Four months ago, I decided to leave my long-time passion of performing in a singing group. At the time, it was the right thing to do. I have no regrets about my decision because it allowed me time to think, clear my head, and concentrate on my own goals. It felt like a well-needed break from the craziness of tour life and the stresses of being in a professional singing group. The funny thing is, when you think you’ve got everything figured out, God throws you a curveball and makes you realize that you really are not in control of anything.
Two months after announcing my departure from Legaci, I get a call from the guys asking if I’d be able to go on tour with them to South America as a temporary replacement for Dom (who had left the group for personal reasons). My first instinct was to say no because I had just gone through this whole big ordeal of leaving the group (which was not an easy decision). But after learning that the guys had been practicing with Jay (Legaci’s founding member) so that he could be ready for the tour, I felt motivated to go. Jay had not been able to attend the past year of touring, and I always felt like it was incomplete because he wasn’t on tour with us. This would be his chance to experience the complete JB tour experience, so with that I decided to go.
While on tour, it felt like old times. It was very fulfilling to see Jay meet the entire Bieber crew and experience all the things we did on tour the past year….the huge stadiums, performing in front of thousands of people, traveling from city to city in foreign countries, backstage, catering, the countless airports and hotels, TV shows… just every little thing. Being back on tour did change me and made me miss being with the group.
Although my experience coming back was positive and enjoyable, I still did not forget why I left in the first place. I was tired of compromising and had lost clarity of my real goals. While on break I had finally been able to work on the music and ideas that had been put on hold for so long. It was extremely gratifying to once again create my OMA (one man a cappella) videos and get back to vocal training & playing piano and guitar. I had not been able to do any of that while we were on tour because our hectic schedule combined with the amount of effort I was putting in to push Legaci. Paired with my creative frustrations was the fact that we had different views on where we wanted to go musically with the group.
On the last few days of the South American tour, I had several meetings with the guys and realized that we still wanted to work together musically. We just needed to figure out how to make it work so that our personal goals wouldn’t be compromised. After a lot of talking and discussion, we figured out a situation that would incorporate our personal goals into the overall goals of the group. For me, that meant that I could continue to create music and work on my musicianship, while assisting Legaci in their primary goals of releasing an album and eventually going on their own world tour.
Whatever your thoughts on the situation, just know we all love making music. We kind of got away from that the past year while on tour. The past few months have allowed us to refocus and renew our Visions. We are now ready to make some real original music for our fans. If you doubt what I’m saying, just keep an eye out over the next few months and we’ll show you =)
Music is made better together, rather than apart.
I already thought these Lilo and Stitch statues were cool then I found out they were made of ….Chocolate! (Taken with Instagram at Disney’s Polynesian Resort)
So I’m pretty new to tumblr, but since I have some folks following me, I wanted to extend my invitation for requests.
I’m going to be putting out weekly OMA (One man acapella) and acoustic videos, and I want to know what yall want to hear. After all I do these videos for you.
Just think if you’ve ever wanted to hear a song “acapella-ized” and let me know. Your ideas might be better than mine =)
And it can be anything, any genre, any style…I like challenges!
Cheers!
Del
To my family, friends, and supporters of Legaci,
I would like to let you know that I am no longer a part of Legaci. As someone who has been a longtime fan of singing groups, I never understood why some groups split up or lost members, and then left no explanation for their fans. So here is my honest explanation that I do owe to those of you who have been dedicated fans and supporters of Legaci.
Being part of a professional singing group is extremely challenging and more complicated than most people think. Your life is tied to the other members, their lifestyle and level of commitments. I have been a member of a professional singing group for the past 13 years, and have dedicated my life to making these groups work and succeed. But this was only made possible through constancy, determination and compromise.
This past year, Legaci and I experienced a world tour. That was definitely one of the highlights of my life so far. I am thankful for that blessing and opportunity. However, being on tour made me realize that the lifestyle I was working so hard to achieve was not consistent with my Vision. Continual compromising had made me lose clarity of my inner convictions and goals.
Hopefully you understand why I am no longer with the group. They can now pursue their dreams freely, as I pursue mine with a clear mind and trajectory. I am proud to have been a part of Legaci’s success over the past year, and am ready to move forward. I will always support the group 110%. Please continue to support Legaci as they push for their dreams.
Music is and always will be my passion. That will never change.
So what’s in store for me? We’ll have to wait and see. =)
