00:00One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight.
00:04Hi, I'm Connie Wang, Senior Global Editor at Refinery29, and welcome to ConnieCam.
00:09Today I'm here with Alana Martin, vocal coach to the stars.
00:12I'm here today because I am really, really, really, really bad at singing,
00:16to the point where I got kicked out of my middle school choir.
00:18I hide when we sing Happy Birthday in the office.
00:22I like karaoke, I just can't participate in, so there are those moments, you know,
00:25you have to sing in real life, so help me.
00:27Well, I beg to differ, I don't think that you're terrible.
00:30No voice is really terrible.
00:32What kind of singing do you have now?
00:34Happy birthday, dear me.
00:40Happy birthday to you.
00:42You're not nearly as bad as you think you are.
00:45Will you stand up for me? I'm going to teach you some breathing exercises.
00:48Great, I can breathe.
00:50Do you mind if I hold your ribcage?
00:52Please.
00:52Because this is a key area with singers that people don't know about.
00:56If I push you around, don't go anywhere.
00:58Stay pressing down through the floor, okay?
01:01So if I push Beyonce, like, and she's on stage?
01:03She would go nowhere.
01:05Just for a breathing exercise, and we're going to do a lip trill.
01:11Five, six, seven, eight, up.
01:15Again.
01:16Seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve.
01:20That did it.
01:26Please.
01:26What I'd like is for your mm to span all the way out in a circle, like eight feet out
01:32for you, okay?
01:34So get your mm out.
01:36Don't mm inside.
01:37But it's not about singing loud.
01:39No.
01:40It's just about flowing.
01:42You.
01:43Ooh.
01:46Your turn.
01:48You.
01:49Ooh.
01:51Ooh.
01:51That's right.
01:52More fearlessness.
01:53Let's go.
01:54You.
01:55Ooh.
01:59Ooh.
01:59Ooh.
01:59Ooh.
01:59There.
02:01We're going to take a couple of songs that are great and you'll have heard before.
02:07Okay.
02:08Adele?
02:08I cannot sing Adele.
02:10Sure, sure, sure.
02:12Put yourself down.
02:13So open up your legs and be a tree again.
02:15Plant yourself deep in the soil of Mother Earth.
02:18Most importantly, just follow what you heard.
02:21It's like, record what I do and then just regurgitate it back on your stream.
02:27Okay.
02:27Without thinking about it.
02:29If I.
02:31Your mouth is not big.
02:32It's going like this.
02:33I.
02:35Go I.
02:37Go.
02:38If I.
02:40Hello.
02:41With you, should I give up or should I just keep chasing pavements or should I just keep
02:52chasing pavements even if it leads nowhere?
03:01Give it here.
03:03That was not bad.
03:05Hmm.
03:05I'm probably not ready to go on stage yet and sing Adele or Celine or Whitney or someone,
03:11but I can do it in my shower probably.
03:13I mean, that's the first step, right?
03:14Just feeling comfortable enough to, you know, just sing.
03:18Vocal singing is just as hard as ice skating or Olympic running.
03:22You absolutely have come a long way.
03:24And I'm not the worst singer you've heard.
03:26By a long shot.
03:28Okay, see, well, that's why I'm here.
03:30By a long shot.
03:32Thank you so much for helping me out.
03:33It's been a pleasure.
03:35I'll see you at the karaoke bar.
03:36Nice to meet you.
03:37Nice to meet you, too.
