Anthem at Supercross: Ready, Set, Sing!

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What does it feel like to stand in front of 50,000 people, at Raymond James Stadium, with nothing but a microphone and the weight of the National Anthem on your shoulders? In this episode, Greg interviews Cameo as she takes you behind the scenes of her unforgettable experience singing at Supercross—sharing the nerves, the preparation, and the overwhelming emotions leading up to the moment. She opens up about a past anthem performance that once shattered her confidence, the mental techniques she used to push through self-doubt, and the incredible support system that helped her step onto that stage with courage.

But the journey didn’t end when the song did. Cameo also unpacks the flood of emotions that followed—the relief, the pride, and the unexpected ways the experience shifted her perspective on perfectionism and personal growth. She reflects on what it really means to take a risk, how we process achievement after overcoming something that once felt impossible, and why recognizing our own victories is just as important as chasing the next goal.

If you’ve ever felt like past failures define you, like you’re too overwhelmed to chase something big, or like self-doubt has talked you out of showing up for yourself—this episode is for you.

In this episode:

• How to stop letting past failures define your future
• The truth about confidence (hint: it’s not something you wait for)
• Why fear doesn’t mean stop—it means go
• The power of mental preparation and visualization
• The people you need in your corner for big moments
• What happens after you accomplish something huge—and how to process it
• The mindset shift that helps you take the leap

This isn’t just about singing in a stadium. It’s about learning to step up when the moment comes. Are you ready?

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:02):
Welcome to the Cameo Show.
I'm your host, greg, and todaywe have a very, very, very
special guest, none other thanCameo.

Speaker 2 (00:14):
Hello.

Speaker 1 (00:15):
We're switching things up a little bit today
because Cameo has a veryexciting story to tell and I'm
going to be the interviewer andshe's going to be the
interviewee.
But I want to start things offwith a dad joke, as we always do
.
I kind of need a haircut, sothis was a good one.
How does the moon cut his hair?

(00:38):
I don't know.
Eclipse, it, eclipse, it Eclipse.
So today is very specialbecause this past weekend you
did something that was wayoutside of your comfort zone.
It was an incredibleopportunity and there's a whole

(00:58):
lot to unpack, so let's justkind of dive into it and just
kind of start us off.
What happened?

Speaker 2 (01:06):
this weekend.
This weekend I had theopportunity to sing the national
anthem at a Supercross event inRaymond James Stadium.
So it was a full stadium wherethe Tampa Bay Buccaneers play of
people there to see motocross,obviously, but I got to open the

(01:30):
ceremonies with the nationalanthem.
It was a complete honor andprivilege and a moment that I
will never forget, because itwas literally something that I
have dreamed about since I was12, probably 12-year-old me used
to sing the national anthem foranything and everything in my

(01:52):
hometown in Ohio and surroundingareas, and I always envisioned
this day and it finally happenedat 42.
So decades later, I was able tosee that come to fruition and
it was quite an experience.

Speaker 1 (02:11):
And you killed it, you nailed it.
Leading up to it it was a lotof anxiousness, excitement,
anxiety, whatever you want tocall it, but it was.
You could cut the air in thehouse for the months leading up
to it and we didn't really wantto say too much about it.
Just to you know.

(02:31):
Just I don't know why.
We just didn't want to likeover, you know.

Speaker 2 (02:36):
Oversell it.
We, greg and I both but I'llspeak for me.
I have become a person wholikes to work in silence and
then just kind of show up to bigmoments.
So I don't mean that to soundarrogant or, you know, conceited
in any way, shape or form, it'sjust I do a lot of grinding

(02:57):
that I don't talk about, and youknow I've sang my whole life.
We sing, we produce music, weput music out on a regular basis
and don't talk a lot about it,just because it's just something
that we love and just somethingthat we do.

Speaker 1 (03:13):
Love the process.

Speaker 2 (03:14):
And so this was another one of those moments.
Also, you're right, there werea lot of emotions.
I mean, it was a huge emotionalroller coaster for me.
One because it was such a bigopportunity.
Two, because it was such a bigopportunity.
Two, because it was so manypeople and such a big event to
be singing for.
And my last experience withsinging the national anthem was

(03:34):
not a successful one, and so Iwasn't a hundred percent sure
and confident in myself abouthow I would show up to this
moment, so I didn't talk a lotabout it.
Not that not talking about itwould have made it any better if
it didn't go well, it stillwould have sucked but it just is

(03:54):
something that I prefer tobehave that way.
I stay focused that way, withmy blinders up, doing rather
than talking.

Speaker 1 (04:02):
Well, let's jump back to that.
Before we talk about this pastweekend and all the excitement
about that, take us back to thelast time you sang the national
anthem and what happened.

Speaker 2 (04:14):
Yeah, we talked about this on a previous episode
recently, so I won't go intoextreme details.
But the last time I tried outto sing the national anthem at a
spring Pittsburgh Piratesbaseball game here in southwest
Florida, the reason it didn't gowell was because right before
they called my name, I had noidea when they were going to

(04:35):
call my name.
There were no numbers, I didn'tknow anyone.
I had gone to the restroom andthey called my name right when I
was in the restroom.

Speaker 1 (04:43):
Literally pants down around her ankles.
I looked in the bathroom downthe first base dugout line and I
was like they just called yourname and I saw you pull your
pants up and run out of thebathroom.

Speaker 2 (04:54):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (04:54):
It was hilarious.

Speaker 2 (04:55):
So not only are you nervous in that situation, and
when you're nervous or excitedabout something, your heart rate
accelerates, your breathingbecomes more rapid and intense.
You're sweaty, your heart rateaccelerates, your breathing
becomes more rapid and intense,you're sweaty, you know your,
your, your palms are sweaty andknees weak.
Yeah.
Then add that I literally randown the baseline, grabbed the
mic and started singing.
The gravity of that moment waslike okay, well, here I am in

(05:20):
front of all these peoplesinging the national anthem no
pressure, trying out to do it,so you want to do well.
But also I'm in front of allthese people singing the
national anthem no pressure,trying out to do it, so you want
to do well.
But also I'm completely out ofbreath.
And I'm out of breath becauseI'm nervous.
It just didn't go well and Ihadn't done it in a really long
time, and so that wasn't my bestperformance.
I didn't get that gig and Iwasn't proud of it.

(05:43):
You know, obviously it was ablow.
It was a blow to my ego.
It was a blow to me kind ofcircling back to something that
I really care about, which ismusic and singing and my ability
there.
I hadn't done it in a reallylong time.

Speaker 1 (05:57):
Before you've done it , though, you had done the
national anthem, maybe what ahundred times?
In high school basketball gamesand, like your life, you've
done that so many times that itwas like second nature.
So you thought I got this andthen you didn't.
In that moment and it was hard,but what?
What did I say?

Speaker 2 (06:15):
Greg in that moment said it's going to be a great
story someday.

Speaker 1 (06:21):
And here we are.

Speaker 2 (06:22):
And today is someday, because, even though I recently
shared that story, now I have aredemption story to follow it.
And it gives me goosebumps andI could cry because it's a
pretty big pretty big redemptionstory.
Pretty big redemption momentyeah.

Speaker 1 (06:39):
All right.
So let's go back to you.
You the national anthem flop.
How many years ago?
Eight years ago, six years ago.

Speaker 2 (06:47):
It was several.
I mean definitely over five.

Speaker 1 (06:49):
Yeah, maybe like seven years ago.
In that moment it was like oh,and I feel like maybe you kind
of shied away from singing alittle bit.
You didn't really show muchenthusiasm for it at that time.
After that, which you wouldn't.
I mean, it was a pretty bigblow to your ego.

Speaker 2 (07:10):
So when I was younger it was such a huge part of who
I was and I was recognized forit a lot.

