Keyona Renee Ham - the Artist: November 2011

Excited

I am absolutely excited. This year has been wonderful for my singing career. I have gained fans all over the world. I looked at my YouTube views and there are viewers from Russia, Serbia, Brazil, Italy, Spain, France, Denmark, Sweden, Norway, Kenya, Uganda, Japan, Malaysia, the Philippines, Iceland, Ecuador, New Zealand, Czech Republic, South Korea, Argentina, Jamaica, Barbados, Israel . . . I could go on and on, it’s would probably be easier to list the countries where I don’t have viewers at this point. That is SO exciting to me. Just think, a whole world away, there is someone who knows my name, may not even be able to understand me but enjoys the sound of my voice. I think I smell a world tour coming. At one point, I was checking my views everyday to see what new country had come on to the Key Key train but I’ve cut back to a couple times a week now. Amazing. It proves that anyone can have influence on an entire world, hey, Michael Jackson did.

I have spent this year singing with the greatest musicians and at shows. This year, I’ve been singing as the Lead Female Vocalist with Just’s Friends, a band of men that are all member of the Omega Psi Phi Fraternity, Inc. They were founded on November 17, 1911 and this year has been spent celebrating their 100 Year Anniversary. As a part of the Centennial Conclave, we performed for the Military Honors Ball at the Washington Convention Center in July. Top officials of the United States Government who are members of the fraternity were present and honored. On Friday, November 18th, the Just’s Friends and I will open for the Godfather of Go Go Chuck Brown celebrate Founder's Week. How awesome is that?! I, as a native of Washington, D.C. where Go Go was created will be able to say I opened for a D.C. Legend and musical icon . . . WHOA!! I can hardly wait. By the way, you can still get tickets at Ticketmaster.

In August, I was chosen as one of 10 finalists to compete in the Budweiser Superfest Opening Act Competition in Charlotte, N.C. Out of thousands of applications, I made the top 10! I didn’t win but I met some great singers and had a great time. I wouldn’t trade that experience for the world. It did however confirm that I wasn’t making a mistake pursuing a career as a performer but gave me insight to my target audience, my style and where I fit.

Then, just last month, I found myself singing at the Pre-Reception Gala for the Executive Leadership Council’s 25th Anniversary Recognition Gala with Nicholaus Mack of Sharp9 Entertainment. Before I looked up the ELC, I thought it was going to be a little program, a few songs and done. OH NO!! I clicked on the ELC’s website and got blown away. These were the top minority executives gathering to honor extraordinary leadership and give out student scholarships. Can you say Ursula Brown, Chairman and CEO of Xerox? The first African-American woman CEO to head a fortune 500 company, she was present and honored that night. And to top that, Diana Ross was the main entertainment for the evening and Kool & the Gang would be headlining the after party. And the Sponsors? ING Direct (notice the orange background in the picture), Target, PriceWaterhouseCoopers, PepsiCo. and more. WHAT?!?!?!

How did I get to all of this in one year? I made a decision a few years ago that if I would say yes to all singing engagements, even if I was nervous about it, I would do it as long as my safety or health wasn’t in danger and look what happened.

If this is what happens when you have one single out, my goodness, what is in store after I finish this CD? My goodness, I can hardly wait. Last week, The Collective will be performed at Busboys & Poets in Hyattsville, MD right before our weekly Ustream chat on Thursdays at 8pm EST. I always enjoy myself when we all perform on the same stage. It’s just like singing with my family. (Check us out on YouTube at www.youtube.com/user/TheCollectiveTV)