The Wedding Singer - What you should expect

The role of a Wedding Singer

The term 'Wedding Singer' is a fairly self explanatory one, however the role of a Wedding Singer extends far beyond the simple understanding that someone will 'sing for your wedding'. Your wedding music will act as the perfect soundtrack to your perfect day and there are many qualities that a good Wedding Singer must encompass

THE VOICE:
This is completely up to you. Everyone’s voice is different and therefore it is sometimes difficult to compare one persons singing voice to another. Although I believe that a singer should have a great voice, there are many different sounds and styles to choose from. One thing I cannot stand though on a personal level is the singer who has no style or sound of their own and so imitates the sounds and styles of others (unless they are purposefully doing so for a tribute show). Watch out for this.

A singer should have good demo tracks no matter what. If they sound flat on the demo (After possibly numerous takes in the studio) then God help them when they are live! Try to suss out what type of singer YOU like, and then focus on that when continuing your research.

DRESS STYLE:
The professional wedding singer should always look smart. Jeans are for pub singers or very rich and famous celebrities who don’t have to make an effort any more. Really, the singer should be slightly overdressed in comparison to the guests, but not so much so that they look like a cabaret reject.

EQUIPMENT:
Although they say “A bad workman always blames his tools” If they have bad sound equipment they WILL sound bad even if they are a great singer! A professional singer should keep up to date with the latest technologies; after all it is their job to sound pleasing.

FEES:
Wow, this is a tough one! Sometimes you get people who are great but charge insanely low fees, then you can also get the ones who charge a fortune but who are awful.
I always get put off when I see that a fee is low; I think we all do it with certain products. We think “Well hang on, why is it so cheap? There must be something wrong with it”. Although this isn’t always the case I still find myself sticking to that old rule, but if you’re curious just dig deeper and find out more about the singer (Demo’s, repertoire, etc) until you are completely satisfied.
I think that with wedding singing being such a specialist service, people can literally charge whatever they want, which is why you tend to get agencies and managers piling on large commission fees.

PACKAGES/ SERVICES:
A wedding singer should be as accommodating as possible. Their packages should fit to your day and they should be flexible, committing the whole day to you.
Beware of those who say “yeah, I’ll be your DJ as well if you want”. Being a professional DJ is a completely different job and skill, to being a professional singer (you wouldn’t order a plumber to fix the television would you?).

From my experience certain singers tend to do this so they can cash in on the full day. They just leave a play list running on their laptop and pray that people don’t ask for many requests.

IN CONCLUSION:
If you look in the right places, in the right way and for the right qualities you will find many good professional wedding singers out there. They will look stylish, sound magnificent and treat you and your guests to a 5 star performance that will be talked about for years to come.

Now go on! Pull up your Simon Cowell pants and let the judging commence!!

Luca
Wedding Singer
www.VocalShow.co.uk