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Join James Petrossi in 'Leave the Feed: 30 Days of Disconnect' as he interviews creators and mental health advocates about their journeys, the digital quagmire, and tips to create a healthier relationship with social media.
[00:00:00]
James Petrossi: Hello and welcome to Leave the Feed. I'm your host, James Petrossi. Today is day 15 and I'm here with Nour Khodr and we're here to talk about Baboom, the Talent Show, which actually, surprisingly enough, after you signed up for this episode, I learned you actually had a story about a talent show. As a young kid. So before we
Nour Khodr: it is.
James Petrossi: like that, like let's hear about your journey as singer, a creator, a manager, and how all of this has transpired to where you're today.
Nour Khodr: Yeah. Thank you for having me. Day 15. That's awesome. I like that number too. I have certain numbers I like, I like 7, 15, 55, 7, 7. Those are like my favorite numbers. I'm not even kidding. So I actually just remembered that you did say it was day [00:01:00] 15, so. It's crazy you bring up the talent show 'cause that is a super fundamental part of my journey.
So, growing up very young, my mom put me in piano. She loved to sing. She never pursued it, but she always loved it. I've had photos on Instagram of me little me with a little like bow tie button down on doing piano recitals. But I never thought I could sing. It just wasn't something, the people I was around, the guys I was around growing up would do.
So I just, I just stuck to sports and piano from time to time and a little guitar. It wasn't until I was like 14, 15 entering high school when I was in my guitar elective. And the guitar teacher was like, you know, if anyone can sing and play, we'll give 'em extra credit. And I was like, you know what, you know, my dad really wanted me to continue to do really well in school.
He's a doctor, so there was that pressure. So I was like, you know what, I'm gonna give this a go. And I played hotline bling by Drake on guitar. Like the, you know, [00:02:00] he used to call me on the cell phone. And the music teacher, the guitar teacher was also the. Keys teacher and the vocal co like teacher at the school.
She pretty much did all the music related stuff at my high school and she was like, if you like, if you're willing to join the vocal ensemble, I will personally like take you under my wing and you know, hook you up. Basically. Like, you know, I'd get an A and everything would be great. So I was honestly like.
I was obviously not a hundred percent sold at first, you know, 'cause singing was something new and it is a vulnerable activity to sing, especially when you're first starting. But I did it. And what's funny is not too long after this happened. Was this talent show that came up. My high school had 2,300 people and this talent show came up and I was, you know, you know how the, you'll go to the watch, the auditions, like a people coming to audition, and then the, you know, as you see in shows and movies, like they'll print the paper on the wall of who made it, who didn't for each play or whatever.
So [00:03:00] she was doing auditions. I went into the choir room, which was also a guitar room, and I was just sitting as like as a viewer, just watching her like. The teacher, you know, audition all these people. And then, you know, she was like, are you gonna go up or are you gonna go up? And I was like, I don't know.
And then on her lunch break, she was eating her sandwich. And I went down and I just started playing piano and singing all of me by John Legend. And basically like the next day, I, I never did a formal audition. I just did that. And then the next day I go, I look at the wall and my name's on the wall.
That I made the film show
James Petrossi: Wow.
Nour Khodr: and I was like, I was, I was like, I never auditioned. She was like, yeah, you did. You, you, you did. You know? I was like, on your lunch break. And she was like, yeah, that was your audition. I was like, well, so I ended up doing that talent show. That was my first ever legit. Performance singing.
And it was definitely quite the bandaid to rip off. 'cause [00:04:00] 2,200 people was a pretty large crowd. Yeah. My, my dad was there too. And so family were there. So obviously even more pressure. But it was cool in the video, I still have it somewhere I could send it to you. I was clearly very nervous, but the voice was there, just needed some work.
And over the years, obviously, I, I was working with her and other local coaches that got me where, i'm today. So, so yeah, that's the, that was the beginning to talent show. Obviously my journey goes on to, if you want me to keep going, I can or I can
James Petrossi: please keep going. Yeah.
Nour Khodr: so. Also growing up, everybody always said that was very talkative.
I'd go to the clinic with my dad and they'd be like, your son is is a talker. Which honestly is pretty flattering. Just meant I was a super extrovert, but I, so, so that sound show happens, you know? And I stay in the music group, you know, sophomore, junior, senior year, and, I I ended up going and the teacher like, you know, they take the top singers from each high school to sing at Epcot.
