Sarah B is a singer/songwriter who is working to be known in the world of Country Music. She defines her style as Country/Soul because she believes music is all about the feeling.
Sarah B was born in Southern California. She began performing in 1st grade when she was escorted from classroom to classroom, with her older brother, by the Principal, to sing to the other classes at Heideman Elementary School in Santa Ana, CA. The Principal had so much faith in their talent she encouraged Sarah and her brother to audition for the local production of The Sound of Music. Although, she was young, Sarah B still remembers how nervous she was to audition for the show, but she did it anyway. She also knew she wouldn't get the part because back in 1984 they were not casting 2 Black children to be in the Von Trapp family. However, it was still a great experience and she's never regretted trying.
Sarah B has always loved music and grew up listening to a variety of genres. Her mother's record collection included such artists as Whitney Houston, Anita Baker, Restless Heart, Toto, Kenny Loggins, and so many more. With such an eclectic mix of music at her disposal, Sarah B was able to learn that good music is not confined to one genre.
Sarah B was in the Concert Choir at Columbus Tustin Middle School in Tustin, CA. It was then she learned how much she loved to perform. She was able to perform in her school’s talent show, but without an instrumental track for the song she wanted to perform, Karen White’s “Superwoman”, she had to lip sync it. Sarah learned she had a large vocal range at a young age. In junior high she volunteered to sing the male part of the “Beauty and the Beast” duet in her choir performance. While in Junior High, Sarah B found she connected most with Country Music. Sarah B enjoyed listening to artists like Garth Brooks, Reba McEntire, Martina McBride, Dolly Parton, Randy Travis, Travis Tritt, Allison Kraus, Mark Wills, Bryan White, just to name a few. She found she was able to identify with the emotion of the songs even if she didn't yet fully understand the experiences conveyed in the stories told by the lyrics. She additionally found that Country Music felt like the best fit for her writing style and the first song she wrote was about her Father’s absence in her life.
While attending High School at Tustin High (Go Tillers!) Sarah B was able to further develop her talent for writing songs and poems while exploring her vocal range. Her Sophomore year English teach, Mrs. Doyle encouraged her writing when Sarah B had to write a paper about the book "All Quiet On the Western Front" and compare it to one of the poems provided to the class. Sarah B wasn't happy with any of the poems she read, so she asked if she could write her own poem and use it for the paper. Of course, her English teacher was thrilled with this and permitted it. She was able to have this poem published, and she still has the book that contains it.
In Elementary school Sarah B tried performing as a mime, and realized if she wasn’t supposed to smile or laugh, that is exactly what would happen. In Junior High she took choir and found her love for harmonies. When in High School, Sarah B was a Freshman when her older brother was a Sophomore, and her sister was a Senior. Since their family was already known for singing by the time Sarah B got to High School, her audition for the Madrigal Choir was merely a formality so she had fun with it and sang “Part of Your World” from the Little Mermaid. With three of the Buchanan children attending the same school and on the bus at the same time, they eventually started to entertain the other students on the way to and from school. One of their favorite songs to sing a Capella was “If I Ever Fall In Love Again” by Shai. They fine tuned their performance of this song so well that by the time their mother heard them sing it, while rehearsing for Tustin High School’s Back To School night, she told them they could not sing it on the bus anymore, because they were going to perform it for the school. At his time, Sarah B's mother was working at the high school as well. It felt like a “Von Trapp” moment to Sarah B when they were introduced as “Tustin High’s own Buchanan Family” for their performance. It was in High School that Sarah B got a little more comfortable with performing. Growing up in a family of singers, Sarah B was always told she was the “least talented person in her family”. On the other hand, while in choir in High School, Sarah received encouragement from her classmates, choir teacher, Mr. Fischer, choir pianist, and even a guest instructor from one of the local colleges, who was very impressed with Sara B's vocal range. She was awarded with the “Best Tenor” award in her Junior year of High School while being the only female tenor in the section. This boost to her confidence, accompanied by the joy she felt while singing, was all she needed to know singing and performing was what she wanted to do.