Speaker 1 (07:18):
It was a big part of your identity, yeah.

Speaker 2 (07:20):
Yeah, and I was bulletproof, yeah, yeah, yeah,
yeah, and I was bulletproof,yeah.
And then you become a teenagerand a young adult and a young
mom and a wife of a musician whoplays in a band every other
weekend whatever the case may bevery frequently who's
surrounded by other verytalented musicians, who has a
history of playing in a band,that has a record deal in arenas

(07:43):
.
It became something that I justdidn't really do anymore.
Yeah.
And it wasn't because of you, itjust all of that Right, and the
only time I ever did it wasdrunk karaoke or drunk jumping
on stage with you guys or someother local band.
Like way back in the day, wayback in the day, yeah, 12, 15

(08:05):
years ago, yeah.
And then you're drunk and youdon't care and nobody cares, and
it's not like you're reallyYou're laughing off, you're not
really performing.
Yeah, you know you're notreally showing your ability.
It's just in the moment doingwhat you're doing.
Yeah.

(08:26):
Trying out, for that was thefirst time I had put myself out
there in that way to be.
I guess judged again forsomething that.

Speaker 1 (08:29):
I hung my hat on for so long Very vulnerable and the
kids were there.

Speaker 2 (08:31):
You were there like it was a moment that flopped and
it was a punch to the gut and Idid shy away from it from that
point forward because I'm like,well, maybe I don't, maybe this
isn't something that I was, thatI'm not great at anymore, maybe
maybe that was.
You know, great.
Good for you.
Big fish, small pond, littlekid, cool.
I didn't sing very much.

(08:54):
Plus, during that period oftime and I think a lot of people
probably experienced thisyou're not really sure how to
reconnect with what you love andwhat you did when you were a
little kid, because now you'rean adult and you have
responsibilities and you'resupposed to have it all together
.
And that dream that you hadwhen you were 12, well, that's
over, because real life is nowhere and there's no time for

(09:17):
that.

Speaker 1 (09:17):
We were going to gymnastics every weekend.
We were, you know, just busybuilding a business from ground
up.
I mean, life was lifinghardcore during that time.

Speaker 2 (09:28):
Yeah, we're trying to repair our marriage.
We have small children.
We are living in an area wherewe don't really know anyone.

Speaker 1 (09:35):
Navigating, not being alcoholics.

Speaker 2 (09:38):
Yeah, we had recently quit drinking.

Speaker 1 (09:40):
We're living with all this time now, yeah.

Speaker 2 (09:42):
So who am I?

Speaker 1 (09:43):
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (09:45):
And that moment showed me that maybe I'm not
quite the singer that I thoughtI was yeah.
so that was a difficult momentand it wasn't until 2020 when
COVID hit and we kind of had alittle bit more time and also
some moments of like what do Iwant to do with my life?
Like life, life is short.
This is a weird thing happeningand nobody knows what to do.

(10:06):
I'm not going to waste anotherminute.
You started doing music again,and that was when I decided to
write a book.
It didn't even dawn on me tolike do music.

Speaker 1 (10:17):
You never sang.
Join you in music.

Speaker 2 (10:19):
I was very rigid about it because I learned to
play piano in a very rigid way,where it was right or wrong, and
same with singing, and then Iwas coming off of a huge flop
and I was just like this is notmy thing anymore.

Speaker 1 (10:32):
Put it in the, in the closet, and shut the door and
just didn't look at it.
And then and then I rememberasking you to come in and sing
on a song that I was working on.
Yeah.
And I was just like you openedyour mouth and sing on a song
that I was working on.
Yeah, and I was just like youopened your mouth and sang and I
was like my God, and you justdidn't even put much effort

(10:54):
towards it and it was like themost beautiful thing that I had
heard through my headphones andI'm like wow.

Speaker 2 (10:59):
It's like you had never really heard me sing
before that moment, because Iwas either drunk or singing in
the shower and maybe you weren'ttaking me seriously and I had
this flop, you know, and I camein and saying like it was
nothing and you're like, uh, whoare you?

Speaker 1 (11:14):
Yeah it, literally.
I was like my mind was blownbecause I'm like I, you're my
wife, I know everything aboutyou, but then, all of a sudden,
there's this whole side of youthat I didn't know existed.
Literally that soundsabsolutely crazy, but it was the
100% truth that.
I was like saw something in youthat I had never seen yet.

Speaker 2 (11:36):
Well, and that's because I think I must have just
been comfortable at that momentto come out and play at that
moment to come out and play.
Prior to that what I startedhanging my hat on and I still do
.
I really put a lot of effortinto my athletic endeavors.
So you know, marathons andprofessional bodybuilding and

(12:01):
mountain climbing and all thesethings that I've done, I enjoy
doing, they're healthy for me,physically, mentally, they're my
thing.
But they became like the onlythat was.
I became the athlete.
You were the musician, I wasthe athlete and in that moment I
came in and sang and you werelike, oh okay, welcome to the
party.
And I think honestly and it'snot anyone's fault or anyone's

(12:21):
influence or anyone making mefeel less than it was really
challenging for me to have beenrecognized my whole life for
being a musician, for being asinger and being a pianist, and
then not being welcomed oraccepted or recognized by you
and your bandmates or peersAgain, not their fault, my lens,

(12:45):
my lens well, why would theyknow any different?

Speaker 1 (12:48):
correct, and it's their sandbox, right?
And you're there to be asupportive spouse it's like, but
that's my thing too and I hadlike I can't.

Speaker 2 (12:58):
I always say this, I don't even know the story, but
it feels fitting like I had likeyoko ono complex where I was
afraid that I was gonna be aproblem for you.
So I just, anytime I wouldchime in or say anything, I was
usually six beers in and I cameacross as a bitch and
overbearing and like nobodyasked you the delivery was a

(13:19):
little no, not, not.

Speaker 1 (13:20):
Not that there was any really these moments, but
but but yeah, the few that I canremember.
They were awkward Because it's2.30 in the morning, let me get
my time, yeah.
But so on that musical journey,though, we're like kind of toe
in the water with it, crazy ideato go to Seattle and record at

(13:49):
London Bridge with Jeff Ott andredo Pearl Jam and Temple the
Dog and record the song that wewrote 15 years ago when we got
there.
I remember, of course, at thatpoint I'm like okay, I know you
can sing, let's literally flyacross the country and go record
in a real studio and see howthis works.
And I remember that moment whenyou're in the studio and you're
kind of just testing the mics,and when you were in that room

(14:11):
and you started singing, it gotreal serious, real quick.
Jeff was like looking for.
I'm like, okay, we got to likeget this.
And it was like one of theselike Hollywood TV moments of
like I told you she's got it.
Well, I remember that momenttoo.
She's got it.

Speaker 2 (14:24):
Well, I remember that moment too.
I had never recorded in thestudio and you had other than
our home studio.
Yeah.
So now, here I am in this iconicstudio where all of these
legendary albums and recordshave been made, with you and a
legendary producer and engineer.
I don't know what the hell ishappening.

(14:47):
I've never done this before.
I don't know what's going.
I don't know what to expect.
I don't know how I'm supposedto behave.
I don't know.
Am I supposed to like have anopinion or just sing, or what am
I supposed to do?
And I just remember that moment, too, where I timidly had
played piano prior to that andit was kind of like okay, and
then I started singing.
When people talk about a flowstate, I feel like I have a

(15:08):
couple and that is definitely mymost intense one where I sing,
I can close my eyes and I couldjust sing for hours and feel
like five minutes when I open myeyes.
That's what kind of happened inthe studio.
I had this moment of like oh myGod, this is like.
This is me.
This is the true essence of whoI am and it comes out through

(15:28):
my voice.
That gave me a lot ofconfidence and it re-sparked
this interest in music in yourstudio and asking me to come in
and I like to help clean thingsup and I'm a details person.
I like to help produce it.
Get rid of this turn that up.

