Natalie Maines Quotes

Every time I step onto the stage, it's not only proving to the audience that I'm capable but to myself.

I'm not the kind of person who ever thought, 'Oh, a one-woman show - bring it on!'

It feels like the more I'm out there in the public eye, the more criticism I get. You need to have confidence - that's what it takes to walk out there and sing a song in front of a huge group of people.

I don't feel nervous or fearful when I'm on stage.

Sometimes, the most daunting thing about performing is making eye contact with your audience, so just look above them and at the corners of the room. Soon, you'll totally forget they're there.

Every audition is different, but I get incredibly nervous and insecure and worked up for however long I have to prep - that's when I get to spin. But you're not allowed to spin once you enter the room. Doubt really can't enter the room when you're auditioning - unless it's part of the character.

I can sing in front of people. I can go on a TV show, live, and not feel like I'm going to throw up.

I realised a little bit to my astonishment that I can give a lecture for a thousand people, and there will be this tumultuous applause, so, you know, I have the feeling well, it can't be all that bad.

In high school, I was too shy to perform. It's one thing to get laughs from your family, to be funny at parties and in class. It's another thing to get up on the stage.

I'm not a natural born performer.

I don't feel like I'm the type of performer who's going to knock your socks off. I'm trying to get over my nerves.

You know, when Michael Jackson does the moonwalk, he's showing off! When Prince or Hendrix do a guitar solo, it's confidence! I would hate to be at a show and some nervous wreck is sweating up there and doesn't feel like he deserves to be there.

And when I perform on my own tour, I have to talk myself into going out on that stage every single night.

People think I look odd onstage. But the way I deal with being incredibly nervous is by concentrating really hard.

I conquered my stage fright a long time ago. In my line of work, it's kind of a pre-requisite that you not feel bad about looking stupid in front of a lot of people.

As soon as I got up on that stage, and I remembered how welcoming and warming the judges, their presence is, and it was just all uphill from there.

I don't really feel any different when I get up on stage.

I get nervous before everything - dates, filming, award shows. I just don't want to say something stupid. But as soon as I step out on that stage, or as soon as I show up to a date, it all goes away, and I just have a great time with whoever I'm with.

There's nothing about the stage to be afraid of; there's nothing about the cameras to be afraid of. You just have to be yourself.

I reached the stage where I was afraid to wiggle my leg, but then I thought 'why shouldn't I?' It's what I do and now I know how to turn an audience on again.

For most entertainers, there is a single experience, one defining moment, when confidence replaces the self-doubt that most of us wrestle with.

I've never felt nervous in front of big crowds and in big stadiums.

I look at is as one single entity. I dehumanize the audience. This way, I don't get nervous, you know?

I'm nervous performing because it's such a weird thing to do, standing on stage demanding people's attention.

The stage always terrified me. The live audience is just one thing I bewilderingly look back on and say, 'How did I ever participate in that?'