'cause I was living in Florida, in Orlando, they have Disney. [00:05:00] And I got to sing there twice, which is also super cool. And then I decided I wanted to audition for the voice when I was like 16, 17. And I go to the audition, my dad's with me. We go to Atlanta. It's a ca classic cattle call. Like, like, I don't know how many thousands of people, but it was crazy.
We wait for four hours audition. When I'm auditioning, my eyes are closed and I, I mean, maybe I sounded good, but. You know, with the, with those kind of shows, you have to be the full thing 'cause there's so many options. So I didn't get it and I was like so bummed and honest. And then after that I went to college.
Freshman year I was, you know, I was like rushing a fraternity, which I didn't end up like following through with 'cause I was like, this is it for me. Ironically when I was doing the fraternity stuff, the first thing we were doing was sorority visits. When we would visit sororities and sing to them. So it's like I was trying to get away from music 'cause I was disappointed in myself.
But somehow like. I was brought back to it, like within, while I was trying to get away from it. And then ironically, right after like [00:06:00] that, like three months into college, I got a call from The Voice and they were like, we want you to audition. Like come to New York. Do this. We'll give you an instant callback.
And then I did that. And from there I just, I had obviously that boosted my confidence a lot. I also got offered to audition for American Idol and do the execs for that. And then from there I just. I did both of those things. Obviously I didn't win either of those shows, but I did make some pretty good movement with those shows.
And then after that I was like, you know what? I'm going to make my own songs. Lemme see where they go. So I recorded like six songs. Of them was called Ace, which did really well on TikTok. That was like the first song of mine to like get really good numbers and I was able to do so. 'cause I watched how TikTok was starting to become the new wave.
I saw like, you know, D like Arizona had a song called Rox Sand. That was like the first one that really did well. And so when I saw that, I was like, you know what, I'm gonna try and do that. So. I reached out to a bunch of different [00:07:00] tiktoks and, and things like that, and at the time the hype house was big, so they used my song and I kind of was like showing other up and coming tiktoks, Hey, like this is the dance.
If you wanna do it, I'll repost it, yada yada. And then I somehow managed to get that song going. I had a couple labels reach out to me and they were like, Hey, like. We wanna work with you. But the, but as far as being signed as an artist goes, the deals work didn't make sense. But they wanted me on as a marketing guy.
So I started marketing for like, some kid Laroi music, some Jason Derulo songs, tape mc grace songs kid Laroi and just like all these artists that were like, you know, really getting pushed at the time. And so I got offered to also work on the, the weekend Super Bowl halftime show marketing campaign on social media.
I started working with startups and obviously from there, you know, 20, 20 October I moved to la and then all these opportunities started coming through and I was like, you know, I was like, wow, there's a lot of business in this. And I was, I was like, you know, just, I was from [00:08:00] college kid who literally only knew college to social media manager guy who had.
You know, some of the biggest tiktoks signed under him. I never even studied marketing. I never studied any of that. I was pre-med for two years, then I was pre-law and I just literally want this. I had a good energy to me and people gravitated to it. And I just was looking out for everyone trying to do everything right.
And it was really like a really cool experience. And then like did that for like two years and then as of 2023 kind of returned to music. And then 2024, obviously more music, still marketing, working with startups. Started my own late night show. I don't know if you saw that called Late Night La It's on, it's linked in my Instagram bio, but brought like salvo from imp Impactable jokers on there and just kind of found ways to keep on keeping the network and the community around me kind of like active.
And then this year I did my first tour in Europe and then us multiple cities, like more than I did, more than 14 cities which was always a [00:09:00] dream of mine. So, so yeah, that's kind of the, the spark notes of how I got where I am now and where I am now. But obviously, if you have any questions on certain things, you know, let me know.
James Petrossi: Yeah, definitely. I think it's interesting that like you had this bandaid you called ripped off about like, here I am for. Out of like 2300 people and I'm, I'm singing I'm wondering for you what were these different like milestones or how did you like ebb and flow? got into music, then you sort of like took a backseat and were like, no, I'm gonna be pre-med.
How did you. some of the things that weren't helping you progress and lean into like these natural talents that you have. Because I think a lot of people struggle with after what they're good at. I think 'cause they are really vulnerable when they do it.
