What advice would I give to my younger self? That’s an interesting question, because my younger self really had her shit together and was doing very well!
During those years when the whole world gives you space to screw up, I was rock-solid. I had the “formula” down: I landed a really big record deal just after graduating from LaGuardia High School for the Performing Arts, had music videos airing all over, scored Top 40 hits, was literally flying to a different exotic locale every day, and was performing for thousands of people with my team of dancers, backup singers, and musicians who were like family. It was the life I had envisioned and designed since I was 6 years old, and I had worked very hard to get there. I had what I knew was a great, solid team around me, full support from the big record label, stylists, makeup artists, photographers, video directors—folks who went on to become megastars in their fields. My instincts, taste, and “spot-a-star” sense were really solid.
As the ascension was occurring and things were going swimmingly, I made the fatal error of allowing the label to start bringing new people onto my team: hangers-on and folks desperately trying to climb on board the S.S. Success, “I can do this better” folks. And I didn’t have the safety of a momager.
All of these new folks were placed there by the record label, and came “highly recommended.” So if I could go back, I would grab my younger self by the shoulders, sit her down, look her squarely in the face, and say, “Trust your instincts. You’ve gotten this far doing it your way with your beliefs and being yourself, something only you are uniquely qualified to be. Why would you now let a bunch of strangers put doubt in your mind or try to change the landscape?”
You’d think I’d have learned my lesson when, at 13, I was told by my first manager that I should “trim my offensively long eyelashes” (true story!). I bet the makers of Latisse would have a great laugh about that! Taking sound advice from good people is one thing, but to start letting everybody’s two cents muddy the waters is a recipe for disaster and demise. Sadly, many people don’t have your best interests at heart. Tune out the noise and the opinions (we all know what they say about those), and stay your course. Stay on your path and believe in yourself. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it—or fire ’em or replace ’em, either! I have a very strong feeling that had I known then what I know now, things would have turned out very differently for me in the music biz.
Orfeh was Tony-nominated for her performance in “Legally Blonde.”
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