My daughter in local Idol contest today.

[siouxi31]

Our village is having it's town fest this weekend and today is the Idol contest. My 11 year old sent in an audition disc a couple of weeks ago and she was chosen to participate.
I saw this contest last year and when the audition call came out this year, my daughter said she wanted to enter. Looking back, I said the wrong thing to her. I told her that these kids take voice lessons and work on their singing all the time. Most likely I was a dream squasher which parents shouldn't do. Lucky for me, she went ahead and entered anyway.
She didn't practice as much as she should have. Last night, my husband put his amp, microphone, and CD player in the driveway and made her sing the song several times. She wasn't singing to anyone in particular but there were neighbors out and about doing yard work so it was like singing in front of some people to get her past some fears.
She started out not sounding as good as her audition tape, but as she continued to practice, she sounded much better.
This kind of freaks me out. I'm trying to not to say anything negative to her, and I'm trying not to be overly positive. I'm just listening to her telling me how nervous she is. I reminded her that she has been in front of people her whole life with dance, softball, soccer, and the school talent show (where she danced and didn't sing). She then just reminds that she never sang in front of people before.
We have a huge support group coming out to see her. My mom, sister, cousins, friends, neighbors.
What really bothers me is that I'm worrying that she'll tank in front of all these people. It's gosh darn selfish of me that I would be worried about that. Am I worried that people will think my daughter entered this contest because she thinks she's so great? Or am I worried about the potential damage control I'll have to do afterwards if she loses?
Wow, typing those last two sentences made me feel better. I now see that I feel the need to explain that my daughter is not a Christina but more of a Hillary voice. Now I don't need to say it to anyone. It is what it is and I'll be proud of her no matter what. I could never get in front of people to sing.

If you have any advice to make me a better parent on this, please let me know. Sometimes, a parent needs a little advice in being reminded how to support, nurture and propel their child's dreams. I don't want to be a coach in handling reality right now.

 

[TammyAlphabet]

The first time that I sang solo in front of an audience was 12, which is a little older than your daughter. I remember it was very exciting and a feeling that I will never forget. No matter what happens, it is an experience that she will never forget. My advice would be to tell her what a great job she did and acknowledge how much courage it takes to do what she is doing. Tell her that you are proud of her no matter what. It may be that once she gets in front of the audience, she will be filled by the energy they give and do a spectacular job.

By the way, I got a standing ovation and I never had a singing lesson in my life!!