had to figure out where I could go. It was interesting when I'd get comments from people who found find my life glamorous from my airplane, backstage costume, and performance pics. No one really knew just how thankful I was that I not only got to perform (of course, what I love to do) but got to do something to distract me from the fact that my home was no longer mine and that every time I had to go back home I had to face this reality and spend an extensive amount of time apartment hunting. The most difficult thing about this process was the fact that almost every realtor insisted that I would not be able to find ANYTHING! "Bad market."You won't find anything at this price" "you don't make enough for this place" yada yada. I felt overwhelmed and discouraged. I had to keep going though. I had to find something! Another difficult part of this process was the fact that these types of transitions can be so emotional. I don't like feeling like I don't have a home. It's as if a piece of you is missing. It can all be mentally consuming and I could barely get creative with music. It's hard to even get up to dance because all I could keep thinking about is finding a home, packing and changing my life...again. In the past 2 years, I have lived in 5 apartments. It's stressful feeling like there wasn't a single place in which I could truly stay. With all of the travel and work I do to support myself, it can often feel chaotic. I usually don't mind this. But it's nice knowing there's at least 1 place where I could feel settled. A home. Thankfully, after a month and a half of searching, I stumbled across a modest studio that I just had to have before anyone else took it. By the grace of God, I got the place! A clean bathroom, cute kitchen and a safe warm space was all I needed :) I felt complete gratitude. So, the reason I even write about this is not just for the slightly cliché lesson of "don't give up." Although it's a fantastic lesson that everyone should keep in mind in all facets of life as well as something I truly told myself during this process, I simply wanted to share just how challenging it can be to even try to balance out what you try to pursue with every negative and/or stressful circumstance that comes your way. I'm certainly no master at this as stressors can often hinder my creativity and even my motivation and energy. When they said it wasn't easy, they seriously were not kidding! I will at least be thankful for my new space and try to get my mind back to where it ought to be! With that said, who wants to help me unpack?! lol
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RESORTS WORLD
This would a totally different venue than all of the others we had previously visited and performed at. I honestly didn’t know what to expect in regards to the crowd, the space and the venue overall.
When we got there, the show had already begun. There were several Hilarious characters hosting the event and the room was filled with laughter. We had no time for sound check and had no idea how the mics or stage would feel. Straight to the dressing rooms we went.
WARDROBE MALFUNCTIONS
Before we perform, you can always expect me to be dancing in the dressing room area. It’s a great way to warm up and keep your adrenaline pumping. Plus, I was freezing! But as I’m dancing in the dressing room area moments before our performance I begin to notice that my pants were feeling odd. I check and I could actually feel my bare thigh. My pants were ripping and they continued to rip up to the crotch area! Yikes!! This was truly a spongebob ripped pants episode. And I knew that where the crowd was standing..well…lets just say they’d get an extra show… Not cute lol.
I ran back into the changing area and they ripped more and more with each move. I couldn’t contain my laughter as I also anxiously hoped for another pair of good ol’ sturdy pants. THANKFULLY with the help of the girls I was covered. Word of advice to all new performers… Bring extra everything!
POST SHOW MADNESS
Whenever you perform at venues, you never know who you will meet. I’ve felt fortunate to meet some great and interesting people. But you also come across others that leave you feeling uncomfortable.
When we finished, fans asked to take photos and we were greeted and thanked by the hosts and event coordinators. Afterwards, we were pretty exhausted and felt it was time to retire for the night. We gathered our belongings and left the dressing room. As we waited for one of the members to use the restroom, a man quickly walked toward me with what appeared to be a strong intent. He immediately approached me and began asking me many different questions.i remained friendly and attempted to greet him respectfully and respond to him. He had bleach blonde hair and large blue eyes that were almost piercing. He wreaked of cigarettes and alcohol. His questions began to become more personal but he was asking them so fast! I immediately became uncomfortable as he then began to hit on me. The girls then tried to intervene once they took notice. However, this man wouldn’t seem to back away and tried to even keep them (and myself) from leaving. We had to move away fast as he was becoming more and more assertive. The pros of girl groups, you always have backup :)
Overall, despite any malfunctions or moments of anxiety, it was yet another great show! A nice little change to perform at home in front of many who come to simply enjoy life! Thanks Resorts World!
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DENVER DAYS
Traveling to Denver, Colorado was exciting but nerve wrecking at the same time. After the experience going to San Antonio I only hoped for an easier and smoother journey. Fortunately, we got just that. Smooth sailing. Upon landing, the first thing I see are the mountains in the distance. That was the first thing I looked forward to seeing upon arrival. Sure enough, you couldn’t miss them! They stretched across the landscape like a horizon and it was amazing to still see snow at the very tips of them.
PEPSI CENTER
We headed to our hotel to settle our things before heading to sound check at the Pepsi Center. We got a ride along with the Original Cover Girls. They are were probably the sweetest and most personable women we’ve met all tour and they had the best sense of humor! Our sound checks ran about the same time.
