Hi!
I am submitting for this talent search as I know the description fits me perfectly. I have been singing since I could walk. When I was young, my Father put me into the choir and music classes. As he was a musician he had great expectations for me to make it big.
Well fate stepped in and a horrific truck accident occurred and killed my Father. He was on life support for less then a week and I remember being by this bedside just before his last breath and his last dying wish was for me to pursue music and singing.
Losing him at such a young age devastated me and crushed my spirit for many years to come. Though I continued to sing in church choirs and began writing my own songs as well. In fact I was on a mission to make my Father's dreams come true to be a great performer.
I spent many years singing karaoke and with live bands. Singing has always made me feel alive. I always felt like I was born to sing and entertain. Whenever I would sing, people would come up to me and tell me how great I am and how I should pursue my singing abilities beyond the local karaoke bar.
Years later, I made the decision, packed my bags and moved
to New York City.
It was a pretty scary move as I did not know anyone and was never in a city like this one. Though with my undying spirit, and determination, I pursued my path and have had minor successes since. Though my ultimate dream of achieving national recognition for my talents has failed me.
I have tried other avenues in the entertainment world and came upon doing stand up comedy. I have had minimal success in this field though I did get on NBC's Last comic standing back in 2006. Even with the comedy, I have incorporated my singing and created song parodies as a result.
Before I did the Stand-up comedy, I sang with live bands at open music jams. One that I went to in particular was in the West village . The keyboardist liked my singing so much that he wanted me to become the lead singer of their band. I started rehearsing with him and recording some songs to play out live in NYC venues.
The keyboardist and I fell in Love and got 
married.
This is when everything fell apart. I moved in with him and he became extremely abusive both physically and emotionally to me. It got so bad one day, that I was forced to call up the Police!
He was put in prison for a short time, and I was left alone with unfinished songs and no hope left. I went to therapy for a couple of years. It took me a while to get back into the music.
Despite this horrible experience, I knew I had to continue and prevail. It was the only way to heal. I took it upon myself to learn how to play the guitar and started to go to open music venues on my own again.
This man who saw me perform one night, approached me after I performed and told me how great I was and how he could help me out. Considering the bad luck that I had in the past, I did take caution with this man. Though I did began to trust this man and did eventually fall in love with him.
He was a musician as well. He played guitar and told me how he had a big hit in the 70's and how he had a manager and could help me. He did manage to help me rearrange one of my songs musically and add a really nice bridge to it. We would go to the studios in Lower Manhattan and practice this song of mine that I had buried for so long. He helped me revive it and brought much hope and restored confidence in me.
I really thought this was it. Finally I can get someone to open a door for me. One day I got a phone call from this Woman. She was freaking out and telling me off. I was telling her to "Calm down"! She continued that she was not only this man's manager, but also his wife!
That really shook me up and crushed me.
Especially after the fact that I invested SO much time and believed in this man with all of my heart, when all along he was just using me. The worst part of this was that the song we practiced was really sounding great and was ready for the studio. Well that never happened.
So this is where I am at now. I have the talent and the ambition though I just seem to be thrown obstacles every time. Music has always been my passion. I believe it's my savior and a deep part of my soul. When I sing I really feel the songs that I sing. I feel alive.
"If you don't live your dream, you die"! I really feel like a big part of me has died as a result. This is why I am submitting. For myself, and for my Father. For a dream that I have desired for long and have never had the chance to make true. For America is the land of dreams come true, and I really hope you will give me the chance to make mine come true once and for all.
Sincerely,
Annie
(646)708-1535
Canadaanne@gmail.com
