Surviving Rejection, Rock Star Style

You know those moments where you’re rolling along, auditioning away, and suddenly you come across…the one.

Finally!

The niche is completely in your wheelhouse.

The words actually flow from your mouth easily, instead of being a jargon tongue twister.

You feel the structure and the story in your bones.

You finish your first take and say, “Dang! That felt good. I’m sending that one.”

Those are great, aren’t they.

But then, you wait and wait, sure that you’ll hear good news any moment now….and it never comes.

The ideal job for you decided, no, this was not a love match.It feels pretty crummy to go from the high of “yeah! This one’s mine!” to “Oh no! Why don't they like me? Do I even know what I’m doing or is this all one big delusion?”

Rejection stings, no matter how many times you've been through it. But no matter how it feels, it's not the end of the world.

Have you ever heard of King Crimson? It’s a bit dated, but stay with me here…they were a 70's Prog Rock band. They continue to have a cult following today. They drew inspiration from a wide variety of influences:  classical; jazz; folk; heavy metal; blues…just everything. So their fan base is pretty eclectic.

They had just had success with their first album, and lost their frontman. So they went looking for a new one. 

Imagine that. An amazing opportunity in front of you. A successful outfit. Everything you’ve dreamed of on the line. The hopes. The pressure.

And when rejection comes from a band like King Crimson — a group with that much cred, that much history — oh man, that's heartbreaking.

But it's not the end of the world.

Because other opportunities are waiting in the wings, you just don't realize it yet. Really. They're there.

Afterall, you're Rocketman.

Yeah, Elton John got a “pass” from King Crimson.

His career wasn't exactly harmed by this missed opportunity. I doubt he’s losing any sleep over it and neither should you.

And this story isn't exactly a one-off.

Elton got another big “No.” He and Bernie Taupin wrote a song called These Dreams and pitched it to Stevie Nicks. 

She passed. But then Heart picked it up and it was a big hit.

Stephen Stills, you know Crosby, Stills Nash and Young? He auditioned for The Monkees. They didn’t reject him over conflicting musical styles. Mikey Dolenz used to joke that it was “because of his teeth”. Music had nothing to do with it.

The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, and even Tommy James and the Shondells turned down performing at Woodstock.

REO Speedwagon was courted to sing Danger Zone for Top Gun. They declined because they wanted to sing their own material. Then producers talked to Toto, but they backed out too. Kenny Loggins made it a hit.

One more, though I could go on and on…

Pure Energy had written a song. They pitched it to former Supremes member, Mary Wilson. She turned it down.

No problem. Madonna was waiting in the wings to record Holiday.

So while something might "feel" right at the time, it may not be meant for you. Rejection doesn't mean it's over...it might just mean something better is waiting in the wings for you next.