Speaker 1 (15:50):
You could hear pitch.
You would hear like that onewords pitchy and I'd be like I
don't hear that.
And I'd pull it up in the pitchcorrection app and be like, oh
my God, you're right, it's.
It's like a half step off andI'm like how, Just time and time
again, I've never seen anythinglike it.

Speaker 2 (16:08):
It's just years of training from like all the way
back to when I was in middleschool of like reading music,
sight reading, singing, needingto be on pitch for competitions
and different things, but Ienjoyed that aspect and I would
sing here or there for you, butwe never recorded anything.
I have this block when it comesto creativity and I wasn't able

(16:29):
to like break that down enoughto actually be involved in like
singing and recording until wewent to Seattle and then that
definitely reignited somethinginside of me that made me feel
like, okay, we're doing thistogether, which feels awesome.
We just created beautiful arttogether with Jeff and released
it on Spotify as Waiting forElise.

(16:51):
We don't talk about it a lotbut shameless plug.
That's our music project.
It's Greg on drums, me on pianoand vocals.
Obviously that's what we'vedone over the last couple of
years in our quote unquote freetime.
When we have the opportunity torecord and release music
together, I mean you do a lotwith other people and with your
own artist profile, but when wehave the opportunity, it also

(17:16):
gave me the freedom and theconfidence to record.
You know, sit at my own pianowhich I'm so grateful to have,
which as a little girl I dreamedto have and record, just sit
and play and sing.
Recording is optional.
I sit and play and sing a lotand don't record it.

Speaker 1 (17:32):
And I'm always very upset with you.
I'm like did you record that?
And you're like uh-uh.

Speaker 2 (17:35):
I'm like it's too much, it's too dramatic to set
up the camera.
I just want to sit and sing.

Speaker 1 (17:40):
Leave me alone, it's my thing, leave me alone, it's
my thing, like the cats all gonuts when she gets into the zone
and it's.
It's just a vibe, a vibration,an energy, a feeling.
The whole house feels it.

Speaker 2 (17:52):
It's true when I cats are like I know I'm on.
When Luna comes up, our catshe's like.
My cat comes up and can't stayoff of me just rubbing all over
me and purring.

Speaker 1 (18:04):
But your voice is just purring and it's humming
and it's just it sounds amazingand posting videos and reels.
You know, just we did someChristmas music.

Speaker 2 (18:14):
And that's been so fun, because that's given me
this like connection with myselfthat's been lacking for so many
years.
And it was because of thosevideos and because of being able
to confidently put myself outthere in that way, to set the
vulnerability aside and the fearof being judged and the fear of
not being perfect aside and say, well, this, I love this and

(18:39):
I'm just going to share it.
And if people like it, great,and if they don't, fine.
I enjoy doing it.
I love doing it, yeah, andthat's the text message.
Yeah, and that's where I wasgoing.
That led to this opportunitywas that someone saw me in the
way that I would love to be seenmost.

(19:01):
You know I do all of thesethings and they're all great and
I love doing them.
But to get a text that sayssend me the demo of you singing
the national anthem is quite anhonor.
And at first I was like,seriously, are you sure?
And then, like a week later Igot the text that said you're in
, mark your calendar forFebruary 8th.

Speaker 1 (19:21):
And I didn't sleep that night.

Speaker 2 (19:22):
Yeah, no.
Then I kind of like let it sit.
I had a like silent countdowngoing on in my head and I would
like sing a little and practicea little and think about it a
little.
But then when it got to 30 daysout, it started to get more
real and then more practice andmore more intense more intense
all that time you're finishingyour book, literally putting the

(19:46):
final chef's kiss on your book.
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (19:50):
Sending it off to be like final proofread edited.
The same week.
Off to production.

Speaker 2 (19:58):
The same week.
Yeah, so last week I literallysaid we are final, final, send
it off to our last like grammarspelling check, edit before it
gets sent off for interiorformatting like literal
production.
The same week that the podcastturned two years old years old,

(20:22):
thank you for being here.

Speaker 1 (20:24):
And then that's crazy , all of that happened last week
.

Speaker 2 (20:29):
I'm like literally fighting back tears over here
because when you say it likethat, it's like holy shit.
It's easy to get caught up inlike the day to day and feel
like I'm never moving the needle, I'm never doing anything.
I think everyone feels that way.
But if you really take a secondto allow yourself to see all of
the things that you do on aregular basis all while being a

(20:50):
mom and a wife and running abusiness and helping people
close loans to buy new homes-and getting five-star Google
reviews, zillow reviews, helpingpeople do that kind of thing,
yeah.
I mean, it sounds braggadociousbut the thing is is that you
don't, because you're afraid ofsounding that way, and I'm just
putting it out here for you andfor our listeners to remind them

(21:15):
that, like, it isn't reallyabout telling everyone about it
or broadcasting, it's just aboutallowing yourself to say, okay,
this isn't arrogant ornarcissistic or pompous, to
think about all the things thatyou do and give yourself a damn
round of applause and pat on theback because we manage and
handle so many things on aregular basis that we just don't

(21:37):
ever take a pause and say, wow,I'm actually doing, okay, like
I'm doing it.
And last week was a really bigweek and I feel almost outside
of myself to think about lastweek.
And the reason is and this iskind of like a sidebar I can't
help myself but give a messageoh God, I'm going to cry.

(22:01):
I'm literally going to cry.
So I have notebooks, I writedown goals, I have a color
changing pen that I organize mylife with and I keep them to go
back to and look through.
In 2017, on New Year's Eve, Iwrote down a page full of what I

(22:26):
called 10X goals.
We had just gone to, earlierthat year, a 10X conference
Grant Cardone where the wholepremise of his book and his
conference and all of the peoplethat he brings in to speak, is
that if you have a goal, why not10X?
It Make it 10 times bigger thanyou ever could imagine you

(22:47):
could achieve.
So that year I wrote down my10X goals and on that list of
goals was the reset button.
I hadn't started, I didn'tstart writing it until 2020, but
the idea of the reset button mybook that will be out soon but
the idea of the reset button mybook that will be out soon was
born on New Year's Eve of 2017,turning 2018.

(23:09):
And now, in 2025, it's finallydone.

(23:33):
After we came home from thestudio in Seattle the second
time, when we went out to kindof finish everything up right
after we released the songs wereleased them in November of
2023, I made a new list, atarget list of people that I
would need to contact at thedifferent arenas and stadiums in
Tampa and Orlando to pitchmyself, to sing the national
anthem at a game or an event,and on that list in November of
2023, all of those people andthose venues.
And then the note, like thelist of like, well, I have to
record a demo.

(23:53):
And that was November of 2023.
And I never pitched to anyone.
I never recorded the demo.
I never.
I didn't get to it yet.
I was so focused on finishingthis book and staying focused on
making sure that we deliver apodcast every week and being a
great mom and all the thingsEveryone has.

Speaker 1 (24:11):
Food Making sure all my priorities are right.

Speaker 2 (24:14):
Music was kind of and still is kind of last on the
list, but it was on the list.
I guess is the point Both thebook and what we're talking
about today and these ideas,these goals, these dreams that
were bigger than I could haveever imagined were on the list.
I write them down.
They don't just become someridiculous goal, they become a

(24:53):
to-do, and if I have a to-dolist and a checklist I'll be
sure that every decision that Imake or every thing that I do is
in alignment with getting tocross that off of the list and
complete it.
And so it's ironic it'sbeautifully ironic that those

(25:13):
two things were on two separatelists of big, ridiculous goals
and I was able to basicallycross them both off the list at
the same time.
And actually this one, thissinging at Raymond James, was
not like specific, like thereset button was pretty specific
on my list, but this one wasjust more of like I want to sing
the national anthem, it's whatI do and I want to do it big.