Immediately, after High School Sarah B focused on gaining her financial independence and was determined to not live at home forever. Sarah B was 17 years old when she graduated, and since college was not a priority in her religious family, she worked on getting a fulltime job so she could save up her money to get a car and her own apartment. Two months after she graduated, she was working full time for the corporate office of L.A. Fitness in Newport Beach, CA. At the age of 19, she got her driver’s license (after paying for her own driving lessons), bought her first car (a 1987 Honda Civic) with her own money, and moved out into her first apartment (without a cosigner). Sarah B had a great support system in her friends and co-workers who cheered her on every step of the way.
There weren’t a lot of opportunities for Sarah B to perform after High School, until she turned 21 and was able to go to local bars that had karaoke. For a while Sarah B thought her nervous ticks were going to prevent her from pursuing her love of singing. Yawning and trembling knees were not helpful when she was trying to sing and command the stage. Nevertheless, just like her stuttering never hindered her, Sarah B didn’t give up. She kept going to sing karaoke and the more she did it, the less nervous she was on stage. Sarah B remembers the first time anyone in her family gave her a compliment on her singing was when her mother and older sister heard her yodel while performing LeAnn Rimes version of Cowboy Sweetheart. Sarah B taught herself to yodel by singing “The Lonely Goatherd” from The Sound of Music. Sarah B still gets nervous when performing, but she has learned to channel her nervous energy into her performance. In May of 2000, Sarah B had to decide where to move because her rent was about to go up $100 a month. So, on May 25th, 2000, she left southern California with what she could fit in her car and a goodbye card, put together by her coworkers she considered family at L.A. Fitness, and drove 2000 miles to Nashville, TN.
On May 27th, 2000 she arrived in Nashville, TN with her dreams, 20 songs, and Glamour Shots. Since 2000, Sarah B has done what she could, on her limited budget, to pursue her dream. Things have never been easy for Sarah B. She does not have support from her family, aside from her sister in-law and her family of friends. Sarah B is an independent woman and has always been an overachiever who does not give up. Sarah B is a rape survivor who learned from experience the truth of the cliche "what doesn't kill, you makes you stronger".
She has auditioned for every singing competition show you can think of; American Idol (6 times), America's Got Talent (6 times), Nashville Star (3 times), The Voice (11 times), The X Factor (once), and Star Search (once). She has been able to sing a few full 4-hour sets at Tootsie’s Orchid Lounge with the live bands. Sarah B has had the honor of performing two of her original songs on the stage at the Bluebird Café writer’s night open mic. She has graced the stages of most of at least half bars on Broadway, thanks to the generosity of her musician friends who allowed her to crash their shows. Even though, she hasn’t been able to dedicate 100% of her time and effort to the pursuit of her musical career, she has been able to network with a variety of musicians and artists in Nashville, TN. She had the privilege of performing Kristen Kelly’s “He Loves To Make Me Cry” with Kristen Kelly herself. She’s had the opportunity to perform in front of John Rich, Craig Morgan, Renee Grant Williams, Joe Nichols, and Clay Walker.
In 2013 she made it to the semi-finals of a local singing competition at Wild Wing Café in Cool Springs. In 2014 and 2015 she was able to compete in the Finals of the Talent Quest International Karaoke Contest. Sarah B finds inspiration in the careers of such artists as Dolly Parton (her favorite female song writer), Reba McEntire (her favorite female performer), and Martina McBride (her favorite female vocalist). With the loving support of her family of friends, Sarah has been emboldened to continue pursuing her dream no matter how many times she hears the word “no”. Sarah is determined to achieve her goals and is currently working on getting more of her over 40 songs ready to be recorded.
Sarah B is extremely grateful to everyone who has liked her pages, watched her videos, shared her music with their friends, and contributed monetarily to her dream.
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