When we got there we wanted to explore both the venue and the dressing room. Our dressing rooms were ready with snacks and beverages and had black sofas, mirrors and large bathrooms. The venue itself was huge and amazing and the stage felt great during sound check. Although we had already performed at other large venues, the countless seats that I saw at the Pepsi Center completely amazed me. 101.5 set up an awesome stage and banner for the event and I couldn’t wait for the show.
Although, throughout the process, numerous people were warning me of “mountain air.” I didn’t fully understand it but they kept reminding me of the altitude and how that can affect my breathing and my performance. They even kept oxygen for artists backstage if they were affected by it. I didn’t really know what to expect.
Fortunately, this time around we prepared our wardrobe and packed them on each of our carry-on bags so they wouldn’t get lost. Everything seemed to run smoothly during preparation.
The audience roared with excitement and energy during the show. I feed off of that and only want to give more of my energy back. However, by the end of our second song, I noticed my throat was feeling a bit dry and I felt a bit short of breath. I of course paid no mind to it as it didn’t feel unusual. However, by the next song it became progressively worse. It burned and it felt like the texture of my throat completely changed. By the time I sang my last verse, I had to breathe deeper and push it out every bit of sound I had left before becoming hoarse. I fortunately made it through without sounding like a total frog. But upon exiting the stage, I could barely walk down the stairs. It felt like I had strep throat and I had to catch my breath. I could barely talk. I was escorted down the steps had to take time to collect myself and wanted to be near the oxygen lol. Even water couldn’t relieve my throat. They told me the mountain air got to me. I finally understood.
I will say this… It was probably the perfect place to feel sick. Not because of the oxygen or water, etc. available. It was because there really isn’t a better place to get your mind off of what you’re feeling physically than to be surrounded by not hilarious and insanely talented entertainers. Aside from the love of performing, this is probably another reason why my fatigue and sleep deprivation doesn’t phase me when it’s time to work. I will always appreciate these fun distractions lol!
Another crazy moment was suddenly seeing my brother in the audience whom I hadn’t seen in years. He lives out in Colorado and happened to be a huge freestyle fan and according to him, a fan of me too lol. That certainly made me forget about my throat pretty quickly. I gotta admit, it’s pretty nice seeing a familiar face amongst the thousands of people present.
Overall, I took the whole trip as another wonderful experience despite me losing part of my voice lol. I’d do it again and again and hope to be back in Denver soon!
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NIGHTMARE AT NEWARK Upon prepping for our trip, we were excited to go to San Antonio. We were leaving Friday night and we were happy to not have an early morning flight for once. It was a long day already, I carried my luggage to work, from work to the Port Authority, from the Port Authority to the airport and trying to get there as quickly as possibly amidst the rush hour traffic. We made it to Newark Airport and somehow it appeared as if everybody was going away that weekend. Fortunately we made it through TSA and all of the chaos of Newark Airport and to our plane in a timely fashion. Once we board the plane, I get comfortable and anticipate a good nap. But a lot of time seemed to have gone by and the plane still was not moving. Suddenly an announcement came up saying that our pilot was coming from another flight and would not be there for another hour to an hour and 20 min. Great, a 4 hour flight already delayed and a plane with passengers that have boarded without an existing pilot. All of the groggy passengers grunted with frustration and impatience. You could easily smell the negative energy. During this time I attempted to make the most out of the situation and document the shenanigans that were taking place. Granted, we were pretty much the only Goofballs on this plane willing to try to laugh at this stressful situation. But hey, when life hands you lemons, throw them at something so they can make a funny sound and say HAA!! 15 minutes later another announcement was made saying that we were allowed to exit the plane if we needed to but we had to take out belongings with us. The air reeked of confusion. Almost an hour went by before another announcement was made stating that that pilot was not allowed to fly the plane and all other pilots were stuck in a storm in the Midwest..therefore the flight was cancelled. By this time I was already exhausted from this trip. We proceeded to get a hotel as offered by the airline for the following 6am flight. We crammed into a hotel shuttle bus like sardines in a can until we got to the hotel. At this point I knew we'd only get 2 hours of sleep but I was simply thankful we were finally going to be in a safe place with a comfortable bed. But the safety started to become questionable quickly. THE TEXAN CREEPER Upon checking in I meet a man named Chris who said he was headed to San Antonio. It was brief conversation before heading to our rooms. My group mate, Andrea, and I shared a room. Once we got to our room our room phone rang and we automatically assume it's our road manager. But it was Chris. Andrea and I looked puzzled as I asked him how he knew our room number as I never told him where we'd be. He said he read it on our room card envelopes while on the elevator...creepy. Even creepier, he proceeded to make flirtatious and even sexual comments before we quickly ended the call saying we needed to go. Andrea and I were so creeped out that utilized every available lock on the hotel door before getting some sleep. Unfortunately, I had nightmares and Andrea even said that I screamed loudly at one point. I told her I thought I saw an old lady in the room and she startled me when she pushed me to wake up. She said she never even touched me... It was time to get out of there. THE NEXT DAY With the little sleep we had, we left that hotel at 4am to head back to the airport. Once again, another cancelled flight. The only other option we had was to wait for a flight that stopped over at Denver. At this point, you train yourself to not think about how tired you are and think about simply getting to your destination safely. After another long journey, we made it to San Antonio...finally...but with luggage missing...our costumes.. But right to sound check we go until we can find our things and figure out what to do! Fortunately the sight of the Alamodome lifted my spirits and I knew I had something positive to look forward to. At that point I wasn't thinking about how tired I was nor was I thinking of everything that went wrong. My mind went to prepping for a show that I knew would be special and memorable to me. As cliché as this sounds, I knew it would all be worth it.