(25:37):
And it was bigger than I.
It was bigger.
It was way bigger than Iimagined when I wrote it down
and when I made that list ofcold emails to reach out to.

Speaker 1 (25:51):
Yeah.
So, yeah, I'm proud of you forbelieving in yourself enough to
write it down and not be like,oh, I don't deserve this.
Because I think that's what alot of my problems, a lot of
people's problems, are, is theydon't feel like they're worthy
of winning, they don't feel likethey're worthy of success, they

(26:13):
don't feel like they're worthyof having a big, beautiful, bold
life.
They don't feel like they'reworthy of it.
I think that it gets justpounded out of us all through
our adolescent years and throughlife.
It just kind of gets to feelinglike why even try?
Because I try and then thishappens and that I mean you

(26:33):
tried and you were out of breathand you didn't get the national
anthem, but I know you wellenough to know that you weren't
going to stop.

Speaker 2 (26:39):
I am nothing if not tenacious.

Speaker 1 (26:41):
You are literally a dog with a bone, you know.

Speaker 2 (26:44):
Wasn't necessarily even.

Speaker 1 (26:46):
I'm going to get you some tissues.

Speaker 2 (26:49):
I had to take a short break for some tissue T, some
tissues.
I had to take a short break forsome tissue Tissue break.
We get so bogged down byeveryone's expectations and what
we're supposed to be doing,that like.
For me, it wasn't even aboutworthiness necessarily.
It was this dichotomy betweenwhat I really dream of doing and
what I should be doing, andthat it's irresponsible for me

(27:11):
to think that that's possiblefor me now because I'm in my
thirties or I'm in my forties,and that time has come and gone.
It's time to be serious Now.
You own a business and you aremarried and you have two
beautiful teenage children whohave their own things that
they're pursuing.
You have a husband who has hisown goals and like know your

(27:33):
role, and I feel like a lot ofpeople feel that way and
unfortunately succumb to thatfeeling of like again, not
worthiness, but pressure, almostof like.

Speaker 1 (27:42):
Well, I, I can't do that and I felt that Not worthy
enough and all these pressures,so definitely it gets subdued,
you know.

Speaker 2 (27:53):
And I felt that way for a while.
That's heavily what the wholereset button book is about is
giving yourself permission tosay well, hang on, I can be all
of those things too, and I canstill find and reconnect with
who I am and make decisionsbased on the way that I want to
live my, based on the way that Iwant to live my life and the

(28:14):
things that I want to pursue.
And when you do that andthey're the right things and
they are truly what you love,and I'm not saying like, follow
your passion but don't pay yourbills I'm saying like, make sure
that you're prioritizing theright things, but leave yourself
on that list things fall intoplace.
And so I believe firmly thatwithout those big goal lists to

(28:39):
keep me focused, without supportand without the strength and
fearlessness to put myself outthere and pursue things, to set
aside vulnerability and judgment, mostly from myself, none of
these things would have happenedthis weekend.
Wouldn't have happened becauseno one was going to come just

(29:03):
knock on my door.
Like you said, like the guys inthe band all those years ago,
they weren't going to be likehey cameo, can you sing?
Oh, you can.
Cool, going to be like hey,cameo, can you sing?
Oh, you can, cool, join us.
And I never gave them a reasonto believe otherwise.
So this situation, the same.
No one was going to comeknocking or text me.
Hey, can you sing?
Do you want to sing thenational anthem at a huge event.
If I hadn't showcased that Icould by reconnecting with that

(29:27):
piece of me, and that all comesfrom, like, knowing that I'm
worthy and knowing that justbecause I'm older or just
because I'm all of these things,I can still be that too.

Speaker 1 (29:38):
Yep, I used to spend so many years wishing people
would call me to make music withthem.
I don't understand.
And until you just decide I'mgoing to make music, I'm going
to do whatever it is that I wantto do, whatever that may be for
you, then it becomes likeyou're unstoppable because
you're like I'm not waiting onanybody.
No one has that control over me.

(29:59):
I'm doing this.

Speaker 2 (30:00):
Right.
It's really sad, I mean it'sreally tragic actually to see
people wither away and notcontinue to pursue what they
love to do, out of fear or outof lack of self-worth or out of
busyness and not makingthemselves a priority.

(30:21):
You can see when somebody islit up by something, you can
feel it in their energy and youcan recognize in yourself how
contrastingly different it iswhen you're not, by having an
experience where you bet onyourself or you put yourself in
an uncomfortable situation oryou do something bigger than you
ever thought you could, and youcome out the other side and the

(30:44):
rush of adrenaline and the rushof emotion that you feel, the
amount of alive that you feelGod, I didn't know I was going
to get so emotional.
This is so weird, but theamount of alive that you feel
makes you realize, like I didn'trealize, I was dead in that
area so much.

(31:05):
I was sharing with you offcamera earlier in conversation
that, like I've done other bigthings in my life and some of
them at the top level, likebodybuilding, for example.
You know I didn't go to theOlympia but I was an IFBB pro, a
professional bodybuilder whodid compete.
And once I got to that leveland I competed as a professional

(31:27):
for the first time and I workedat the Arnold as a pro at a
large supplement company boothat the Arnold.
You know like those are toplevel activities.

Speaker 1 (31:37):
You met Arnold.

Speaker 2 (31:39):
I went mute, but I did look at Arnold in the face
and shake his hand.

Speaker 1 (31:43):
He said something, but I don't remember what he
said.

Speaker 2 (31:45):
I have a bad history of that, but it was clear to me
in that moment like I don't,this isn't what I want to do,
like I don't want to continue topursue this.
This does not light me up.
It does not fit in my life inthe way that I want to.
It doesn't make me feel the waythat I want to feel.
Yeah.
And other things that I've donethat have been big

(32:07):
accomplishments.
That have been bigaccomplishments, big career
opportunities, big, you know,athletic endeavors where I'm, I
do them, it feels awesome, I'mproud of it, but I also feel
like, but that's not.
I don't want to continue to dothat.
This was not that.
And that's very vulnerable forme to say to what is my deal

(32:30):
with all my crying today?
Big cry, baby.
But I haven't talked about thissince it happened.
So this is like this is realand raw for this episode because
we haven't talked much about it, but like it's only been a
couple of days.

Speaker 1 (32:46):
Yeah, I'm still processing Are you eating, yet
Are you still?

Speaker 2 (32:49):
I'm still, I'm eating , did you?

Speaker 1 (32:51):
eat anything yet today.

Speaker 2 (32:52):
I have not today.
Leave me alone.
My eating habits are.
They're just fine, but this wasnot the same feeling.
And again, I think where I wasgoing before I started to get
all ball baby again was.
It's very vulnerable for me tosay that, because I don't want
that to be the one and only timeI do something like that.
I don't want that to be the oneand only time I do something
like that.
I don't want that to be theonly time I get to feel that

(33:15):
feeling.
Call it a dopamine junkie orwhatever you want.
I love that Doing it at thatlevel.
I told you last night I'mruined, but it makes me want to
double down on believing inmyself and in my talent, my
unique talent, because of theway that it made me feel alive.

(33:39):
Yeah, and I've shied away fromthat for a really long time.
Yeah, most people do for thesame reason I do, which is like
it's so important to me that ifpeople don't think I sing great,
if I'm not perfect, if everyonedoesn't love it or you know
people know they're better thanme, then you know.

(34:00):
Then I who do?

