Yesterday I was on Twitter on my train ride to work, and saw a tweet from one of my favorite celebs. It read, "Thanks for all the sweet messages celebrating the 10th birthday of WHOA , NELLY!, my first cd. "Best of Nelly Furtado" is out in days...xo" .
Two things caught my eye. First of all....ummm you only have 4 albums, one of which barely sold any at all, and another that is all in Spanish...what do you mean "Best Of..."? Wouldn't that just be re-selling the Loose album? And second....it's been 10 YEARS!!?! Whoa, Nelly indeed!
You see, I had a slight obsession with Nelly Furtado. Don't get me wrong, I didn't go all crazy over "I'm Like a Bird," (in fact that song got on my nerves), but once "Turn Off The Light" came out, I wanted the album. By "Get Ur Freak On," with Missy Elliott, I was completely sold. She was the coolest thing since pop rocks. I liked her beats, her look, and especially her lyrics. And the fact that I could do a killer impression. In fact, she is the sole reason why I was able to, by senior year of high school, finally pop out of my shell.
I had been a big dork pretty reserved kid all the way up through high school. I was a Straight A honors student, captain of the tennis team, band fag (that's what we endearingly called ourselves) member of the marching band...the ultimate geek. But generally quiet/low key. In drama club, I never went out for any major parts, because I didn't think I was good enough- acting or singing. (And I had stage fright, but that's a story for another day.)
I would sing her songs non stop. I would even record myself on a small recorder I had for lectures (told ya I was a dork), an dlisten to it over her song on the radio. Other people mentioned that I sounded like her, but I didn't really pay attention until it was time for the 1st Annual Talent Show. To be in the talent show, you had to audition (to make sure you didn't completely suck, or try to pull a prank). The auditions were held in front of the Senior hea dof the drama club, Senior head of choir, and the Music Teacher, aka the band director. I found an instrumental version of "Turn Off the Light," and sang my heart out.
Well for at least half the song.
At that point the music director, who I had known all 3.5 years, turned it off. My heart started pounding. Blood rushed to my head and I really thought I was going to be sick. He hates it I kept repeating in my head. I made a complete and utter fool of myself. Why did I think... at which point he stopped just staring at me and spoke. "Holy cow, look who just shot out of their shell! Why didn't you do that for the last 3 years?!" I believe I smiled meekly and looked down. Needless to say, I was in.
And seriously, I rocked that show. I really can't tell you what exactly came over me. But not only did I sing my heart out (and I didn't forget the words, even with stage fright!)...I totally got into it. I sang to the audience, serenaded the host and did a little dance with her, and during the innstrumental break, I jumped off stage, and ran through the crowd high-fiving everyone! It was the best feeling ever!! And they loved it too!
It was such a success that I had no fear doing a rendition of "Get Ur Freak On" with my roomie (who dressed up as Missy) during my college's Summer Excel program Talent Show. Not gonna lie...they loved it too. They didn't think I could follow the rap. Haha!!
The title of my blog comes from this song, Trynna Find A Way, by Nelly Furtado.
"...I could try to chase life down, down the street and I'd find the separation
of fact and fiction
Chorus:
I'm tryin' a find a way
I'm tryin' a find a right
And if I budge I just might
I'm tryin' a find a way
I'm tryin' a find a right
And if I budge I just might
all this inspiration is passing me by
all I can do is chill when I really wanna fly
and this pollution do nothing but dirty up my mind
faster than forever in the blink of an eye
to see past my lethargy is hard I feign
the beauty of my youth is gone but the chemicals remain
*Chorus*
I travel to this land of surrender but I see it's all over me, over and over
again...and I try and I try and I try...an angel on my left side and a devil
on my right..and they fight and they fight and they fight..they're fighting,
they're fighting, they're fighting for my attention...hello? You have my
attention...Do I have your attention?...Can I have your attention
please?...please, you've made such such such an impression on me
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