"I used to be afraid of looking at the audience"
About this Quote
The intent feels disarmingly practical. “Looking at the audience” isn’t about seeing faces; it’s about accepting judgment in real time. Goulet’s phrasing keeps it physical and specific, which is why it works. He doesn’t say he feared failure or rejection. He feared the act that makes performance reciprocal. Singing can be a shield; looking up makes it a conversation, and conversations can go badly.
The subtext is that show business sells fearlessness while manufacturing fear. In Goulet’s era, especially, male crooners were supposed to project effortless control: tuxedo confidence, romantic authority, the sense that you were the one being chosen. Admitting fear punctures that myth without collapsing it. It reframes confidence as a skill learned under pressure, not a personality trait handed down at birth.
There’s also a softer implication: audiences aren’t a blur, they’re people. To look at them is to acknowledge their power and your dependence. For a performer, that’s terrifying and, eventually, the whole point.
Quote Details
| Topic | Fear |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
| Cite |
Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Goulet, Robert. (2026, January 16). I used to be afraid of looking at the audience. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-used-to-be-afraid-of-looking-at-the-audience-115712/
Chicago Style
Goulet, Robert. "I used to be afraid of looking at the audience." FixQuotes. January 16, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-used-to-be-afraid-of-looking-at-the-audience-115712/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"I used to be afraid of looking at the audience." FixQuotes, 16 Jan. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/i-used-to-be-afraid-of-looking-at-the-audience-115712/. Accessed 18 Feb. 2026.