Speaker 1 (34:02):
I think I am, and then that's the death of your
ego, your self-belief Right.

Speaker 2 (34:07):
But it isn't about that.
That's probably where I've gonewrong in the past, with it
being such an identifying factorfor me and identity that I
clung to a label and myperfectionistic tendencies that
being able to set them down.
I can see there's a lot ofclarity in gravity in this

(34:27):
moment.
That was also something thatwas a very huge feeling on
Sunday morning as I listened tothe playback and finally watched
a lot of the videos and youknow, I start to get in my own
head and start picking it apart.
No, I was flat here when Ifound out I was doing this.
I found something on Instagramthat I will share.

(34:51):
It was like a list of I don'tknow five to 10 things to tell
yourself when you have a reallybig opportunity.
Things like I get to do this.
I'm grateful to be able to Allof those things and I feel like
I do a really good job ofalready kind of like living by
after years of work and practice.
But the one on that list thatstood out that I really, really

(35:13):
felt on Sunday was God damn if Istart crying again, we're edit
all this out.
No, it was in the middle of thelist and it said it doesn't have
to be perfect to be great.
And I felt that so deeply onSunday and still because it

(35:35):
wasn't perfect and it could havebeen better and I would love to
do it better if I can do itagain, you know.
But it was still great and alot of people get hung up on it
needing to be perfect to evenstart, but I promise that it
feels almost as good, if notbetter, than being perfect,

(35:55):
because it was so fulfilling inall the right ways that whether
it was perfect or not meantnothing.

Speaker 1 (36:03):
Well, this idea of being perfect is actually a myth
, because, no matter what youthink, you're always going to
have something to pick it apart.
Being a perfectionist that youare, I mean it's just an
impossible unicorn you'rechasing.
That leads to a lifetime offrustration if you don't get a
hold of that thing.

Speaker 2 (36:21):
Right.
Perfectionism is elusive,because what's perfect to one
person?
Is not the same to the nextperson and you know, unless
you're really looking at thingsthat can be measured and graded,
Well, that's where you, that'sthe world you came from.
That's right.

Speaker 1 (36:37):
You would go to competitions.
They would say what 98%.

Speaker 2 (36:41):
You didn't use the right fingers on the right keys.
You know like.

Speaker 1 (36:43):
I've seen people put posts on the waiting for release
reels of you playing the pianoand saying, like your hand
placement's wrong, it like what,who, why, I mean and you know,
those types of things don'tbother me so much because
they're so ridiculous andobviously not important that
it's like thank you and thenyeah, see yourself out, welcome.

Speaker 2 (37:04):
you know you're welcome back if you want, but no
thanks, like sometimes, for meit's less about what other
people think and more about theharshness that I put myself
under and I think a lot ofpeople could probably relate to
that too is that we are our ownworst critic and we wouldn't
dare speak to the people that welove, or even people that are
strangers in the way that wespeak to ourselves.

(37:26):
Yeah.
You know, you would just neversay some of the cold mean,
nitpicky, awful things to otherpeople that you think about
yourself.
I mean, I guess some peoplemight, but I wouldn't, and if I
could extend the encouragementand the support that I give to
other people to myself on aregular basis and I try, you

(37:50):
know it would be become a mucheasier route.
But then I'd probably find waysto make it more difficult,
because that's what I, that'swhat I do.
Speaking of difficulty, thatwas another thing.
Was that, like a lot of peoplesaid, like how did you do that?
How did you get up there infront of all those people, like
probably almost 50,000 people?
Right, I had imposter syndrome.

(38:10):
I was more nervous atsoundcheck than I was on event
day.
I didn't know how I was goingto show up.
I've done things.
It's been years.
I've never done anything infront of that many people.
I attribute that to doing hardthings in the past where you
just do and I'm not talkingabout like huge things, I'm
talking about showing up foryourself.

(38:32):
Like I've said it a milliontimes on this podcast and to
everybody else ever, the hardestpart of going for a run is
putting on your shoes andgetting out the door.
Well, I believe that, but youjust do it and then, once you
have your shoes on and you'reout the door, you just run.
When I get in a cold bath ofice water.

(38:53):
If I slowly walk to it and I'mlike, oh God, I don't want to do
it, it's going to be so cold,it's really hard and it sucks.
But if I just march right inlike this is what I'm doing and
I don't think about it, you justget in and then you're there
and then you just get control ofyour breathing and this was
really no different.
So those small things that I'vepracticed on a regular basis

(39:15):
helped me in that moment say,okay, it's go time.
The guy gave me the point.
I handed my phone to Faith, whowas like I can't believe you
just went up there.
She thought I was going to giveher a hug and be like, oh my
God, I'm so nervous.
But I just marched up the steps.
He gave me the point.

(39:37):
I started singing and thenyou're just doing it and then
you just do your thing and trynot to think about it and find
all of the reasons why it'sscary or hard.
And a lot of people do thosehard things on a regular basis.
Out of like almost autopilot.
People do hard things and againback to like we never give
ourselves a minute to thinkabout all of the great things
that we've done, or all of thehard things that we do because

(39:58):
we don't want to get too hung upand don't get too full of
yourself.
Well, take a minute and thinkabout all the hard things that
you do that you don't have to doin ways that you show up for
yourself, that prepare you forbigger moments, no matter what
that is.

Speaker 1 (40:15):
I would say just from a big picture perspective, as
your husband and your film guythat weekend, I just want to
capture all of it, you know.

Speaker 2 (40:28):
But and thank you.
Yeah, I mean of course All ofit, you know.

Speaker 1 (40:29):
But and thank you.
Yeah, I mean, of course, but itjust seemed like you had this
sense of calm and locked in thisthat, if I didn't know any
better and I just was there andI was paying witness to this
person doing the national anthem, you looked like a star.
You handled yourself like astar.

(40:49):
You treated the staff andeveryone there like a star.
You handled yourself like astar.
You treated the staff andeveryone there like a complete
professional, like from from ato z.
It was top notch and, of course, that's a top notch situation
that you were involved in too.
It wasn't some, you know, flyby night, it was like it's
pretty much high level,everything.

(41:10):
But you had your own dressingroom.
I was so proud of you.
I mean like just justeverything about it was just
like literally your first gig.
Yeah, as a once you decided acouple years I'm going to start
singing, I'm going to put myselfout there.
And we didn't just go get gigsaround, we just were like, let's
just keep making music at homeand post them online, and then

(41:39):
your first actual gig is atRaymond James Stadium.

Speaker 2 (41:40):
So it's like there was no work up to that or no
practice or no preseason, or Imean it was just like, okay,
faith was our daughter, faith,was asking me like how will you
prepare yourself for what it'sgoing to feel like in that
moment a couple of weeks before?
And I'm like I don't know.
She's like you need to just goout in Publix parking lot and
start singing, just so you cansing in front of people and you

(42:00):
know, I think it's just a momentwhere, again, I have confidence
that I will show up, because Ishow up for myself.
Yes.
Also the idea of like, well,what was I going to do?
It would be like I'm too scared, I can't do it.
And you know, in the 11th hour,it's this idea of not like, act
as if you know, fake it tillyou make it in a negative way,

(42:21):
but like I have to own this.
If I want this and I have thisopportunity, don't blow it by
being insecure.
Don't blow it by being insecure, don't blow it by being scared.
You know, I told, I told myselfa hundred times what I share
with everyone else that fear andexcitement are the same thing.

(42:41):
Your body experiences them inthe same way, with rapid
breathing and sweaty palms andnausea and increased heart rate
and all the other things thatcome along with those.
It's just whether you decide tolean into the fear and describe
it as fear, or like lean intothe thrill and the excitement of

(43:02):
it.
How do you want to frame it foryourself?
And I had to choose.
I had to choose to frame it asexcitement.
I was locked in, I was ready.

