After wrapping up the LOUD tour last December, I was excited to finally see my family in Utah, celebrate Christmas and then get back home to LA. I can’t tell you how comforting it was to be back at Mommy’s house, sleeping in a nice warm bed.. Especially after sleeping in a moving bus and/or a hotel room for a year! Ouch, my back ;) But seriously, the Tour was unbelievable. There is nothing on earth that can prepare you for a World Tour. It was like living through a crash course of life on level 10.. or something dramatic like that.. I feel like I learned more in one year than I have in my entire life. And for that, I consider myself one lucky girl.
I was keeping up ok with this little Blog while I was on the road because I was on a strict schedule. I knew exactly where I was going to be every second of every day. So even though I was traveling from place to place, I still had a sense of consistency. Now after the tour ended, that’s a whole different story, and actually the story of how I came to be living a gypsy life this year..
After Christmas in Utah, I went back to LA. Back to my studio apartment in Hollywood, that I hadn’t seen in months. After about a week of being there, I started to feel claustrophobic and I knew I had outgrown it.. not just the apartment, but my life there. I knew it was time to move on.
For a long time, I told myself I would go on a World Tour, and then after that, I would move to Europe for a year to work on my music. So in January I turned in my 30-day notice at my apartment. And by February, I was on a plane to London, England. My original plan was to move to Berlin, but I hadn’t picked up the language as well as I thought I would.. oops. German is hard! So I told myself that England would be the next best thing because it IS in Europe, but I get to speak English.. Although at times, British English sounds like Chinese to me.. ;) Anyway, I was living in a lovely house in Wandsworth, which is just south of Chelsea in London and I was beyond excited to start this new chapter of my life. With one World Tour under my belt, I truly felt like I could take on the world! I’ve never been more excited to write and record my own music. I finally felt inspired and wanted to lock myself in a studio and get it all out. Things were going according to plan for a couple of months. I had a few songs recorded and even played my first gig in the UK as a solo Artist. It was great. But as the year went on, I found myself popping in and out of the country for work, and it just felt like more work was coming. Thankfully, I spent most of the summer touring again performing at various festivals , TV and award shows. However, it took me away from my adventure in London, which had only just begun…
Sometimes life doesn’t work out exactly like you plan it (and I definitely planned this one out hard core) but that’s ok. It was difficult, but I decided to put my project on hold for the moment. Not only was I working/traveling too much for it to make sense, my heart wasn’t in it. My vision for this year was to be 100% dedicated to my music, my project. That was the only way it was ever going to mean something to me. And I still feel that way. So “project on hold” for now..
Meanwhile, I was basically back on tour, and the beautiful house in Wandsworth sat (and currently still sits for a few more weeks... damn lease) empty.. I fought hard to try and make this year work out like I planned, but in the end I realized this year was always just going to be busy. Someday, I’ll have a house with a yard and a couple of bratty kids driving me crazy.. That is an upcoming chapter for sure. But I waited and worked my whole life to get an amazing job and have singing be my career. Now it is, and that sometimes means living out of 2 suitcases, mostly sitting at an airport or on a plane, in a hotel room or on a bus, but most importantly on a stage singing for sometimes thousands of people and nothing can compare to that feeling.. On a separate note, I will say that I am a Master Packer now. And to be honest, I can’t think of anything more exciting than doing what I do. I am thankful. My boyfriend makes fun of me when I say “blessed” because that word gets overused (he’s right) so I say THANKFUL. I am. I sometimes forget to say that because life has been so fast lately.
Anyway I’m back in LA for the moment, you guessed it, working. And I must say, the weather sure beats London’s! lol I’ve said it before, I love that city! And when the time is right, I’ll go back and spend some real time there.. Cheers for now London..
So to recap the work for this year so far, well what I can remember: The Grammys, The Brits, some Japanese festivals, a few charity events, SNL, American Idol Finale, summer music festivals in London, Norway, and Sweden, the VMA’s… I’m sure I’ve left stuff out.. and now, I’m sitting in a hotel room in Baku, Azerbaijan. A place I never even knew existed. I’m actually looking at my two passports right now. Yes, I said TWO. A few months ago I had to order a second one because I filled up the first! Unreal. I know some people that don’t even have a passport. And I have 2. Stop the madness! ☺
I guess the point of this long ass entry, is to say that even though my year didn’t turn out like I planned, locked in a studio recording music in London, I really cant complain. I’ve actually grown quite fond of my new life on the road.. I had big dreams as a kid, but nothing I ever dreamed could compare to this. I am happy. And I get to sing every day. Life is good. I have no idea what I’ll be doing next year, to be honest I don’t even know where I’ll be next week. But I think if its anything like the last 2 years, this Blog is fixing up to be pretty interesting…
Peace and Love
Nicole, the Singing Gypsy ;)
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