And I think there's also a lot of like and expectations from either parents or society to do a certain thing. Like how did you overcome those?
Nour Khodr: Yeah, I mean. Obviously, you know, there's always the [00:10:00] comfortable route in any like situation. You can be comfortable with one thing, but that doesn't mean you're gonna be happy or you can be uncomfortable with this other thing. But if this other thing works out, then you are extremely happy. In college, I realized I didn't love pre-med.
I was too, like I love, I love like the idea of pre-med. I love the idea of being a doctor, but that's not for me. And my dad went to Harvard, like he's a doctor. He's an incredible doctor. My younger brother who's a year younger than me, he also continued on that route. And like I feel like. I was passionate about this whole marketing thing, and I was able to find success in it.
Obviously, you know, it's like if you don't try, you'll never know. I, I'm blessed that, like my mom always supported me, that my dad always supported my decisions and stuff. Obviously, you know, as a parent, they're always gonna be like, so is this working out? Is this not working out? But luckily they, they gave me the blessing of like.
Let's see where this goes. And you know, I just, I grind really hard [00:11:00] and I mean, society always, even when I was singing in high school back then, like if you sang in high school, it wasn't cool as a guy. It's like you either play basketball or football or lacrosse, but like, even at one point in my high school, the, the following year, end of the talent show and the next year there was the talent show.
Obviously it was a every year thing at my high school. This girl that was really cool wanted to sing with me and I was about to do it with her. And like the guys that were on my sports team were like, yo, like you're gonna do that. And made me feel weird about it. So I didn't do it, you know, and I look back and I'm like, I should have done it.
You know? And I think like you don't wanna be in that position where you're like, I wish I'd done it. Even if like there's a risk in pursuing your talent of being a great musician or an actor or a marketing person. 'cause. A lot of people I know really do like, love marketing, like it's an actual passion.
'cause it's really cool to see a startup go from here to here. But yeah, I think, I think the most important thing is just to realize that you wanna look in five years and look back and be like, I actually did something [00:12:00] I, I love. Sure. I took a big risk and sure I could have been comfortable and stayed in college, got a degree and got a nine to five or.
You're like, oh, I, I leaned into this talent I have and I'm still getting to where I want to go. I'm not there yet, but I'm getting close. I also struggled with that. Like I've gone and done shows that, like a fan brought me this to one of my shows. I keep it on my desk, but this is from like, all of these are different shows.
I did London, Germany. Austria, I think that was la. So, , those are things I always dreamed of. And it didn't happen overnight, obviously, you know, 2020, I, I at least ACE and then, you know, it went pretty viral, but COVID happened, so I couldn't tour anything, which was a super. Bummer.
And then obviously the business started thriving. So 2020 and then 2021 I released one song, 2022, no songs. And then 2023 returned to music. And you know, not only music though, because as you know, music is something that, you know, can be huge, but you gotta always have your, [00:13:00] your, you know, hand in different buckets.
Otherwise you can't just do music, you know, unless you have a record label. But most people don't.
James Petrossi: and you brought up. In the process when you started going on TikTok and you released your first song, you're like, Hey, I was just bringing a great energy, looking to collaborate, like get my hands dirty and figuratively, you know? And know throughout that process though, you know, creating a song, the pandemic, going on tour, reaching levels of fame, people creating little album things for you.
I mean, that's epic. That's really cool. Congrats. But like. With that, there's gotta be like some internal turmoil going on because you're on social media and obviously you're trying to create fandom. You're trying to stay true to yourself. How have you created that balance and what challenges have you faced with your own sense of self in that?
Nour Khodr: It's a lot of pressure and I think I've honestly really, really learned to value putting the phone down [00:14:00] and just living in the moment.
'cause I mean, when I grew up and you grew up too. We didn't have iPhones, we had flip phones, we had phones that literally you have to press the same number multiple times to text, it was a pain to just say yes or no. But I mean I've, I've obviously, you know it's never, no, no journey comes without any, you know, trials and, and obstacles and stuff.
And when I first started and the business side of things, and I moved to LA I had, you know, like 50 people, five zero signed to me and my company and I was like. 20 and I was under so much pressure, I'd literally have breakdowns just randomly start, like breaking down.
