Joy Leslie

So I haven’t been on here mainly for two reasons. I’m sick and that makes me miserable. When you’re sick, you can’t sing… your voice is all scratchy and yucky. So then, you just get bored… UGH! I guess all in all I’ve just been in a funk - or “the slump” as I call it. I’ve been losing my momentum and my drive. It’s the same thing over and over again, day after day. I don’t hate being a singer. I love it. I just hate the routine I’ve put myself into. I think it’s time for a change…. but what?I have been sick since I last watched these two bulldogs last week. I had to dog-sit for two days for a really, really nice guy in Tribeca. I love dogs - and I loved watching these two… they were SUCH good-looking dogs! And really, very sweet and loving. But for some reason, as soon as the owner came around they wouldn’t stop jumping on me and pulling on my shirts. They did this two days in a row and even put a hole in a sweater of mine! Crazy… I thought the first day that they were actually snarling at me, but I soon realized that they just had such a hard time breathing that their breath just came out that way… Charlie and Eddie must be the best-looking english bulldogs in New York, though. I haven’t seen better looking ones here… They could be show dogs.

They are like football players!!! Barely reaching my knees (and I’m short) but at least 75-80 pounds each. I literally have 5 bruises on my thighs from them jumping up on me… but such is life when you’re a dog-lover like me… But don’t get me wrong, I’d do it all over again!!! … BUT I did get sick…My allergies kicked in and became a full-blown sinus infection… that’s the main reason I haven’t sung or been online for the last few days. I did get out on Saturday to see my brother’s dance project - and I’m really glad I did because it was AWESOME! They brought down the house. I just WISH I could dance that well… it would take a LOT of hours of practice though… I mean A LOT.* * *Potential… apparently I have a lot of it.. so they tell me. But sometimes I get in these slumps where I feel like no matter what I do it’s not going to be enough. Forgive me, I’m going to get a little personal here. I try not to do that so much, but everyone has problems right? I try not to be a complainer, but I really just want to get over this! The really disappointing news is that my album is going to be pushed back another month. I’ve been sick so much this month that I haven’t been able to finish my album, and (this is not such bad news) since my brother’s music is really taking off right now, he’s going to take all of February to do some promotional touring… so, I’m probably not going to finish my album until March. MARCH! That seems like a lifetime away! And I feel like the more time that goes by, the less interest people will have in me! Where did all of this doubt come from? I think it’s the slump.That durned SLUMP!!! *sigh* When you’re in the slump, nothing seems to go right. Like the computer starts going on the fritz, and you start losing little things, or you are so miserable that not even your favorite movie or your own husband can cheer you up. It’s like I need a good kick in the pants to get things rolling again. But there’s this little part that doesn’t want to at the same time… I don’t know… it’s a bad place to be.I guess the most important thing is that life goes on. And it’ll keep going on whether you’re on board or not. It stops for no one… so the best thing is to just pick myself up and keep on truckin… even through the dreaded slump.

UPDATE: I decided to sing a little something for you all anyways… it’s a snippet of Keyshia Cole’s “I Remember.”

Soooo guess what guys?! I got the job. I love it! I can’t wait to start hanging out with some cute dogs and cats and walk them all over the city. I’m going to work for www.Petaholics.com… go check them out!!!

I’ve been going to Chung King studios pretty much every day this week… Not always recording, but listening in on some of Ryan and Uness’s sessions.. learning, writing songs, watching a little TV (LOL since we have none), and trying to get a better feel and higher level of comfort for working in there. My husband and his friend have been working on some video concepts for some of my songs and they seem so fun - I’m really excited to start working on them. Uness has some more tracks for me to hear and get a feel for. Ryan is working on his Diamond Girl campaign still… OHHH you guys should check out this website and grab a t-shirt made by “Married to the Mob” … they’re SUPER cute! www.ryanleslie.com/dgtees … Hmmm what else? I’ve been working to try and get some more friend requests on myspace… added some new pictures, reaching out to other artists… You know what? A guy that works for a major TV network in NY messaged me on YouTube saying that he liked my cover of Fergie’s “Big Girls Don’t Cry” and that he was going to talk to his music director about me. I’m not sure what that means, but I think it sounds pretty cool. Also, StarsearchTV has added me to their page - and their stars page too!!! So make sure you give them some love. They have a YouTube channel and a website (starsearchtv.com).

I’ve been wracking my brain for a good song to sing - and I decided on Mandy Moore’s rendition of “Have a Little Faith in Me.” I’ve always liked it and I always think about my hubby when I sing it… awww LOL. Have a listen and hopefully you all like it! I’m kind of hungry - so this one isn’t going to be a super-long entry. Just a little hello, I love you all, and stay tuned for more updates! MUAH!!! Love, Joy

WOOOOWWWW it’s LITERALLY been one month since my last post… So much has happened! If I wrote it all here, I’d have a 4 page entry - so here’s a brief recap:For Christmas I went back to AZ to see my parents. It was a nice, warm, and peaceful holiday… just my parents, my brother, my husband and the dog. We took family portraits, and went to see a Christmas dinner theatre. I got new clothes and my master’s degree framed! Pretty cool. Then right after Christmas, we took a 13-hour drive up to Sacramento to see other family. Mainly, my hubby’s parents, my granddad, and my uncle and family. The ride was PAINFUL. It was the worst rental mini-van EVER and EVERYONE had back pain. We stayed until Dec. 30th then made our way back to NY!I was actually pretty happy to be back! My brother has been working at Chun King music studio’s from 4pm - 4am pretty much every day on music. On New Year’s Eve, the husband and I joined him and I even recorded “In Your Arms” as an acoustic version for my album! So many people have given me positive feedback on that song, we couldn’t resist. So it was very chill new year’s, but great because I got to ring it in just right… So that makes an official count of 8 songs completed for my album! Uness actually comes back today and we’re going to finish up a fourth… that’ll make 9, and then just 2 more to complete it all! Can’t wait!Exciting news! My brother’s Diamond Girl is really taking off! He even performed it at DJ Clue’s birthday party at Spotlight in Times Square. I had such a great time watching up there - and he got this cool DJ and horn section to play with him… it was so awesome! Cassie, Cheri Dennis, Trey Songz and Diddy also made appearances. I have a photo that I’ll post from the night.Me and Ryan in the Green Room before his performance:I decided to get a part-time job as a secondary income. Nothing huge, just a few hundred dollars extra a month. I have an interview on Monday for Petaholics.com to be a dog-walker in the city! I love love love love dogs so this would be perfect for me. Wish me luck, y’all, I really want this one!As for a video, a while back a good friend asked me to reprise the wedding song I sang at his wedding back in 2000. This year marks their 8th anniversary - so happy anniversary to Ben and Kim Nunes! Hooray!!! Enjoy guys, and take care! I’M BACK!