Whether you are trying to get signed to a record label or are creating a career for yourself
independently, in order to have success and sell records you have to create an audience who identifies with you. You already know that you need great songs and a great voice but there is
another more elusive element, sometimes called charisma. This other skill is hard to put a finger on, but it has to do with the force of your personality and how it affects your singing,
your songs, your interaction with your band and your audience, your photos and press releases - in fact every element of your band's image and concept.
As the frontperson of your band you are the one the audience comes to know first. Through you they become familiar
with the material and the other band members. You set the tone. Are you deep and gentle like Sarah McLaughlin,
introspective and intense like Tori Amos, or aggressive and in-your-face like Shirley Manson of Garbage? Even in a
band like Pearl Jam, everyone knows the name of the lead singer, Eddie Vedder, no matter what else they know of the band.
Where do you fit in? Or rather, what makes you stand out? How do you become exciting enough to be considered a
star? How do you create a concept around which to shape your songs and your band? Let's take a look at a few people who have accomplished this feat and see how they did it.
The most mythic artists, like Madonna, have such a strong persona that you could actually sum them up pretty easily.
Madonna hit the market as a 'boy-toy' many years ago and she hasn't strayed too far from it to this day. She was a
man-eater, a manipulator, trashy and sexy at a time when this was not considered attractive. When she started she
wore tons of jewelry and showed her navel in every video, and millions of young girls copied her until it was the
stylish thing to do. She created a way of being and thinking that changed the society in which she lived. She is still
pushing against the values of society, sometimes in sexual ways, sometime in religious ways, and sometimes in
musical styles. She rebels against any kind of limitation. When you think of Madonna, a very clear and strong image
comes into your head. She has created a myth and it shows in every element of her work - from musical style to clothing style, from lyrical content to video content.
Gwen Stefani, of No Doubt, is also a rebel but in a different way. She is street smart and uses humor to defy the
restrictions set by society. She is definitely not "Just A Girl." She is glamorous even while wearing track pants.
Although the lyrics might be intimate, there's an aggressiveness in the music that keeps her from getting too close or
being too sweet. She's tough and vulnerable at the same time and plays these contradictions off in her clothing,
gestures and movements. She, like Madonna, has set the standard for millions of girls whose thoughts and dreams she represents.
Even artists who aren't as radical as these two have honed their message down to its essence. Sheryl Crow was once
described as the 'thinking man's party girl'. She's tough and she's smart with a vulnerable side you only rarely get to
see. She's a cynic and nothing is going to get past her. You would probably never hear her sing a lyric that is as
confessional and intimate as a Tori Amos lyric. Nor will she use the kind of sweet vocal sound that a romantic
pop/R&B singer like Celine Dion would use. Even though Sheryl Crow is certainly capable of singing with a beautiful
tone, as she was probably required to do as Michael Jackson's back-up singer years ago, she's choosing a more
conversational, undersung style, whether consciously or unconsciously. This is because it mirrors her personality and
her view of life which is not sweet, not pretty. Her guitar sounds, her clothing, her attitude, all reflect the same concept.
No matter who you respect as an artist, whether they are flamboyant like Kid Rock or completely unglamorous like
Adam Durets of Counting Crows, you can still see who they are and what they represent in the way they bring life to
the songs, the musical style, the stage show, the photos, the press and all the other elements.
Where do you begin to find your image, your onstage persona? Start with yourself, your history and your real
personality. You can pretend to be an angry young man or a sexy babe but if it isn't what you really feel you won't do
a very good job of it. Who are you really? It's hard for us to know who we are and how we appear to others. Here is an
assignment to help you get started: ask five of your friends to write down a list of your three strongest personality
attributes. They don't have to be nice things because if you are controlling, for instance like Prince is, that might play
very well on stage. And they shouldn't be characteristics like 'nice', 'smart', 'talented' or 'creative'. Those things won't
set you apart from anyone else. We are looking for the things that make the people who know you recognize you.
Maybe you are a caretaker type of person or maybe you have a lot of energy. Maybe you are a geek or a loner. If
someone says you are sexy, ask them to be more specific. Are you sexy in a 'girl-(or boy)-next-door sort of way?
Wholesome, brazen? Sensuous? Are you funny? Is it dry humor? Bawdy humor, adolescent humor? Try to get your
friends to be specific. When they are done you will have fifteen words or phrases that are descriptions of your
personality as others see you. Some of them may overlap. If you are very funny, probably everyone will include it.
But the point is to see yourself from the outside. When you start to have an idea of what image you present to the world, you can begin shaping that image.
Image is not something you apply from the outside. Sure, some producer can tell you to wear certain clothes and act
a certain way and sing his songs and then he will make you a star. But it rarely happens that way (with a few
exceptions) and it isn't very satisfying. You aren't you. You are pretending to be what he has created. You feel like a
fraud. Even the boy groups that have been created by a producer have later gone on to take a strong stand on what
they really want and who they really are. Image comes from the real you. It comes from the inside out. You look
inside yourself for your opinions and feelings and then you write about them in your songs. When you sing them you
do so with conviction and the force of your convictions gives you great energy and stage presence. This is the start of charisma.
If your material is socially conscious, then your band shouldn't be dressed like they're going to Mardi Gras. If you're
writing romantic songs about the joys and sorrows of love, then your band will probably not be covered in pierces and
tattoos. If you are singing blues songs, chances are you won't have a cellist. If you're a garage band then you
probably won't want to look like you stepped out of business meeting. Of course there are exceptions to all of these
and the exceptions are sometimes the most interesting. Contradictions can be fun. But it's still a choice based on what you want your audience to perceive.
When you go to a concert of a person you admire, you come away feeling that you've gotten to know that person.
How did that happen? What did they do to express who they are? Were they shy? Talkative? Angry? Arrogant?
Bubbly? Silly? Serious? What about you? Who will you be? When your audience walks away from your concert, who
will they have seen? Remember, this is a longtime process. You will always be creating yourself. As your beliefs and
attitudes become clearer to you, your concept will evolve. And as you take a stand on those beliefs you will develop the confidence and clarity of purpose that leads to charisma.
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Lis Lewis is a vocal coach in Los Angeles, CA. She is the author of the books The Singer's First Aid Kit and The Pop
Singer's Warm-Up Kit which are available at her website, http://www.TheSingersWorkshop.com. Her clients include
Britney Spears, Gwen Stefani (No Doubt), Linkin Park, Jack Black, eastmountainsouth and Michel'le.
Finding Your Identity as an Artist
