Dia Frampton Shares her Post The Voice Struggle

diaframpton-thevoice-essay

Life after appearing on a TV singing show isn’t a guarantee of success, as this lengthy essay by The Voice season 1 runner-up, Dia Frampton explains.

After leaving the show in 2011 she was signed to a major label, released an album, lost her record deal, and has been struggling ever since. Currently, she’s working at a restaurant as she finishes her next album–the first in 5 years.

Still, the singer wouldn’t take back her decision to pursue life as an artist, no matter the struggle.

It’s been five years since my last album came out. Five years. A lot can happen in a half a decade. Trust me.

I don’t even know where to begin, or what exactly I’m trying to say. But I do know that I want to at least say: I’m still here.

A year shy of thirty, I feel like I might as well be fifty when it comes to women in the music industry. If we’re not in our teens or early twenties, we’re pushed aside and put on the shelf.

I tried to reach “success” all my life, but now, I really don’t know exactly what “success” means.

***

Now, a couple of years later, I’m just a (almost) 29 year old musician who writes songs during the day and works selling sausages and waiting tables at a food stall in Grand Central Market in Los Angeles. Almost every hour someone will come up to me and it is the same thing every time. It is either:

A) Weren’t you that one singer on The Voice? Oh, cool… We voted for you… Do you work here?… Um… yeah, I’ll get the fries instead of salad.

B) Hey! I used to listen to Meg and Dia all the time. My brother and I used to love you guys! We used to jam your one song, what was it…it was like…uh…

C) Hey. Are you….Dia? Dia Frampton? What are you doing working here?

***

But in the end, I’m just a small town girl from Utah who loved to sing. And that girl is somewhere inside me still. I can feel her trying to get out and it breaks my heart.

I don’t know what will happen with this record. The damn mountain I’ve been trying to climb keeps f* moving. I can’t keep up anymore. I’m tired. I just want to tell stories. I just want to be someone’s soundtrack. Put me on when you’re alone. I know how it feels. Put me on when you’re in love. I know that feeling too. And put me on when some one breaks your heart, because I’ve been there. When you’re happy, I’ll feel it, too.

This album took five years to make and I swear I’m giving you every last thing I’ve got.

Read the full essay at Medium.com

About mj santilli 34830 Articles
Founder and editor of mjsbigblog.com, home of the awesomest fan community on the net. I love cheesy singing shows of all kinds, whether reality or scripted. I adore American Idol, but also love The Voice, Glee, X Factor and more!