I was always over overthinking. That was my biggest problem. I overthought everything. Oh, oh, is this, is this good enough? Is that good enough? What are we doing here? What are we doing there? Is this person happy? Is that person happy? I think I lost myself a lot when I was managing, which is why I slowly.
Came back to being music because that was me caring about my happiness over everyone else's happiness. 'cause if you're an agent or a manager, your, [00:15:00] your responsibility is your client's happiness. Right.
James Petrossi: Right.
Nour Khodr: think I think doing that can really be mentally draining. And you know, like I said, I was living like a double life kind of.
I was like loving business, but I also was loving music. And then I slowly started to. Fade away from the management. You know, I helped the people I was working with find new teams and, and kind of pass the baton on for them and, and get them where they needed to go, and then. I started focusing back on what I wanted and kind of doing more independent contractor work as, as a as a business.
And not being like exclusive, working with creators. I was more non exclusively working with them. Like when I had something, I'd hit them up, but there wasn't the pressure of like, I need more. I need more. And then, you know, when the, when the business started growing more, I, sorry. When the music started to grow more, especially this year.
You know, it's, it's super surreal to do it and be like, wow, I've wanted to do, like, when you accomplish a goal, there's nothing like that feeling like to be in Europe in these different states and [00:16:00] different countries, different cities, and perform. It's like I went from, like I said, I went from the talent show in my high school my freshman year too.
You know sold out show in Germany, sold Out show in Austria. Sold out show in London. And then getting to also go on a tour with people that I used to listen to and open for them here in the US in two cities in Texas, and multiple in California, and then Arizona. So it's like, you know, I think the way I stay grounded is I just kind of take a step back and I'm just like, I'm super, super grateful for this.
I'm gonna enjoy every moment of it, but I'm not gonna let it make me lazy. And I think that's the key. And also like, you know, people more than ever now say like, you know, cringe is the new thing. Like, sometimes if you're a cringe, it's better because that kind of captivates people. If you're not cringe or if you're not doing things that catch people's attention, then you know, if you, if I just post a video of me singing like this right now, it's kind of like, oh, cool.
Like great voice, you know. Cool dude. But I have a video I'm gonna post [00:17:00] probably later today. One of my buddies named Zach Gordon he was in the Diary of Wimpy Kid. He was the main guy where he's like, where it's like him like kind of like shaking me like this, and I'm just singing and it's just a comedic reel and it's like, just like a funny thing.
But yeah, I think, I think it's important to just take a step back, take a deep breath. Definitely. Like you were saying, take a break from social media, from the phone. Even when you do post, like it's not a bad thing to scroll. Stay informed on your friends' lives or the news, I think, but it can be so toxic sometimes.
And eye fatigue is a real thing. I find myself struggling with eye fatigue so bad. I literally have the glasses somewhere in my room. But the glasses, like they, they basically like are blue light glasses to help with the, with the screen. But even then it's like I'll, I'll be on my laptop or my phone so much that I'll have to take a nap 'cause my eyes are just.
So tired, you know, and it's just an addiction. It becomes an addiction.
James Petrossi: Yeah, no. You mentioned in [00:18:00] this, you know, the. The glory. And you talked about the hard work, you know, as a creator, as you've gone more into the music space and continued to follow that path of the things that light you up inside, how much like ongoing improvements do you have to make? Whether it's like voice coaching, learning new, anything involved in the industry, like how do you make sure you're always improving what you're already good at?
Nour Khodr: I mean you always gotta be happy but never fully satisfied. 'cause like you, like I said, like when you get lazy that's when you start to fall back and stuff like that. And you know, I remember hearing this when I first started, you know, a very, you know, something that stuck with me is my buddy said, when you abandoned your fan base, your fan base a abandons you.
And that's basically goes to say, if you just don't post and you don't show people what you're doing, then they feel like you, you, you know, you're leaving them out. 'cause that's how they connect to you.
Yeah. So the other way I do that is I literally will like scroll on my Instagram and I think Instagram [00:19:00] just hears me talk and it'll show me like.
10 ways to captivate this or 10 things to do that. So I'll do that and then I'll always work with new producers and, and just kind of hear new ideas and try and like come up with new ideas. And a lot of my music I write, if not all of it, is just literally through experience and I'll just hear new kind of waves or like, sounds like when I was on tour, I heard a lot of unique instruments that aren't like common here in America.