Speaker 1 (43:11):
Well this.
What was also different aboutthis is we were really prepared
as far as, like, I had to choose.
I had to choose to frame it asexcitement.
I was locked in, I was ready.
Well, this.
What was also different aboutthis is we were really prepared
as far as, like, we had a goodschedule, so you knew exactly
when you were going to besinging, so we got there really
early and you had plenty of timeto get ready and Faith was all
over it.
She was your stylist glam squadand I was like your you know

(43:33):
film crew and kind of I don'tknow what.
I was just making sure.
I was making sure you had yourtea and your apple and your, you
know all your supplies so you'dbe ready yeah, that was the
cutest thing.

Speaker 2 (43:44):
The next day there was like a ziploc baggie on the
counter.
It had a bottle of honey, anapple with two bites out of it
then, then I was like here rightbefore you went out.

Speaker 1 (43:52):
I'm like here, take a bite.

Speaker 2 (43:53):
Yeah, my lipstick's on.
I'm like getting ready toliterally walk out the door and
do my walk.
And Greg's like take a bite ofapple, which I'm glad you did.
I wanted it.
Throat coat tea.
What else was in there?
Tylenol and ibuprofen and acouple of protein bars and, like
you said, I didn't really touchany of them, but you, you,

(44:14):
nervously made it.

Speaker 1 (44:15):
When we got there, yeah, I'm like, all right, I got
to eat this trail mix, but, butyou were prepared, you were
locked in and you had a goodschedule, so there was no little
landmines that were going tothrow you off.
So learn that from the previousexperience.

Speaker 2 (44:29):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (44:30):
And then also standing in the tunnel getting
ready to go out.
They needed you there by what?
620.
620.
So we went there at six.

Speaker 2 (44:38):
No.

Speaker 1 (44:39):
What time were we standing there?

Speaker 2 (44:41):
We left my dressing room at 613.

Speaker 1 (44:44):
Oh, okay, it felt like we were there for a long
time, yeah, okay, so we werethere early, yeah, and we were
ready and there was no lastminute-ness.

Speaker 2 (44:52):
Yeah.

Speaker 1 (44:53):
And I remember, just moments before you know, they
said all right, let's walk outhere.
Yeah, I remember just likelooking at you and it was like
you know, cause we do a lot ofsparring and martial arts and
training and stuff and there'slike this zone you kind of get
into when you're throwingpunches at your head and kicking
and stuff.
You got to be locked in andpaying attention and I remember

(45:14):
just like breathing with you,looking at you and like you got
this like it's.
It was like getting ready to goget in the ring, kind of stuff.
Yeah.

Speaker 2 (45:21):
Definitely locked in in that way.

Speaker 1 (45:24):
Meditation, martial arts all of those things have
helped me in that moment.
You were, you were in the zone.
I could tell you were going tonail it just because you were
like, you weren't scared, youwere ready, I was ready.

Speaker 2 (45:35):
It was a readiness and it was because of those
types of things as well, andthere were things earlier in the
day that could have shook me.
We got there early, but therewas a delay in getting into the
stadium for a multitude ofreasons and took a little longer
to get to my room than I wanted.
I didn't put any makeup on ordo anything to get ready before

(45:57):
we left because I thought I'mgoing to have plenty of time in
my room, and I did.
I had plenty of time still, butlike it could have rattled me
that I had less time than Ithought.
I thought I was going to have acouple few hours.
I ended up having, you know, anhour and a half maybe by the
time we finally got in there andit was go time.
So there were things that couldhave rattled me.

(46:19):
And again it goes back to likehow do you want to view things?
I could have viewed that aseverything's effed up and it's
going to go terribly andnothing's working out, and I'm
stressed out.
I just took some deep breathsand every opportunity was just a
new moment to just kind of likeit's going to be okay.
This is awesome.
Like remind myself, this isawesome, like don't don't even

(46:43):
do that to yourself, and you'reright.
The staff and everyone was likeincredible, so that certainly
helped.
Everyone that I worked withindividually was obviously very
top-notch, professional.
They all made me feel verycomfortable.
They all basically likeanything I felt, like anything I
needed.
It was just kind of likeappeared and I didn't need much,

(47:06):
but when I did it was, it wasthere, and so without that level
of support and professionalism,it could have been different
too yeah, so.
I'm very grateful for that.
That was an amazing experience.
The supercross family is isamazing, so, and it was also
very special because I wassurrounded by all of the people

(47:29):
that I love.
So our kids, my dad flew downfor a quick trip my dad and
stepmom.
My mom wasn't able to make it,but she was texting me all day
and all of the right things, themeaningful things were the
things that were prioritizedthat day.
That all made it even better.
That all made it to me likemake sense, too, that I may have

(47:51):
wanted this 10 years ago, I mayhave wanted this five years ago
, but I wouldn't have been readyto receive it or to seize the
opportunity in the way that Iwas able to and show up for the
opportunity in the way that Iwas able to this weekend because
of my own personal growth, andthe way that I was able to this
weekend, because of my ownpersonal growth and the things
that I've practiced on a regularbasis to get to this point, to

(48:11):
be more solid and bulletproofand more zeroed in on what's
important.
It was a surreal out-of-bodymoment just for days.
Now I just don't even know howto snap back to reality.
Honestly.

Speaker 1 (48:27):
So, leading up to it, I know I knew in my heart you
were going to nail it.
I knew it was going to be great, I knew it was going to be
awesome.
You knew it was.
I mean like you, just you know,you believe.
But but there's also thiselement of like, technical
issues.
There's this element of likewhat if my voice cracks?
What if you know?

Speaker 2 (48:45):
who knows, you can't breathe what?

Speaker 1 (48:46):
if I lose, you know what, if I get nervous and
forget the words.
I mean, there's a lot of things.
So, months leading up to it,you're living life, you're doing
, but you're like, you know,you've got this huge thing
coming up and you, it's just theanticipation, is just oh my
gosh, and you've got to show upLike you've got to.

Speaker 2 (49:04):
It's you a microphone , a spotlight and a crowd that's
been told to stand up and bequiet.

Speaker 1 (49:11):
And they know all the words.

Speaker 2 (49:12):
And exactly how the song is supposed to sound.

Speaker 1 (49:14):
They're comparing you to Jennifer Hudson's version of
it no pressure.
Yeah, it's like the mostpressure thing ever.
But then there's that momentwhen you did it and I knew when
you hit that last thing, andthen like the whole place was
like including me.
I'm like I couldn't help myself.
You know, I'm just like and,and then there's this rush of

(49:36):
like, oh my God, you did it, ohmy God, you know.
And then that's like kind ofwhere we've been for the last
couple of days.
But then it's like now what youknow.

Speaker 2 (49:49):
Yeah, there's definitely a crash, there's
definitely a moment of like, andthis is just one big thing that
I've done.
So I can't imagine someonewho's had their entire career be
these big moments, you know,and then, for whatever reason,
it's over child star or whatever.

Speaker 1 (50:01):
And then you just kind of like well, what?

