I never appreciated Prince like I should have. I should have, skimming back through his catalog last night after the announcement of his passing, but I just never did besides loving his core hits, as everyone did.
But I would like to take this edition of Deep Cuts to tell you about a time Prince taught me a lesson about talent...
I remember sitting in a smoky dive bar in Milwaukee, Wisconsin one evening a few years back. The usual random cuts from an outdated jukebox gave way to the painfully blistering and misguided harmonies of drunken Millenials this evening; karaoke night.
I was one of those Millenials… poised to prove that what I lacked in any true singing ability could be made up for if you sold your performance with the energy the artist truly intended.
I chose Prince’s “I Would Die For You,” and I performed it with all my heart, electrifyingly moving from side-to-side on the makeshift stage and belting out the lyrics so hard my throat burned with each untuned note.
“I am not your lover. I am not your friend. I am something that you’ll never comprehend.”
After my performance, a fellow competitor came to my table to congratulate me, or so I thought. He looked at me, sternly, as if he was about to deliver some fatherly advice to me.
“You’re never going to make it on the circuit with that song,” he said.
For reference, he was talking about a professional karaoke circuit, which apparently exists but I had no idea did or had any intention of joining.
I was crushed, at first, but then it hit me: Prince would have been proud of me that night. Sure, Prince was one of the most technically gifted and talented musicians of all-time, but one thing he always held true to was the fact that the showmanship and energy in your performance was everything.
You give it all you got, or you give nothing. There is no in-between, and there is no show without showmanship.
If I saw that guy again, I would tell him he was never going to make it in the circuit if he thinks talent is the only thing that will get you there.
You got to have heart. You got to have soul.
And I am so grateful our team here does.