And I'll just try to, to just try keeping, keeping things exciting. 'cause I feel like, like you said, there is the times are always changing. Like at one point there was no Netflix, two B Peacock, Hulu, Amazon. There was just the TV and you watch Disney Channel or if you're a kid or Park Network, Nickelodeon.
The same with the music on the radio. It was like the same songs were being kind of pushed out on the radio or on YouTube. Now it's like there's a million different streamings. There's a million ways to upload music as an artist. So. Everything is becoming much more competitive and saturated. So it's, it's like literally 10 times harder.
It's [00:20:00] not a hundred times harder to, to break through if you're not doing that. And I, I find myself kind of like doing that by like, kind of like the TikTok thing in 2020. Like that was the way to go viral was to use TikTok. Now everybody's caught onto that. So now you have to either find a way within TikTok to be more unique, to blow up or to, to get more more views and stuff.
Or you have to just find a new, a new gold mine because TikTok in 2020 was the gold mine of blowing up artists, like multiple artists came out of that era. And so, so yeah, I think, I think it's just about learning the new, new current, keeping up with the current and like, just not allowing yourself to just sit back on the wave.
You gotta, you gotta surf, you gotta get up on the surfboard.
James Petrossi: Social media is definitely an asset can also be a detriment. Obviously, you know, for those of us that aren't creators in the space, there's a lot of just scrollers and I think some of those
Nour Khodr: Yeah.
James Petrossi: Are looking at these achievers and [00:21:00] thinking like, I want that. I want to be that. And you know, let's take it off social media into a story you told earlier when, you know, you said you were gonna sing with this girl in your school, and someone was like, why would you do that? And I think that there's a lot of people that are scrolling that want to go after something and. It might be a person saying, why would you do that? Or it might be a voice in their head saying to themselves, you're not good enough to do that. Like what
Nour Khodr: Yeah.
James Petrossi: to those individuals that need to overcome a barrier to be vulnerable, to go after what they love and like really dig into their passion like you have.
Nour Khodr: I'll say a couple like things that I'm sure people have heard, but I'll say some things from the heart too. But I think you've obviously missed a hundred percent of the shots you don't take, and I think it's better to not live with regret and to take the risk and fail than to say, I wish I tried in every situation
whether it's, like you said, like that example of me not seeing with that girl who was very talented, and it would've been a great core memory for me to have just like the [00:22:00] talent show the year before. But I let, I let doubt, I let you know, peer pressure and, and, and like bully kind of like mentality dictate my decision and I never made that mistake again.
Ever since that moment I literally. If I want to do something and hey, everyone around me saying don't do it, I still will do it. If I feel like in my heart it's something that I wanna do, and if it's something that leans me in a direction that I wanna, I wanna find myself going in and it goes down to show, like there's, you know, if someone, like, for example, nowadays unfollowing on Instagram, it's such a big thing for some people.
It's like, okay if, if you know, you post something, if you singing or you doing something that you love and someone unfollows you, but that person just isn't meant to be in your life because if they can't support something that clearly makes you happy. Or a skit that you posted or something that you like?
I think that it's just like, you know, you can't live for other people, right? So that's what I would say. I would say, you gotta be vulnerable. You gotta live for yourself because you are you at the end of the day when you look in the mirror, you're looking at yourself. I think it's [00:23:00] so easy to give in to.
Chatter and what people stay around you. So it's obviously extremely, that's why not many people get to the position that some creatives get to because those creatives weren't scared to, you know, even Bieber was singing in the street with a guitar. You know, people go and they do vulnerable things, you know, whether it's something that's very out there like, you know, seeing in a public setting or.
Doing something that wasn't like socially like really common, like dudes singing in 20 14, 20 15, unless you were Bieber or like Sean Mendez. It wasn't like. Even then, like they were, they were deemed cool by girls, but guys looked at them like, oh, what a weirdo. It's like, and now it's like, dude, singing is like the coolest thing.
And if you're a dude that can sing, it's like, oh my God, dude. Like what? You know? It's like, so to me, I think, you know, that's an example. It's like if I had done that then, and I look back now, I'd be like, oh, like Nora was onto something, but I didn't do it because I was listening to everybody around me. So my advice is [00:24:00] to just do it and.
