audition portfolio

On this page, I am showcasing my solo performances I did within college, and discussed the different things I could work on from each performance and things that went well within the performance, I did this by watching my videos back and taking key points that I noticed while also using my peers feedback.

First solo performance:

"Skyfall" is a song recorded by British singer Adele for the James Bond film of the same name. It was written by Adele and producer Paul Epworth and features orchestration by J. A. C. Redford.

Skyfall (song) - Wikipedia

Below is my second take.

Above is my first take, (i was ill)

For my first solo performance I choose to do Skyfall by Adele. I chose this song because I sang it with my friend and enjoyed the vocal range, and longer notes. The song wasn't extremely difficult for me to sing but I feel like I could've sang it a bit better, through things such as dynamic, making the verses softer and the chorus louder. I got a bit distracted and lost my voice a little bit, but regained it quite quickly. I also felt not so confident in myself, I could work on my stage presence by trying to look up more, not fiddling so much and standing up more straight to allow more air to enter and so I could push my voice out hard/louder which would make my words more clearer.

I used Adele's live version of the song as reference, and learnt it through this version while picking up on ay differences between the live and studio versions. I the ran through the song making sure I knew the lyrics, and made it more my own through dynamics and vocal runs, taking control of the song. I picked up that there is some overlapping on the second verse going into the chorus and end of the bridge going into the final chorus. I decided to carry out the final word/note on the verse/bridge and pick up on the chorus onto the second line 'when it crumbles'. At first it took a few attempts and i would forget the second line of the chorus, but I kept going over it and eventually got it.

Artist research:

Adele is an English-songwriter, she graduated from BRIT school in 2006 then leading her to sign a record deal with XL recording. Her debut album, 19, was released in 2008, including the UK top 5 singles 'chasing pavements' and 'make you feel my love'. 19 was named in th etop 20 best-selliing debut albums ever in te UK. She won a grammy for best new artist. She then released her next alum, 21, in 2011. It became the worlds best selling album of the 21st century. '21' holds the record for the top-performing album in the US chart history, topping billboard 200 for 24 weeks, with the singles 'rolling in the deep', 'someone like you' and 'set fire in the rain' heading charts worldwide. The album '21' received 6 grammy.

In 2012, Adele released 'skyfall', a soundtrack single for the James Bond movie skyfall, which won her the Academy Award for best original song.

Adele is still present in the music industry with her latest release being on the 19th November 2021, her album '30'. with the hit song 'easy on me' which she pre-released on the 15th of Ocotoer. It debuted UK at no.1.

Second solo performance:

I used this version for the backing track and the way she performed it as inspiration.

For my second solo audition, I chose to do the song 'bloodsucker' by CIL. I chose to perform this song because it has a wider range of singing techniques, and more rasp. This song hold more attitude when singing which I enjoy. This song isn't well known, but I have liked this artist for a long time since the release of this song.

Feedback from Judith:

A great choice of song and a really expressive performance, Lacey, well done. This is very well learnt and you have really taken 'ownership' of the song, adding your own expressive interpretation, with lots of melismatic inflexions to bring out the emotion. What a noticeable improvement in your confidence, tone, vocal projection and stage presence since day 1; well done!

My evaluation:

For my second performance, I would say i greatly improved from my last solo performance. I held my self up with more confidence and chose a song that fitted my voice very nicely. I used more dynamic techniques and took ownership of the song more than I did with the last one. I think my breathe control has stayed the same through both first and second solo performance, but I am opening my air ways more by not looking down or slouching. This helped project my voice more. I had limited straining on my voice, only when I did the belting of 'out of me' after the second chorus, which I feel I would achieve better with learning some better belting techniques and ways to avoid straining. I could also work on how to hold my microphone when singing, my teacher Vicki told me to hold the microphone a bit lower and not too in front of my face.

In my first take, I feel like my stage presence is lacking compared to my second one as I seemed more confident in my second take.

Artist research:

CIL is most known for her popular single, 'one more shot'. Her music can e characterised by the genres pop, soul, and RnB. She is a self taught musican, teaching herself how to play piano as a child. She moved to Los Angeles at 18 by herself to purse her music career. In 2022, December, she was signed to Warner Records. In June 2023, She released her EP, 'Tears dry on their own'. She opened for Stevie Nicks in 2023.