Friend wants to be a singer but cannot sing! Worried about her

[MeaI]

I feel really bad typing this out but I have to get it off my chest.

My friend is trying to become a professional singer but she has an absolutely awful voice. She can be very naïve and has found some creepy older bloke who has convinced her she has an amazing voice and is recording an album with her.

She loves giving me performances and sends me songs she has made asking for my opinion. I’m running out of nice things to say. It’s sounds like a long and drawn out drawl, absolutely not in tune. I’ve only shown the songs to a couple of members of my family and one friend but to check it’s not me.

They all think she is completely delusional.

This has been going on for about three years and whilst its been a bit annoying, it’s also pretty harmless. However, she is now talking about quitting her job to pursue a singing career because this weird bloke has convinced her she stands a really good chance of “making it”. In reality I just think he wants to spend more time alone with her and sleep with her. My friend has admitted he is creepy and he has tried to kiss her a number of times but says he has lots of “contacts” in the industry.

If she quits her job I think it will be an utter disaster for her financially. But I don’t think I can say anything beyond “really think about it first” without completely offending her and losing the friendship. Ugh sorry, I just don’t know what to do.

I would be fairly blunt and ask her how much she's made from her singing so far, and how she is paid for a gig. You know she hasn't made any money but play along nicely and say once she can cover her outgoings from singing, then is the time to give up work.

I think you suggest she sends her 'best work' to another impartial person (could be a contact of a friend of a friend of yours in the industry) and they politely tell her not to give up the day job.
Or stop lying to her and stop being polite. She's your friend.

Tell her most people these days get their start by building a fan base for their music on Tiktok while working their main job. Connections in the industry are really not the way forward and are very out of date (this may play into the fact that he's old, you can say he's out of touch, his contacts are probably all retired, etc). Look at the Eurovision guy this year!

Then she can post on tiktok and try and get traction there. If when it doesn't work out, at least she hasn't quit her job!

Or maybe she'll be like Tom Waits or Bob Dylan and people will like her because of her terrible voice, and then you can be the person who knew her way back when!!

I would be blunt about the creepy guy. I’d just say ‘if he had all these contacts he’d have put you in touch with them already rather than just trying to kiss you. If he was a professional he wouldn’t be trying to get sexual or romantic with potential work colleagues.’

With the singing I wouldn’t be as blunt. If she’s an adult it’s up to her to realise. There’s plenty of famous singers that I can’t listen to because I think they’re absolutely rubbish. But if she talked about quitting her job I would give advice to wait until she was covering her outgoings with money from singing.

Is creepy guy trying to scam her out of money

Am I the only one wanting to know what she sounds like? 🤣

I’m dying to!
Op it is pretty shit that none of her friends (including you) have told her the truth yet. I think nows the time to before she does something stupid

I think the scam warning and the way you can build a career without giving up the day job are sensible ways you can put it.

Though your friend in years gone by would have been ideal for Simon Cowell.

No you're not! @AnotherNameChangeYes

This sounds really off OP. The days of 'having contacts in the business' was decades ago.

I'll echo PPs who've said to encourage her to build a fan base on a social media platform and get a gig or to under her belt.
Lots of pubs have live music nights.
That could be a way to start. Feedback would be interesting though...

Curious as to how old she is, as surely an adult isn't going to fall for a creepy man making out they've got a beautiful voice??

I would be asking a lot more questions about this bloke, specially if he’s trying it on with her by trying to kiss her. Who are his contacts? At record labels? Management companies? Song writers? What proven success has he actually had? In what sense is he recording an album with her - producing it? Paying for her studio time? I would ask her more about his track record…

Also - there are many ways of teasing music without spending a lot of money and quitting her job. Suggest she puts some tracks on TikTok or Facebook for reactions?

Not singing at all, no experience of that, but I’m a member of several workshops and it’s amazing how people feel about their own ‘talent.’ There are some people
who feel they have a gift - perhaps they do, perhaps they don’t, but they often become incapable of seeing their own work objectively.

If you keep telling nice lies to placate her delusions, you're not being a friend.

Some singing lessons might be a good idea? Or tell her to join a choir for practice.

Building a following in pp could be a good diversion

Be blunt re finances / risk of quitting work

How old is she out of interest

Her initials aren’t MM are they?

The next Florence foster Jenkins, but without the bank to roll it.

Suggest she joins a choir or musical theatre am dram group they will be honest with her if you don't want to

But deffo creepy guy is bad news hope she is paying him money

Look on local theatres websites for productions going on and suggest she join them

Or church choirs

Or even school choirs sometimes have parents and other local people join in even if they have no connection to the school

Say how much fun it is singing in a group/choir and she will meet loads more people

If she is good then brilliant if not then she will get an unbiased answer

IS ,NOT PAYING CREEPY GUY MONEY

Tell her to get rid of the creepy bloke and get herself vocal training.

There's some you tube vocal coaches, very popular and legit that actually offer training online.
Or someone local she can see in person.

She can't give up her job as she will need money for these great coaches. Keep it positive for now and give her lots of pointers away from the creep.

Just point out the lunacy of giving up her job before she has a cast iron record deal (will never happen)
The rest of it is fairly harmless delusion.

She’ll go far! Lidten go the dreadful warbling of Billie Eilash, Taylor Swift, Cardi B, JLo who don’t have good singing voices but are very successful.

Ask her to listen to Karen Carpenter and tell you if she really believes her voice is in a par with hers.

Has she ever listened to a recording of her voice?

Mollie Mae?