You know, even though it's gonna, if it feels uncomfortable, then it's probably the right thing to do in that situation of being creative. Right? Not in many situations, but in the situation of you debating between doing something you love or not doing something you love based on people's opinions, a hundred percent of the time you should do it.
As long as it feels right. You know? It felt right to me and we literally rehearsed it at my house and everything, and I still. I had just mailed and I was like, multiple people were like, what? You're gonna do that? And then I didn't do it so.
James Petrossi: I've always re referred to the creative process as that of a beautiful struggle it's different for all of us. So in terms of your journey. Where do you see your trajectory going from here? Like what's next in your goals?
Nour Khodr: I would say I. I've never released an album or an EP before. I've released multiple singles. I've had a probably been on a pretty good wave recently this year of releasing singles every month about just about. So my goal is [00:25:00] to put together an EP album, most likely an album. 'cause I have a lot of singles and I have some new stuff for February.
And then doing a more dominant tour in like March and May or maybe, maybe May and June. So I think more touring, releasing more music. I'm working on a couple startups myself, a couple apps. I have ideas that I have with a couple cool developers and designers. So that entrepreneurial side's still there.
I'm working on a late night show. The late night show I did in 2020 2024. I started January, 2024. I did eight shows that year. So it was, it was somewhere like month after month, some months off. But I'm planning one for the start of 2026. So I'm very excited about that because that allows me to like partner with brands, work with new comedians, new artists, and new people that just want to come to the community and just do something cool.
So. More late night shows, more business [00:26:00] and you know, more music. That's kind of where I'm headed and, and just kind of growing it. 'cause I'm, I'm in a stage right now where I've been blessed to see success in those, all those categories. And, you know, the second that I get lazy, I'm, it's gonna, it's gonna like, you know, I'm gonna move backwards, which is something I obviously don't want.
So and yeah, and my birthday was last month too, so I had a lot of cool, it was really cool to see kinda like the. The fans that I've met over my, 'cause that was my first time touring over the summer, like, to that extent. And to see all those fans wish me happy Birthday, make edits, TikTok, Instagram stories, dms it really, really felt special.
Like, like it, I got pretty emotional seeing it 'cause I was like, wow. Like I did something that I've been wanting to do my whole life. I did it in a way that's like, that's super sick. You know? It's like, so, and I wouldn't have accomplished that had I stayed in my comfort zone and listened to everybody around me, you know?
James Petrossi: Yeah. Yeah. I like what you said [00:27:00] about you get lazy and move backwards, and fortunately right now we're on day 15 of Leave the Feed, so a lot of people have been moving forward. They're halfway through and this is a time for them to reconnect with their talents to go after things they believe in, and also make sure they stay. Disconnected along this journey. Some people might not be taking this challenge and they just want to get healthier social media habits and get inspired by awesome creators and thought leaders. What is your advice for anyone looking to seek more peace with their relationship with social media or those that are taking this challenge?
Nour Khodr: I think the key word is moderation. I've always used it in everything relationship and, and with a person or with social media or with, with anything. I think everything can be good in moderation. I've personally, like I said, I have been on social media like very, like very in it for the past.
10 years and like I catch [00:28:00] myself like holding my phone and sometimes I'll be on my phone, I'll look at it, it'll be 10:00 AM the next second, it's 3:00 PM and I'm just like scrolling. And should I post this? Should I post that? Do I do this? Do I do that? And watching other people's feeds. And as, as cool as it can be that we have that opportunity, it is also extremely toxic because you're like, oh, like, you know, a lot of viewers will be like, oh, I want that life.
And they'll live vicariously through their phones and it, that prevents them from going out and creating their own life. You know, like it's kinda like when people just watch movies all the time. It's like you're watching stories over stories, over stories, over stories. When you could be making your own story, you know?
James Petrossi: I love that. Create your own story chart, your own path. You've been an awesome guest. Thanks Nour. I really, really appreciate all of your insights. And for those of you listening. Share, Leave the Feed with a friend, and don't be afraid to disconnect. Don't get lazy and fall backwards on your dreams.
Chart your own course. Thank you so much for joining us. Thanks again
Nour Khodr: Thank you, James. Thanks for having me.
[00:29:00]