Sorry If

I saw it coming and I tried to run, but you caught up. The hardest part about loving you is trying not to cry. The only thing worse than hearing your name is hearing nothing at all. So I'll sit back and I'll watch you laugh and I'll try not to fall. I'm sorry if I wasn't good enough, wasn't strong enough, wasn't loud enough. I'm sorry if I ever made you cry- ever made you want to go. Stay with me. Stay with me until the morning comes. Stay with me. Stay with me until you fall in love. I sit upon the floor; scattered papers flood. Atop them lie the words: unspoken, "should have said". Time cannot be changed. Those bridges all were burned. Save me now. Teach me how to be loved in return. Save me. How can I feel whole?

With My Heart

One day and six billion lives to save. Go ahead and tell no. They say, "You’re a no name; you’ll never change anything." Well my daddy always says with hard work, you can be everything. Young boy begging on the streets. All he needs is one small meal, but it’s growing colder and he’s headed back to god knows where. Another day, another empty cup. I want to change the world and bring the darkness to the light. I want to be someone who saves the lives of millions with my heart. Young man- not a penny to his name. His little girl, she stays at home because mama left several months ago. He says, "All I want is a good life for my girl." One day and six billion lives were saved. Everyone was screaming no. They said, "You’re a no name; you’ll never change anything." Well my daddy always says with hard work, you can be everything.

My experience with The Voice

This summer I decided that I wanted to try out for my first television show. I chose to audition for The Voice because of all the singing shows, it seemed to be the most professional. I went to http://www.nbcthevoice.com/ and registered my Artist Account. After filling out all of the information there, I was asked to chose an audition date and time. 

One week before my audition occurred, I received my Artist Audition Pass (pictured below).

I arrived two hours early to my audition. If you plan to audition for The Voice in the future, I strongly recommend that you arrive at least two hours before your scheduled audition time.

Once I was inside the Convention Center, I was placed in a large room that seated around 200 other auditioners. After waiting a grueling 3 hours, I finally moved on to wait outside the audition room. They put us in groups of ten and the ten of us entered the audition room with one casting director. She chose one person at random to come up and sing a verse and a chorus of their song. When I heard the other singers in my room, I'll admit I was a little intimidated! They were all so good!

I got up and sang my rendition of Bill Wither's "Ain't No Sunshine". Afterwards, she thanked everyone for coming to the audition and asked that I stay behind. I was so surprised. She told me that she would call me by the end of the day to let me know if I'd gotten a callback.

Sure enough, at 6:30, I received my call. I was ecstatic, to say the least. That was a Saturday and I was scheduled to come back to Memphis that Thursday with 3-4 current songs prepared in full. Current was difficult for me. All of the songs that fit my voice are old. I really struggled with song selection. In the end, I chose to sing Florence + The Machine's "Dog Days are Over", Lady Gaga's acoustic "Pokerface" and Adele's "Rolling in the Deep". I'll admit, I was a little uneasy with my choosing an Adele song, but it was one of the few current songs that fit my voice.

I arrived at the callback and was ushered into a small waiting room. After about 30 minutes, I went back into the room to do my callback. In the room there were two casting directors, a sound technician and a cameraman. I sang only two of my songs before the female casting director stopped me and told me that although I did a great job, she wasn't going to send me to the next round. I politely thanked them for their time, and left. 

Although the results weren't what I'd hoped for, the experience that I gained from auditioning for The Voice was once in a lifetime. If you want to audition, all I can say is be prepared and GO FOR IT!

xx,

Elizabeth Prior

Mine in the Morning

I know that I’m tired. I know that I’m weak. Heaven knows I have tried. Heaven knows I’ve been beaten. Mine in the morning, gone in the evening. Dreams are the only place I see you anymore. Couldn’t change your mind; told the truth and I cried. “I love you” made you walk away, but I’m not sorry. I just couldn’t make you stay. You said you missed me, well they’re all the same. You left me broken, baby. Come back to me so I can tell you what I need- so I can tell you that I don’t need you anymore. Now you belong to somebody new. She’s holding you tight, doing all of the things that I long to do. The darkness surrounds me; the light escapes me. I am lost, but I don’t need your saving. I know that you’re tired. I know that you’re weak. Heaven knows you have tried. Heaven knows you’ve been beaten. Yours in the morning, yours in the evening. Yours are the only arms that I’ll run to.

Lullaby to You

Lay your head upon my shoulders; let your mind just slip away. When you're asleep you can let go of everything. I see the pressure on your heart. So, go to sleep. Lay awake no longer in reality. When you dream you can be carefree. This is my lullaby to you. Let your mind just fly away to a dreamland that is all your own. This is my lullaby to you. Let your thoughts just float way to a place where there's no pain and no tears are shed. This is my lullaby to you.

Now, once you arrive in the land of dreams, take a deep breath and look around. I think what you will find is that the world is much more kind to you when you are free of worldly things.

Dreaded Dream

What did I do? What did I say to make your love fade away? What has she got that I haven't got? Her looks and her charm? No, baby, she's got you. Wake me up from this dreaded dream that I'm living in. I can't stand the pain - no, I can't take the wait. If, by chance, this is not a dream then let me sleep for a hundred years. Maybe when I wake I'll find you hear, but I doubt that, dear. Now, I sit alone in a cage of isolation; I built it myself from bars of hate and misery. Now, I'm breaking out. I'm breaking out so timidly now. How did you go and take my heart so far from home?

Moonlight

We both conceal how we feel out of fear of what will come if we express the truth of what our hearts desire. You say you don’t understand my reasoning, well, sometimes neither do I. I swear to you, we’ll make sense of it in time. In time this will grow easier. The pain will grow less prominent and the fear that you are feeling will be washed out with the tides of love lost and love reborn. They say that it’s impossible - but nothing is impossible with the moonlight on our sides. You think that you cannot understand my wiring; you’re right. I know I cannot change the past, only the future I build myself. I desperately need you to understand my reasoning for my actions and my lies, but sadly no soul can. Even if you were to dig into the depths of this sewn heart, you would never know the magnitude of my memories and my tears. Don’t think that I am saying that when this ends we’ll be together. All I’m saying is that in time this will grow easier. The pain will grow less prominent and the fear that you are feeling will be washed out with the tides of love lost and love reborn. They say that it’s impossible - but nothing is impossible with the moonlight on our sides!