From the outside things can appear much different than they actually are, and this is especially true for aspiring singers.
Award shows like the Grammys, and the MTV awards only show the rewards of a successful singing career.
Many of the performers there have worked hard to achieve that level of success.
Most of the time, good luck goes a long way.
Here are some common misconceptions made by aspiring singers: I Don't Need Vocal Lesson: The voice is an instrument.
Any singer or songstress must practice with that instrument before attempting to get signed to any record label.
A saxophone player makes his instrument his best friend in order to fine tune those skills.
Practice makes perfect, and time with your voice can only improve your chances of success.
Many talented people try out for American Idol, only to get rejected because they just needed some more practice.
Vocal lessons are easy to find, and can truly benefit an aspiring singer.
My Good Looks Will Carry My Voice: Do you remember Milli Vanilli? They were a pop duo in the 1980s to the early 1990s.
On February 21st, 1990, Milli Vanilli won a Grammy Award for Best New Artist.
Then, during a live performance, the vocals that were supposed to be live began to skip, as the duo tried to continue the performance without singing.
It became obvious that the wonderful vocals that got them a Best New Artist award were not theirs, and they had never been.
The group never recovered from the backlash, and was forced to give back their Grammy.
The two attractive young men were good looking, but were vocally insufficient.
Talent is needed, not simply good looks.
YouTube is all I need: Oh Justin Bieber, how you have influenced the youth! Bieber's fame was a mixture of luck and exposure.
He developed an internet following large enough to catch the eye of Usher Raymond, a truly talent vocalist.
Bieber's luck is not transferable, which means most of us will have to do much more work to get a record deal.
YouTube is a great outlet for feedback, but the website does not hand out record deals to every user with a bit of talent.
Use social media to promote yourself, but try not to put all of your eggs in one basket.
I Don't Need to Dance: Yes, there are many singers that stand in one place on stage while using facial expressions to boost their performance.
Those singers are not performers.
A true performer is able to own the stage while singing.
Dancing is not always necessary for everyone, but it does boost a singers following.
If Chris Brown didn't dance as well as he does, his performances would not be as memorable.
For more references on the topic, see the late great Michael Jackson.