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SAN ANTONIO- the ALAMODOME
I was beyond excited to perform at this venue.
But once we got there, our luggage went missing. It had all of our costumes and accessories in it. The show was just hours away and we had absolutely nothing to wear for our show. April Harris, the original group member, decided to run to the local mall and buy whatever she could possibly find for the 3 of us. We waited at the hotel for word of what she found…if she was able to find anything for us.
When we got to the venue, the event coordinator picked us up and took us to our dressing room by golf cart. He also took us to the stage by golf cart because the venue was that massive (yes, I reminded myself that “everything is bigger in Texas.” It lived up to the saying and to be honest, I was really excited to see the validity of that statement first hand lol)
Our dressing rooms were divided by curtains and was filled with snacks and sodas. It felt cozy. It was then that we finally had the opportunity to figure out what exactly we were wearing. The airline still lost our luggage and April had to come up with a new vision for our look. She pulled out a huge FOREVER21 bag. It felt like a bag of goodies! She pulled out jackets, bra tops, vests, you name it. We ended up combining some of our own clothing with the clothes from the goodie bag. I pulled out every piece of jewelry I brought with me to help them accessorize their outfits. Somehow, we improvised and made the whole thing work. Thank you FOREVER21!! Lifesaver.
When we had our show, the crowd was loud and amazing! The power of performance is honestly crazy. Somehow upon hitting that stage, I forget that we had any wardrobe issues, any issues with flight and lost luggage, any feeling of fatigue or worry. All those negative feelings gone. Nothing but joy. I loved the excitement and happiness I could help bring to the audience and I realize more the purpose I feel I have to help people smile and have s good time even for a moment. Call me cheesy and sentimental if you will. But there’s something incredibly gratifying about it all.
I absolutely love Texas. Everyone was friendly and they were so proud of their state (given the Texas shaped waffle!! Loved that!!). Thanks San Antonio for taking good care of us and for such a fun experience given the circumstances! You are awesome!
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Up bright and early in Fresno and ready to van it to Ontario, CA. We shared a 4 hour ride with Arabian Prince of NWA. He was also on a tour and headed to the same venue in Ontario. The greatest thing about meeting other artists, especially those who have started long ago, is the history and the stories they have to share. That was 4 hours of great convo! Plus, he confessed to this being his first selfie..what an honor lol The ride also gave me an opportunity to see some incredible landscapes which is really one thing I look forward to seeing whenever I go to a new place. I had never seen such an array of diverse landscapes within a short period of time. Mountains, valleys, rivers, cornfields and vineyards that stretched for miles! I wanted so much to stop at these places! But during these journeys time isn't always our friend and we had to go straight to the next venue for sound check. But honestly I am always still grateful that I at least have the opportunity to see these places even for a moment. After all, I never knew when I'd ever have a chance to see places like this ever! Still a great feeling.
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When traveling ... Cons: It can start to feel lonely.. The pros: I can lay diagonally across this king size with no judgement... ALL MINE BWHAHAHA!
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Fun in Fresno! My first time in Fresno, CA performing for the 97.9 Freestyle concert at the Woodward Park Amphitheater and I loved it! The challenge: performing outdoors in 95 degree heat. Sweat started dripping down my face and getting into my eyes... And with stage makeup on, that only means OUCH!!! More and more people were asking for photos after the show and I was only hoping I didn't look like a crazy person squinting and blinking excessively..similar to that of an overly puzzled and confused person lol but STILL to see the excitement of the fans being there I knew I could never turn down a photo. This show was hot, sweaty and intense. Plus, we wore all white on a dusty stage which only meant that our outfits went from white and shiny to chimney sweeper 😂 This was a memorable one and It was a blast. The crowd never ceases to amaze me with their excitement and positive energy!
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Check out the Valleyview Casino Center before our sound check! Johnny O was up sounding pretty awesome and Andrea is being Andrea lol... I love this venue! The bigger the venue the better! lol
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