IN THE COMPANY OF A STAR!!!

Wasn't even in Atlanta for 24 hours and yet it was a HUGE learning experience! I was nervous while taking off from the airport on my way to Atlanta to record a song that Chris Willis and I wrote.  After all, it's Chris Willis!!! Don't know who he is, I dare you to google him. I landed and called him as he had instructed me to. Chris picked me up and had the best aura around him.  Sometimes when you are around a person, you just know they possess so much positivity - and he's got it! Before we went to the studio, he took me to check into the hotel.  Originally, when Chris & I discussed my visit to record with him, I assumed I'd pay for the trip - because that's what I do; take responsibility and claim it on my taxes, haha.

Then I suddenly get an email from Chris & all arrangement were made in advance. I simply thought that when I saw Chris, I would reimburse him for costs. When we got to the front desk to check in, I was given my key and told it was "taken care of." I looked at Mr. Willis with suspicion:
"Chris, um, I thought I'd be paying for this."
"Well, maybe we can barter later or something."
I would like to add that this was not some Holiday Inn (no offense, Holiday Inn, I've had many nice stays at your fine establishment).  This was a 5 star, luxury - even-Oprah Winfrey-would-have-you-stay-there kind of hotel.  AND...there's more!  It was on the top floor, balcony, GORGEOUS room...you know the kind that leaves fluffy robes and shee-shee-foo-foo toiletries!!  I put my bag down and was off to the studio.

It was at his studio that I confessed my anxiety about recording with him.  I explained how when I see him perform I simply hear a star!  His vocal range and what he does with his voice exceeds my expectations. His stage presence is commanding, and I told him that I have just been so stupidly happy to see him rise to the top!!  He thanked me, and proceeded to tell me that after seeing me perform at Beatstock he wondered why I wasn't more famous! Ha! He wondered?  LOL..I wonder too!  That's the question!  Anyway, truth is I imagine that when he's in the studio he's a perfectionist and probably records everything on one take.  There are a few, a small elite group of people who can record a whole song on one take...Chris laughed when I told him that and told me not to worry.

We got started around 2:30pm.  It felt good - I felt good.  I felt supported.  And for once, because he was doing the engineering, I felt someone spoke my language.  In the past, whenever I've recorded, it's frustrating sometimes to work with people who do not sing. I mean no offense to any past producers, but singers, in a way, have a different language in the studio. Sometimes it is difficult for a producer to convey to a singer what they are looking to hear. But not only did Chris speak my language but he had like an advanced vocabulary!!!  I was very happy - the song is different than anything I've ever recorded. It has hints of R&B, Gospel, dance, pop...and it's a really happy song about believing you've finally found love - something you know I am secretly hoping for!! About four hours later, we went to dinner.

Hanging out with Chris Willis was a great experience. It was just me and him...and I picked his brain like crazy. I wanted to know what is his secret?  How did he find this success?  What does he tell himself when the "powers that be" in the music industry try to discourage him?  How does it feel to have two top 40 songs?  Every single question I asked he answered, and he answered with an honesty and a humility that I couldn't have received any better.  We also discussed things like family, matters of the heart, and spirituality and religion...Not to mention that dinner was GREAT!!  LOL.  He asked me questions too...and I felt I made a friend.  I realized right there and then, as the sun slowly went down in Atlanta, that God rewarded me a blessing, far beyond what I could have hoped for:  a new friend in the business and a deeper discussion about musical aspirations and dreaming for a higher level in life.

We reconvened the recording about 8pm or so.  I had recorded 2 verses, a bridge and background vocals had to be done.  Okay, there are background vocals that usually consist of two part harmony...and then there's Chris Willis harmony - four parts, and layers and layers of other vocals overlapping over others...in essence it's genius, but to record it...a whole new story, people!  Not only did I have to do those layers, but also had to record all of it (probably about 40 or so), in addition, I had to do it four times over so it sounds "fuller" ; choir like!  It was 11:30 when my throat began to hurt.  But I mentioned nothing to him, even though he persisted to ask intermittently if my throat was ok....only a true singer would know the threshold for the throat before it begins to tire.  And then I learned something I had not known...Chris would be flying in the morning to film his video for his new song!!!  How could he still be with me, when he has less than eight hours before he flies!!  He finally admitted that he thought we both did  not have the energy to finish and have the best result....and he drove me back to my room & I wished him a safe flight and gave him the advice my mom leaves me with before every show:  "Go and kick butt!"