Speaker 2 (50:03):
what?
Where's all this big stuff thatwas happening and this
adrenaline that I feel like Idon't know what will ever make
me feel that amount of pure,genuine adrenaline?
Again, I've jumped out ofairplanes once.
One time I've jumped out of anairplane.
Let me rephrase that properlyOne airplane, two airplanes.
But even that was like secondto this that amount of like

(50:28):
adrenaline, and so this was.
This is going to be hard to topfrom that perspective, which is
why I'm like I'm ruined, but italso motivates me to continue to
stay connected to myself inthis way and put myself out
there and seek out otheropportunities.
It was already on my list ofthings to do.
It just so happened that thisopportunity kind of presented

(50:48):
itself first, and I'm sograteful for it, and now I feel
a little bit of momentum and alittle bit of wind in my sails.
It gets very difficult when youwork in silence and when you do
a lot of different things andwhen you don't take a moment to
pause and give yourself any kindof like.
And when you do a lot ofdifferent things and when you
don't take a moment to pause andgive yourself any kind of like,
recognition that you're doingthese things, it gets difficult

(51:09):
to go without what you considerwins, and this felt like a win
and it definitely helped.
You know, even finishing mybook feels like a win, but not
like this kind of win.
So this definitely helped bringin some new life into me.
On the note, like you said, Ihit that note in the crowd and,
a little like behind the scenesof that moment I have I had in

(51:33):
what are called in-ears.
They're like really tightAirPods that you put in your ear
and it blocks out all the sound.
They hook around your ear andall I could hear was myself
coming through the microphone onpurpose, because there was like
a two second delay basicallyfrom when a word would come out
of my mouth and when it wouldactually be received into the

(51:55):
stadium.
So in order to keep myself goodand be able to sing, I had to
have those in so that I couldn'thear any of that or it would
have been really confusing andmuddy and scary and awful.
So thank God for any ears,thanks for the hookup on those
Feld Entertainment or Supercrossor whoever, but I couldn't hear
anything.

(52:15):
I couldn't hear the crowd.
There was a plane flyingoverhead for a large portion of
the anthem that I didn't knowwas there.
Until I listened to the videoplayback.
I couldn't hear anything.
Until I sang the part aboutbanner yet wave.
Then everybody cheered and Icould hear them and in the video
.
It's fun to see like this smilecome across my face because I'm

(52:38):
like oh so genuine, they'rethere yeah and then the, the
note, the free, the high noteand everybody kind of went nuts.
The rest of the thing that was Icould hear that, but still I
could only hear it like a littletiny bit compared to when I
watched the video and how loudit was and that was really a
cool moment if you hear somebodyscreaming like a little girl

(52:59):
really loud, that was me on thevideo.

Speaker 1 (53:04):
I could, I could not and I appreciate that and as you
should be.

Speaker 2 (53:08):
And uh, the pyro on home of the brave at the very
end.
I've waited my whole life forpyro.
In that moment I visualizedthat a million times that I'm
singing this big song for a bigevent and there's pyro.
To have that actually happen isjust absolutely wild.
Yeah, that's another thing I Ididn't touch on.

(53:31):
But leading up to this, as wegot closer, like within the 30
day mark, and I startedpracticing more often, I was
still so nervous to practice,like even when anyone was home.
I would do it when you would gopick up Ben from school and
Faith was at work.
I would sing by myself in ourhouse so that you guys weren't
around until like the lastcouple of weeks.
Then I had to like get seriousand just sing as often as I

(53:52):
could, but I was using likecandles and hairspray and
brushes and all the things thatpeople joke about using as
microphones to practice, likehow am I going to hold the
microphone?
How am I going to, you know,move around?
I didn't know how I was goingto do it when I got there
because you, I didn't know how Iwas going to feel in front of

(54:13):
50,000 people practicing andvisualizing that moment was a
huge part of the success too,like allowing myself to see it
when it was done and that it wassuccessful and that it went
well, instead of leading up tothat point worrying what if I
forget?
what if I forget the words?
What if I?
My voice cracks?
What if I this?
What if I that I didn't feed?

(54:34):
I didn't let myself go downthat rabbit hole very often and
when I would, I would bringmyself back to the present
moment because it was like youcan't, you cannot allow yourself
to believe that is what isgoing to happen or you're going
to make it happen.
And I know manifestation andhokey pokey, but I believe in
the power of envisioning whatyou want to happen as a very

(54:57):
strong way to prepare yourself.

Speaker 1 (55:00):
And you did the way you held the mic and moved and
looked around, cause you know,if it's me, I'm probably going
to look at one thing and just belike frozen Cause, you know,
just trying not to lose my, youknow.
But but you did such a greatjob of of projecting like your
vibe like looking over here andlooking over here and and

(55:22):
holding the mic off to the side,and just looking over here and
looking over here and andholding the mic off to the side,
and just it was like watchingsomeone that's just done that a
million times.
Thank you, it was awesome, itwas really good.

Speaker 2 (55:32):
Well, I didn't want to look at the jumbotron which
was right in front of me because, one, there'd be a delay and
two, who sees themselves on ajumbotron Like that would have
been really weird and I don'tknow what I would have done.
So I was being, I was trying tobe sure to not look straight
ahead in that way.
I didn't want to, like, look inthe crowd too much, cause
that's a lot of people and holyshit, but it was like kind of

(55:53):
foggy and the lights were downand it was dark and I could see
people, but there, honestly,there were so many of them that
you couldn't really see people.
You could just see a crowd ofpeople, and so I just kind of
like stayed in my own littlespace.

Speaker 1 (56:12):
You got into it.

Speaker 2 (56:13):
I just found a flow state, so much so that again, I
didn't realize until I listenedto the playback.
Like me, that was a little off.
That was a little off, but itwas okay.
Like was, okay, like it was.
I had I been so critical ofmyself even while I was singing,
I probably would have panickedmyself and you wouldn't have
enjoyed it oh shit, that wasflat.
you just started the song with aflat note.

(56:35):
Yeah, the rest of this is goingto be shit, yeah, but I just I
didn't like.
I just I knew that that wasthere's.
That doesn't serve anyone everin the history of anything ever.
So if you do that to yourself,knock it off, and that's for me
too, and in that moment in thepast I may have, and then All it
does is rob you of excitementand joy and childlike enthusiasm

(56:56):
for what you're doing.
Right, and it's okay.
Like some people might've known, it was a little flat, and
other people might not have, anda lot of people didn't care,
and it's fine.
Nobody cares as much as I do,you know, and that's.
That's a huge takeaway fromthis experience.

Speaker 1 (57:14):
And I noticed it with you, like you did not overly
criticize, just generallyspeaking, you just really
enjoyed this entire thing, fromA to Z, and you really soaked it
up and you've really let itkind of give you a lot of juice
and energy.
I've just seen it light you upin a great way, like a

(57:37):
12-year-old that doesn't knowthat they're being judged or
that's being critical.
They're just like I'm doingsomething I love to do.
It feels good, All y'all hearit and y'all like it, and it's
just such a pure feeling thatyou're vibing with it right now
that it's so nice to see, likeit's so healthy, like you're

(58:00):
going to look back at this andbe like wow, that was incredible
.
And you're going to look backand be like and I was there for
it.
And you're not going to lookback at it and be like I wish I
was there for it, but I was socritical I didn't enjoy it.

Speaker 2 (58:11):
Yeah, I definitely didn't want to come out of that
moment in that way.
I also recognize, throughmyself and my own work, through
you, through our kids, throughtherapy, like the world is harsh
enough, yes, and kind of backto that, like I would never be
that critical of anyone else,right, I would never point out

(58:31):
all the flat parts or that, youknow, maybe you should have worn
something different or yourhair didn't look right, or like
I just would never do that tosomeone else.
So why would I allow myself todo that to me?

Speaker 1 (58:44):
And you may have in the past.
Oh, I totally would have youwould have in the past and
you're critical.
But that's the growth and I andyou're telling the truth you
don't pick people apart to makeyourself feel better today.
That's not who you are todayand that's how you're able to
live that way, purely yourself.
And that's taken a lot of work,because the natural tendency is
to judge and criticize.

(59:05):
Yeah, but it's like that.
You're not seeing it that way.
You would look at someone elsedoing what you just did and be
like how brave yeah, howexciting for them, how cool
Sounded amazing.
The crowd dug it.
You know, there's just so muchpositivity that you don't have
to focus on the negative.

