ARTICLE: The Day That Changed My Life

Susane Karamanova

I knew I could sing. But now I had to prove it.

It was my ninth time appearing in front of a Sony Music executive to sing a few songs making an effort to do a record deal. The first eight tryouts had led to stone-cold rejections. I didn’t have the right look. My hair was bushy, my clothes – dated. I was nothing like a beauty queen. However, growing up in a disadvantaged family thought me to be a fighter. The best I could hope for, if I wanted new horizons, was to latch onto a skill or career I was really good at. That’s how I viewed my singing.
That morning waiting to perform three songs for a man behind a desk, without a microphone, lights or amplifiers, I was quite apprehensive. Letting someone judge whether I deserved a commercial career in 10 minutes was something I had to do. In the middle of my second song, a passionate ballad, I glanced up at John Grady, the president of Sony Music, who was sitting behind his desk. He was going through it looking for something to write with, as if to jot down a grocery list. It was awkward. My future was at the mercy of a man who didn’t appear interested at all. About halfway through, I saw Mr. Grady writing something down. From where I stood, I could clearly see him write the letter n, followed by the letter o. As in: No.
That’s it, I thought. Approval, alas, looked virtually impossible. My longing for music career evaporated. As we said goodbye, however, Grady gave me a vigorous handshake and said, “I want you to have this.” Though my hands were shaking, I found the courage to take the paper and read it. Much to my surprise, it didn’t say “no”. It said, “now”!
It is how my dream of becoming a professional musician started to come true. Although I did still had to write, sing and record album to prove myself, that moment was a turning point that utterly reshaped my life showing me that anything is possible if you just believe.