Karaoke Forums

I think it depends on the caliber of singers you expect. I would judge on the following:

1. Song choice - if this is a 40-year-old song that you've heard this singer 50 times before, knock them down for not choosing something more challenging. Nobody wants to hear "Fancy" again... Yah, I'm tough. If you have to cut down the list of qualifiers quickly, slam 'em for not being creative with song choices, or reward them if they do. So, song choice can be broken down into three areas - one, did you choose a song that has not been overdone or one that is new and fresh? Two, did you choose a song that is appropriate for your voice/style? Third is familiarity with the song. Do they really KNOW the song? Song choice category could be broken down into 3 categories, each out of a possible 10 points. (So this category alone, a person could pick up 30 points.)

To really toughen it up, each singer should provide you with THREE different songs that they would sing - you choose the one you want to hear them sing. That way they have to be prepared to do more than one song - eliminates those people who drag out the same 40-year-old song for every contest they do.

2. Stage presence (really, more like a confidence issue). High marks for someone that moves around, makes the stage their own. If there are lights, do they use the lights or do they step outside the glare of the lights so they are in the dark? Do they have to stand in one place and stare at the monitor? Do they engage the audience? Do they appear to be comfortable? You could combine all these criteria and mark this category out of a possible 20, breaking it down as above. (movement on stage, frozen on monitor, engage the audience, and comfort level)

3. Personal appearance. This is a show, people. A SHOW! Personal hygiene including clean costume/clothing, footwear, hair, etc. Potential 10 points.

4. Technical skill. Here is where you separate the wheat from the chaff if you have an experienced musician/vocal teacher on your judging team. Look at the technical aspects of the piece. Are they breathing in the appropriate spots? Are they phrasing the lyrics correctly? Are they killing you with vibrato? Is this a song written in a key that is within your vocal range? Are you having to push too hard to hit the notes? Are you maintaining pitch? If you don't have an experienced vocal instructor on your judging team, take time to discuss these issues beforehand, have them watch/listen to great performers and try and learn something about this. Potential 20 points here.

Those are a few of the criteria I have used in the past. If you create your judging sheet right, you can start filling in categories as soon as the singer approaches the stage and literally have the sheet filled out by the time the singer finishes; have someone in charge of collecting the sheets and adding up the points (with a calculator) so you know very quickly the scores. Not to say you have to let people know immediately but it saves a lot of embarrassment and rushing and silly mistakes if you have someone who does nothing but add up scoring sheets and then hands them to you with a final score at the bottom. Singers want to know very soon how they've done. If you are having people sing off against each other and are eliminating as the weeks pass, hang on to the sheets. If for some reason you get a tie at the end in the finals, go back and use the tallies off the pre-finals sheets as the tie breaker.

Just my 2 cents after having run more than my share of contests....