The Reality vs. The Fantasy of Becoming a Pop Star - for parents of young singers

Is your teen a promising singer?
Do you think your teen might be able to become the next big singing star? Are you looking for an experienced singing coach as well as career guidance?

Lots of kids have big dreams and it is natural for parents to want to assist. Transforming a promising young singer into a marketable artist is not a simple task though, it takes solid training and a lot of work. Since being a singing star is the number one fantasy profession that people have, it is extremely competitive and it makes sense to get the best training possible!   It  is a very positive thing that serious training with an eye towards entry into the profession builds various skills that will be valuable to your child whether or not he or she actually goes on to pursue a career in the music industry.

Interestingly, from a record company A&R director’s point of view, labels are DESPERATE to find the next singing star because young singers who can fill that role are extremely rare, while at the same time hundreds of thousands if not millions of young people want to be that star!

Et this point you are probably asking yourself how this can be possible? How can such a large number of people want to be pop stars and yet finding an actual potential pop star is like finding a needle in a haystack. What is the divide? The job requires a very specific kind of individual with a VERY specific set of skills and traits.

Let's examine these:

1) The industry is looking for unique artists to do original material or put a new twist on existing songs. The ability to emulate and mimic the stars of today, especially Adele, who is all the rage with children and teens, is not going to interest of impress anyone in the industry.  By the time your pre-teen or young teen is ready to join the industry, today’s sound will be passé. Most kids focus on emulating current stars, which is the exact wrong thing to do once they have decided to showcase themselves to the industry.

2). Because almost all forms of commercial singing are amplified, even Broadway shows, how good a singer sounds in terms of tone and being in tune as well as how well they "sell the song" in performance is much more important than being loud.
 Of course, with training and maturity, voices gain strength in the right way, but what most kids do to imitate the contest winners they see on TV and other advanced singers is not at all proper belting, it is simply 'yelling a song'. This can permanently damage the voice as well as simply not being at all what the industry is seeking. Moreover, Imitating the way Adel sang on her breakthrough album, is imitating a technique that caused her to lose her voice and undergo surgery. 'Yelling a song' and improper loud belting. does, however, impress your child’s friends, or anyone else who can't perceive much more about singing than volume at a close distance(which is very different from the actual ability to project the voice on stage) which makes the issue confusing for your child. A large percentage of kids are also, encouraged by their parents try to sing as loudly as they can, all the time, and that is the exact wrong thing to do.


3) Because producers need singers who can learn things quickly and accurately, aspiring singers need strong musical skills. 
If a singer has extensive formal training on a musical instrument they have a good head start to be able to apply that knowledge to their singing. If not, these skills can still be learned by a singer through the study of music literacy (learning to read music) ear training, improvisation and then the study of music theory.  Don’t make the mistake of  thinking that just because you think your child can mimic his or her favorite star that he or she has a good ear. A REAL singer needs to be able to sing songs that have not first been interpreted by others. Most kids try learn songs by ear and parents don’t understand the need for their children become musically literate. The right thing to do is to find a teacher that will foster musical skills in any aspiring singer.

4) The industry is seeking individuals with professionalism and the attitude that they are there to serve the music project. 
Many people want to become famous in order to get approval for who they naturally are as a person. It is healthy to seek unconditional love from parents, family and relationships, the music business gives very conditional and fleeting approval, if any, after a long period of paying dues, therefore beautiful sensitive souls seeking approval get hurt. Parents often present their child for training to enter a competitive field, but then expect the coach to accept the child as he or she is and work only on things that are not challenging. Most people who study music should do so ONLY for the personal enrichment and enjoyment, but that should never be confused with coaching for success in the industry. That being said, the discipline that aspiring singers learn from the hard work and challenges of of becoming an excellent singer  can serve as an excellent foundation for success in any field. Embracing the challenges is the right thing to do.


Simply stated, the needed training to become a pop star requires years of dedication and instruction akin to what a young athlete training for the Olympics might do. The needed training to become an opera singer, which requires athleticism, refined acting skills, complex musical skills and the ability to function in at least four languages is like training for the olympics while getting a degree in medicine or law.

Surprised? I bet not, I think you probably actually knew that it is not easy and simple to reach the top of the world’s most competitive profession. It takes a lot of work to be the best, but in the music business only the very best work at all.


So. if you think your child who has dreams of becoming a successful singer would prefer to keep yelling Adele* or John Mayer* songs at the top of his/her lungs for fun to impress her friends, by all means encourage their love of current music, but also realize it will not lead to a career or profession.

But, if you think he or she would like to turn those dreams into reality by learning musicianship skills, performance and singing techniques, finding their own unique voice, and being exposed to and learning a diverse repertoire of music beyond popular hit songs to prepare for a career in music or to audition for a university music program, a qualified voice teacher and serious voice training will assist your goals.

*Artists who severely damaged their voices

Lori's Studio( Bergen Bel Canto) website