I have the privilege of living in the greatest city in the world – New York City. Any night in the week you can see and hear top performances: singers, actors, musicians. Performers that are in the news or performers you haven’t heard of for years. The latter was the case last night.

The 92nd Street Y has a series, Lyrics and Lyricists. This show honored lyricists/script writers Betty Comden and Adolph Green. It was narrated by Phyllis Newman, Mr. Green’s widow, who was a celebrated performer in her own right. The band was hot, the 5 singers straight from Broadway stages and the songs unbeatable. It was a stellar evening.

And then, and then! A singer I haven’t thought of for a long while took the stage, and I do mean she took and shook the stage. She didn’t nail the audience to their seats with flashy costumes – although she is gorgeous in the late 60′s, she sang live and you could hear a pin drop when she was singing. The audience didn’t want to miss anything she had to say. This singing star is Leslie Uggams.

What struck me was this: the show was really great even before Leslie Uggams took the stage. The Broadway singers were tops. So what makes Ms. Uggams an unmistakable star? What is that quality. Let me see if I can articulate my thoughts for you.

The Broadway singers were performing for us. They let us know that they were performing – as though there were 2 levels of communication going on. The song lyrics and feel plus that little wink to the audience that it’s just a performance. (I hope that’s clear) When Leslie Uggams sang, she did just that – she sang. She spoke to us through the song. She spoke with every muscles in her body and every synapse in her brain. She wasn’t doing anything else, but speaking to us through the music. That is Unmistakable Star Quality.

Here is Ms. Uggams singing ‘If He Walked Into My Life Today.’

Do you want to have Unmistakable Star Quality? SingLikeYouSpeak™ and get you there. Visit SingLikeYouSpeak.com for vocal training, practice tips and much more!

About the author

Sally Morgan is a professional vocal trainer with over 30 years of experience. Sally is also the creator and author of SingLikeYouSpeak(TM)!

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