If you want to be center stage and lead act of the show, you cannot sing backup. You must be content to sing behind the star, not fight with them for prominence. You must be able to play a supporting position to the star and not feel left out if you want to sing backup.
To sing backup is much harder than it looks. Backup singing requires a great amount of listening and being very responsive to the main singer, much as an instrumental accompanist would. Listening and reacting to the main singers phrasing, you must begin and end as they do. As a shadow is always there, so is the effective backup singer.
The best place on stage for a backup singer is wherever you can see the singers mouth at all times, this is the key. To sing backup effectively, this is very, very important to your job. Watch the singer to learn where they are going. The singer will change course or make a mistake and only if you are aware can you react. Watch the singer intently and always. Often a singer may use a gesture such as a nod of the head to indicate where they are going. Learn their motions and watch out.
You must blend your melody to the singers melody. If you are watching the singer you can start your line slightly after they start in order to blend properly. If you are watching the singer as you should, you can start your phrase quietly if you are not sure how loud they will be at any particular time. Do not pronounce consonants too hard at the start of a line. If you pronounce a consonant too hard and it is slightly off from the main singers phrase, it will be very noticeable and disagreeable.
The end of lines are just as necessary as the beginning. As the singer approaches the end of a melody, gradually decrease your volume so you can avoid the embarrassment of ending after they do. If you follow these singing tips, watch, listen and blend in; you can be a professional backup singer in very short order.
