It was a very exciting week for this mom and her baby girl. We were flown to NYC for a meeting with an A&R rep of a recording label to talk about a possible development deal for Jaelyn. This wasn't a plan executed by me, it was one of THOSE stories you sometimes hear about. You know, the ones where the incredibly famous actress states she was drinking a milkshake in a famous 5&10 store with a burger grill located in the back, when lo and behold, a talent agent walks up drops his card and states,"stick with me sweetheart and I'll make you a household name?' LOL Yeah, it was kind of like that, except NOT. Gregg and Jaelyn began her YOUTUBE video channel about 7 months ago and she has been recording video 'covers' at her leisure. The thing is this former singer KNOWS she is gifted. No auto-tune or verb --- N_O_T_H_I_N_G processing her voice into sounding THAT good. This is a case where the HYPE lives up to the REAL DEAL.
So we were contacted by the VP of A&R from this record label. It required some digging on their part to even attempt to figure out how to reach us and who Jaelyn's authority figures were but after a few tries --- that was indeed accomplished. The talks began, the tickets were purchased ----- the meeting was a GO.
Jaelyn and I braved the planes. I chuckled as I remembered a friend, deathly afraid of spiders being poured down his shirt, relating to my not so much love of flying fear and phobia. Yeah, THAT helped me, LOL. Anyhow, the flights were smooth but still nerve wracking. Arnie picked us up and we fell into bed that night with visions of big scary corporate monsters wanting to chew Jaelyn up and spit her out into the next version of Britney Spears --- the one with the shaved head and the lost look in her eyes. So yeah, exhausted sleep came easily but it wasn't restful sleep because this was Jaelyn and HER dream. We had to tread lightly but with a sense of purpose. We had to prepare to protect while encouraging her gift. Kind of like all the dads out there who see the potential in their little athletes. They run out the door and sign them up for sports. They suit them up in shoulder pads, shin guards, jock-straps, and then send them out to PLAY THE FIELD all the while bellowing declarative remarks like, "you can do it, drop your shoulder, hit em again harder, DON'T YOU LET ME SEE TEARS BOY, WE play to win!!!! ruh ruh ruh " Yep, we were about to enter into THE game of games for a singer. And the mama was just a wee bit nerved out. I needed a drink but then remembered I don't do that sort of thing! So I took some deep breaths, received a phone call from a friend who prayed a gloriously inspired prayer, and I was set. I was going to Madison Ave to meet this LION head on.
One of the best things to witness was Jaelyn's calm. She managed to keep giggling at all the silly stuff. She retained her appetite. She loved on her daddy and he coo'd over her. We showed her where the mama FIRST kissed the daddy. Asked her what HER GOALS were for the day --- and then listened to her reply. Encouraged her to be honest in all her answers and that REGARDLESS of the outcome we were so very proud of her. We reminded her that in the end, this may not be THE DOOR but it was A DOOR. That she would glean some important lessons from this experience. To stay alert and be present in the moment during the meeting. Then we told her how much we loved her and headed into the great metropolis of steel and mortar....
So, are you wondering what happened? What the outcome was? How she really did? Hmmm, okay I'll spill it. Jaelyn did even better than I could have imagined. She looked the LION directly in the eye while smiling, giggled a bit, articulated who she was and who SHE WASNT. When asked if she would mind singing in front of him she stated, "are you kidding, I don't mind at all." Then she opened her mouth and let it flow. A big ol' smile broke over the LION'S face and he stopped her after the chorus and said, "you can stop right there Jaelyn, it's more than obvious that you ARE the real deal and that the youtube videos were ALL YOU." We then talked about industry. What is happening behind the scenes in music business. All very corporate boring facts but facts that every artist SHOULD BE well versed in. We talked about recoupable losses, budgets and itunes etc etc. THE LION was a huge teddybear of a man, much like my husband --- but bigger. And at the end of the hour and forty five minute marathon, he looked Jaelyn square in the eye and said, "We'd very much like to extend a contract offer to you Jaelyn."
Now, everyone in this business KNOWS the devil is in the details. We are expecting a copy of the contract to arrive at the beginning of the week. Legal then gets on board and we begin the arduous process of negotiating outclauses and must haves.
Is it in the bag as they say?
Well in the words of my very talented young daughter, "don't crack your eggs before you lay them."
So, we are applying that wisdom here in our house and aren't cracking open any eggs. We are simply moving forward on the next step of a journey. It doesn't change anything for Jaelyn at this point. She can walk into next week knowing that her dream was affirmed. That it's no longer just her mama telling her she has it. Her feet are firmly planted on the ground. She's back to arguing with me, her sister, and then exploding in laughter the very next minute.
She's the YO!!
And all is just as it should be....
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