I was on such an adrenaline high from recording with Chris Willis, that I didn't realize what my  body was going through. Aunt Flo made a cameo appearance, (I know, I know...too much information) my back was killing me, I had a migraine, and my legs were swollen! I walked into my hotel room, was just about to surrender to my gorgeous king size bed, when I suddenly realized something was in the room that hadn't been there when I first checked in:  a huge gorgeous, flower arrangement of pure white lillies!!!  The whole roomed smelled GORGEOUS!  I looked at the card:  "Judy, welcome to Atlanta!  Sing pretty! Love, Chris."

And this morning, I treated myself to breakfast in bed, and even with my throat sore, I managed to enjoy it.  I checked out, and as I walked outside, there was a black town car, there was a man holding a sign that read, "Ms. Judy Torres." Yep. Chris, the gentleman he is, sent a car to take me to the airport!!  And as the plane took off, I realize there is still a chorus to be recorded, but we arranged a future date to finish what we started.  This experience will stay in my heart for as long as I live and I will definitely pay it forward!!! But that, my friends...is what it felt like to be in the company of a STAR!!!                                           

Insomnia, Atlanta and Hope!

Chris Willis & Me - Day he offered to write with me! 

Rough night last night. Can't lie. Couldn't sleep. Couldn't stop hurting - yes I was feeling so sore. Couldn't stop thinking. Was thinking about the quiet. Normally, I love silence, but last night it was too loud. And then I cried. I cried for myself - I felt bad, didn't want to cry, but it had to happen. Maybe it's PMS...either way, if you're a woman and ever had pms, you know it feels as real to you as anything else - even if you feel like a psycho while you're in the midst of it. So I cried. I have been lonely. As long as I'm singing, working, on the air, writing, reading, I am okay. But when I am alone. Ugh. Just wish I had someone to wish me goodnight; to kiss me goodnight. The dating is scene is so rough - and I've been single now for over two years. I tell myself that there is a reason; that God is preparing a good man for me, or that I have something great coming up that if I had been with someone I wouldn't be able to do. But I cried. And then, only then, I fell asleep.

I was in my car this morning listening to the Gayle King Show on XM, and discovered that today is International Gratitude Day. Hm. Now I felt like crap for crying last night. It is just so true: if you find things to be grateful for, if you are in a spirit of thanks, there is no way you can be unhappy. So, my spirits were instantly lifted because I have SO much to be thankful for. I have a new thing to be thankful for. Tomorrow I am flying to Atlanta, Georgia, to record a new song that I wrote with Chris Willis!!

Chris Willis is an international pop star! And he is one of the few people in this cruel and fun industry whom I truly admire. A former gospel recording artist, his voice is just incredible. His vocal range NEVER goes out, and I have NEVER heard him sing a bad note. I've heard him sing at night after doing a stint of four shows in one night; and I have heard him sing first thing in the morning, just after arriving from Brazil hours before and STILL sound GREAT! His song, Love Is Gone, is a song that I still dance to and listen to in my ipod! When I first heard it, I wondered who this man is...and then, and THEN, when I discovered we had the same management - H E L L O!!! I HAD to meet him. He is not only an amazing vocalist, but he is also a most gracious human being. He has been nothing but kind to me, and when I had my sinus surgery last year, he was the ONLY one to send me anything!

One day after a sweet sixteen we were both booked for, I mentioned an idea to him for a song. He called me a few days later and told me he wanted to write something with me. Chris has a new song now that he did with David Guetta, Fergie and LMFAO, called No Getting Over You. And it is a top 40 hit - something that all recording artists strive to do! I thought that now with his fame and frenzied schedule I would have to put the whole idea of writing with him off. But I was wrong. He was truly a man of his word, and the song he wrote with me is so great! I am excited - the theme of the song is about a new encounter and feeling like he might be the one! Hopefully what I sing about will attract exactly that to me!

So now I'm nervous. I know you don't think I should be. But I am. It's the same as you being an actor and Merryl Streep invited you to do a scene with her. My biggest concern is my voice. I ho[e to have a great voice tomorrow and deliver what is expected of me. I am now in a new and higher caliber of talent, and if I perform and record well, it is possible that some of that wonderful talent, great blessings & a little bit of luck will rub off me! There will be no tears tonight - just a lot of hope and prayer!!