Monday, April 13, 2015

K is for Karaoke

R.a.n.t. of day 04/13/15
Karaoke is one of those things you absolutely love or ultimately hate. For awhile I was in the ultimate hate group. Mostly because I'm a bad singer and have enough problem with my self-image. Singing a horrible song in front of others would only exacerbate my predicament. I remember one night two of my siblings wanted to go out for the night and I decided to go along. They both sang karaoke but I refused. Flash forward a few years and now I have my own karaoke machine set up in my home bar. Not that I feel I sing any better, or have a better self-image, it's because I've come to a few revelations.

First, no one singing karaoke is a professional. If you are a professional singer singing in the bar, you are probably getting paid. (Well, not my bar unless you want to be paid in pretzels and beer). I've mellowed out over the years so I can see it for what it is, a bit of fun. That's my second revelation, it's fun. Though I still hate singing horribly in front of people, I do love to sing. I'm the guy you pull up next to at a red light, singing away to the tunes on the radio. And I won't care if you stare either, I won't stop. Take a photo next time, it'll last longer.

My sisters all love karaoke, so I decided it was time to put one in the bar, as I mentioned. I have many fond memories from my karaoke parties. I've had good singers and bad singers (count me in with the bad), I've had people sing who never sang karaoke before and friends who speak little English. The one time I did have a friend who absolutely refused to sing, I still gave him something to do. It was during my 'random karaoke' game. In this game, I give everyone a ticket with numbers printed on. It's double sided, so they each got half and the other half was tossed into a hat. The friend who refused to sing would draw random numbers out of the hat, he seemed to enjoy that. Everyone else had fun singing the random songs they were assigned.

How to play 'Random Karaoke'. A random karaoke CD is placed in the player. At the start of a new song, a ticket is drawn. Whoever has the corresponding number MUST sing that song. The one time my friend, (the one who didn't want to sing but was persuaded, either by his girlfriend or the beer), was selected for 'Sweet Home Alabama' and didn't have to worry about singing horribly because everyone sang along. There are just some songs, everyone will sing too. Another guy friend's random song was Miley's 'Wrecking Ball'. Craziness, craziness. Well, as I said, fond memories.

Question for discussion:
Have you ever done karaoke?
What songs do you like to sing?
What are your favourite party games?
Can you name the Karaoke song at the top of the page?

20 comments:

  1. I'm a terrible singer so I don;t bother. maybe I should take singing lessons.

    Stephen Tremp
    an A-Z Cohost
    @StephenTremp on Twitter

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  2. I've never done karaoke and I never will because one, I am terrible shy and two, I can't sing. If someone tried to force me, I'd punch 'em! LOL!

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    1. So can I mark you down in the ultimately hate column?

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  3. The nerves go when you get up there and let it all hang out. Its always a boost with the audience sings along, so groovy when the crowd digs your music.

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    1. Groovy and relieves some tension. Plus when they sing, they don't hear you as much. Always a plus for me.

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  4. We had some of the Playstation II Karaoke games. I don't have a great voice, but I do enjoy singing and know how to hit notes. I can get a perfect score on many songs, including Aha's Take On Me.

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    1. Wow, 'Take On Me'? I'm impressed. I think my love started by playing Rockband.

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  5. This made me think of the scene in "My Best Friend's Wedding" when Cameron Diaz gets up and sings, pushed to do so by Julia Roberts (who finds out CD can't sing and sets her up), even though she doesn't want to, and she sang so badly, that everyone clapped and cheered her on. Great post! Lisa, co-host AtoZ 2015, @ http://www.lisabuiecollard.com

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    1. There was a reality show many years ago that would drop the good singers and leave the poor singers. Many people got upset with the premise of the show because they were making fun of the people singing who, for whatever reason, had no idea they were awful singers and being made fun of.

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  6. The one time I did I sang I'm a loser by radio head and had a great time!!

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    1. My favourite Radiohead song is Creep. I sing that one all the time.
      Glad you had fun with the Karaoke.

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  7. I wish I went to one of your parties! How fun to just belt it out with friends.

    You can find me here:
    ClarabelleRant

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    1. There is a sort of pressure lowered when you are singing to just your friends. But at least one of my friends exclaims it's more fun with a live crowd. But then again, she's a pretty good singer and not very self conscious.

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  8. I refused to sing karaoke for a LOOOOOONG time. My Mom loves it and likes to have girls nights where everyone joins in. I just recently within the last few years decided I wanted to have fun too, so I force myself to get up and sing now. (I usually make my daughter sing with me, she sings beautifully). But while I'm up there singing, I am always thinking how I would rather jump into a dumpster full of double edged razor blades..... yes, it's that bad....I'm VERY self conscious. But I'm glad I've forced myself to do it - it makes my Mom happy anyway! AND we should all do something that scares us once and a while, right??!! (kg)

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    1. One of these days you should try singing with just your friends in a home bar. ;)

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  9. Well, you guys are friends & family too, and that sounds great! Count me in!

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  10. Hello there.
    If there's a song playing on the radio that I know and like, I'll sing or hum along, but never done karaoke.

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    1. Karaoke can be fun, I just need to make sure I'm selecting a song without bad lyrics. Sometimes you don't realize till you actually start singing.

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