Speaker 2 (59:22):
And perhaps that's why this moment didn't happen
until now Exactly, I wasn'tready to show up in that way in
the past.
The past versions of me weren'twhere I am today, to be able to
receive this and to own it andto accept it for what it is.
And you're right and this isn'tfor my own ego, but more for

(59:42):
perspective Like the next daywas the super bowl yeah and the
super bowl national anthem isthe most coveted moment in the
history of national anthems foranyone ever ever everywhere.
Maybe the olympics way to gogaga, you know what?
I mean like okay, but the superbowl she did this year I think.

(01:00:07):
Maybe I'm wrong, I'm pretty sureshe did sounds good, whatever
we can say that she did someperformances at the olympics and
I am pretty sure that thenational anthem was one of them.
Regardless, the super bowl islike the pinnacle moment for a
singer to do the nat into, andJohn Batiste did it in a
Louisiana way a New Orleans aNew Orleans, however you prefer

(01:00:31):
to say that way and it wasn'tperfect and it was heavily
criticized, but it was great andhe had a moment he had to
decide, like there had to be amoment for him where he decided,
like I have this opportunity, Iwant to feel great about how I
show up, and I know I'm not foreveryone, and how dare I alter

(01:00:54):
the anthem?
That's not for everyone.
And that doesn't sit well witheveryone, but I loved it from an
art perspective of like way toshow up and deliver and like I
might not have felt that way inthe past about him or anyone
else I might've judged andcriticized and, you know,
thought how much better I couldhave done and all those things

(01:01:16):
that are that bring negativeenergy to a situation.
And I think it's easy to fallinto that trap because we all
relate things to ourselves andthat's how we kind of see how
we're doing and how we measureup, and that's fine.
We use social media as a way todo that and make ourselves feel
better or worse about ourselves.
Again, all fine If you have areally clear vantage point or a

(01:01:42):
really clear idea of keepingthat in check, a way to keep
that in check.
Through my own evolution, itfeels so much more free and so
much more fulfilling to just erron the side of being positive
and supportive.
It comes back to you in waysthat may not be directly
associated with you, but throughyour own self-love and

(01:02:05):
self-talk it certainly comesback.
It's a lot to digest all ofthis what actually happened, and
then all of the emotionsafterward and then how it
applies to everything else inyour life that's not related to
this moment, and all the thingsleading up to it, and then what
it means going forward Like it'sa lot.
Yeah.

(01:02:26):
I'm here for it, I'm happy tohave all of these feelings and
yeah, but it's a lot.

Speaker 1 (01:02:32):
Well, it also shows you that people believe in you
and believe in that little girlthat lives in you, that's
excited about singing andexcited about music.
The one that hasn't had anycriticism or judgment, or the
one that's excited about singingand excited about music, the
one that hasn't had anycriticism or judgment, or the
one that's just pure, purechildlike wonder and enjoyment
and excitement about creatingmusic.

(01:02:54):
So my hope is that you use thisas a fuel store and you'll just
load up your backpack full ofenergy, excitement, love, juice
so that you can just make a tonof music with me, with other
people.
I hope you sing a hundred morenational anthems at big events,

(01:03:18):
small events, whatever.
I mean it's just it's so fun tosee you do it, you do it so
well and yeah, I mean this islike.
This is like, I feel, like anew chapter beginning where your
book's now done.
People are going to get to knowthe backstory that this hasn't
just been given to you.

Speaker 2 (01:03:36):
You've you've had to work very hard and there's been
a lot of ugly moments and a lotof moments of luck.
And there's luck, you know luckbut.

Speaker 1 (01:03:45):
But there's been a lot of dedication and seeing
things through that, you know,have taken a lot of grit and
determination.

Speaker 2 (01:03:52):
So yeah, and the acceptance of all of those
things, that kind of again.
I might not have been able toshow up to this moment without
those things like, as ugly assome of them are, as judged as I
will be, as hard as they'vebeen for me to accept or for us
to process through.
They're all a part of who I amand without them I may not be

(01:04:14):
who I am.

Speaker 1 (01:04:15):
You're not stuck as the person that you were a
decade ago or 20 years ago.
This is like you're writingyour story every day as a
lifetime in itself.
Live it.

Speaker 2 (01:04:26):
I want for everyone else, everyone listening for you
, for our kids, for my parents,for everyone to like, fully,
embrace and experience that Igenuinely do.
You know, I don't know what'saround the corner and I don't
know how long I'll be here.
Or you know, things happen, badthings happen to good people,

(01:04:47):
and you just don't know whenthat's going to happen.
So every day is a lifetime andit's like I just want to make
sure that everything that I'mdoing is in alignment with
staying happy, staying high,staying positive and inspiring,
and, like I want that foreveryone else, I want everyone
else to know what that feelslike deep down at my core, which

(01:05:07):
is the reason it's a drivingforce for me, and like this
weekend and the feeling that Ihave had and have, like I want
to tap into that in thosemoments when I'm not sure and
remind myself so that there'sthat momentum that keeps going
and that's how you feel when youfinish any big event.

(01:05:28):
You know, I'm just, I feel verysupported, I feel very loved and
I feel very grateful, and nowit's my turn to just continue to
try to pour that back out intothe world, like turn it around a
little bit.

Speaker 1 (01:05:41):
Yeah, around a little bit, yeah, well, and I think
you do that in a way of nothiding from your gifts and the
luck and the fortune and thegood favor that you have, that
you have today.
You have your health and youhave this beautiful singing
voice and you have thistenacious attitude.

(01:06:03):
So don't squander that away forthe next decade and not pursue
singing, because we all want tohear it.

Speaker 2 (01:06:13):
Thank you, thank you.

Speaker 1 (01:06:15):
And that's a wrap for today's episode of the Cameo
Show.

Speaker 2 (01:06:19):
It's been a little weird to be on this side of
things.

Speaker 1 (01:06:21):
We hope you've enjoyed it on this side of
things.
We hope you've enjoyed it.
Definitely, give us a like onour.
I'm going to mess this up.

Speaker 2 (01:06:30):
It's hard to close out.

Speaker 1 (01:06:31):
It's hard to close out.

Speaker 2 (01:06:32):
Every week I get to this point and I stumble and I
edit it out, so none of you areprivy to that information.
But now that you're in thatchair, I'm going to do it.

Speaker 1 (01:06:38):
Don't edit this out.
Please go subscribe to ourYouTube channel and follow us on
Instagram and it's at the cameoshow podcast on Instagram.

Speaker 2 (01:06:50):
We started a new one.
That's just podcast.
We have the cameo show on ourYouTube channel and then also go
to Instagram and follow.
Waiting for Elise.
That is our music page that Inever talk about.
I just kind of like haphazardlyput it out there in case
somebody sees it.
Waiting for Elise that is ourmusic page that I never talk

(01:07:10):
about.
I just kind of like haphazardlyput it out there in case
somebody sees it.
But today.

Speaker 1 (01:07:13):
I'm going to lay it all out there.
So we're going to start leaninginto this.

Speaker 2 (01:07:16):
Thank you for allowing me to be emotional, and
it's weird to be in this chair.

Speaker 1 (01:07:24):
This one, you'll have to put a thing at the beginning
.
Of it says get your tissues.
Yeah, you did great.

Speaker 2 (01:07:28):
Thank you.

Speaker 1 (01:07:29):
Everyone's so proud of you and just Thank you.
You blew us all away.

Speaker 2 (01:07:35):
Thank you Till next time.
Among other things on that listthat were crossed off, that
were 10 times bigger than Ithought I could ever achieve 10
times they're crossed off thelist.