Maggie Szabo – PRESHOW RITUALS

In this Preshow Rituals segment, the soul pop artist, Maggie Szabo, shares what she does before every show. You can check out her rituals, after the break.

Truth:
to this day I get really nervous before a show. My biggest fear is forgetting the lyrics. I’m going to preface this with an embarrassing story of mine that has stuck with me for years, which may be one of the reasons my nerves get the best of me. When I was really young, like 10 years old, I was hired to sing the Canadian National Anthem at a fundraising event. I often sang the anthem at different functions and sporting games around town, but this one was a pretty big deal as there were going to be at least a thousand people in attendance. It was the biggest crowd I had ever sung in front of. OF COURSE, I started having flu and cold-like symptoms that morning, and I had a bit of a fever leading up to the evening.

Not too long before I hit the stage, I took some medicine to make me feel better and didn’t realize that it caused drowsiness. They announced my name, I walked up to the stage and grabbed the mic. As the crowd fell silent, I opened my mouth to sing O Canada, and immediately drew a blank and forgot the lyrics. Those two seconds that it took me to figure out what to do felt like two hours. The only thing I could think of at the moment was to start humming the melody. About halfway through, the lyrics finally came to me for the rest of the song. I felt SO horrible and ashamed of myself for messing up the national anthem. That moment definitely still sticks with me to this day and I still get super nervous before performing.

To ease my nerves, I try to relax beforehand and I like to be alone as well. I also go for a run in the morning because I feel like it warms up my body. I have an app on my phone that takes me through vocal warm-ups, so I do that about an hour before I need to sing. I drink room temperature water or warm tea with honey and lemon, and I stay away from dairy as it can affect my vocal chords. I make sure that the outfit for my performance is one that makes me feel amazing. Also, I have learned my lesson; do not take any drowsy causing medicine!!!

Most importantly, I remind myself to enjoy the moment, be confident, and not let fear get the best of me.

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