Karaoke Forums

This is a continuation of my previous post about karaoke contests.. I ranout of space!


Another thing you need to take into consideration with song selection is "will someone else be doing this song" If there are 6 other girls singing "Broken Wing" in a country contest- you're just an IDIOT if you get up there and sing it as well. Unless you're the first one to do the song...you are screwed. That's why you need a back up song....and it shouldn't be another common one like "Before he cheats" because chances are- other singers will have done THAT one too! Every singer should have one song that they completely NAIL that isn't heard very often! here again- EGO may tell you..."oh you sing that song WAYYY better that the other girl" But to the judges- you're the "one hit wonder" who can't sing anything else that's making them hear that DAYUM song AGAIN! Carrie Underwood herself could come up there and sing- but if 6 other girls have sung the SAME song--the judges will still feel tortured! HAVE A BACKUP SONG OR TWO! Don't let your ego trick you into this mistake!


NEVER RESTART THE SONG! That contest I was telling you about in my previous post? The BEST singer in the whole bunch- got up and sat on a stool in front of the monitor. She got into the first verse then Stopped the song saying"I know this song but the words aren't coming up on the screen!" My question and I'm sure all the judges were thinking it too..."Well if you know the song- then why do you care?" Even though she had the best voice- after that i just had the feeling that she wasn't very well prepared( and the judges felt the same way because she came in 3rd even tho she was the best singer) NEVER stop a song once it gets past the intro! Just muddle through and make the best of it if that happens. You can avoid this by KNOWING YOUR SONG! It is RANK AMATEUR to start over and you will NEVER hear a professional singer do something like that. I know Karaoke isn't professional- but the whole point of a competition is to be as close to professional as you can- THAT's what wins!


It also brings me to the next point...you NEED TO BE PREPARED! This means knowing your words! I have had more than one international contest director flat out SAY in the introduction to the contestants..."if you don't know your words you are wasting OUR time! because you don't stand a chance in hell of winning this competition!" Judges tend to feel this way across the board- if you come off as "unprepared" they sigh and tap their fingers until the next "real competitor comes onto the stage" You lost them at the start if you don't know the song. Haven't you heard Simon on Idol say" forget the words and you WILL go home" When you get to the higher level of competition- you should be prepared!" So it can't hurt you at even a local level to know your song well enough that you don't need to look at the monitor! The best way to do this is to have your own copies of the songs you will be competing with. This not only allows you to get comfortable with the arrangement-it allows you to look for those edited versions of songs I was telling you about in the previous post. You can use a burned copy for practice- but for the actual contest- many require that you use a disc from an authorised karaoke dealer. If you attend an actual national or international contest- you will observe that 95% of the contestants "Bring their own disks" Give yourself this edge and make sure that you don't end up with a bad version of the song( ever get stuck with a backstage version of a song! ) they SUCK- ESPECIALLY the ones that have that little cheesy horn effect playing the freakin NOTE you're supposed to be singing! !Arrrggh - I HATE that! Having your own disks will make sure that you aren't thrown a loop from an arrangement you aren't familiar with! It also gives you the opportunity to sing the song with no monitor in front of you. I know that the monitor is a safety net for many of you...and that is exactly what it SHOULD BE...a "net" that catches you when you FALL...if you know your words you won't fall- but the net will be there is you have a brain fart and need to quickly figure out where you are. Just don't make it obvious with an "OMG deer in the headlight" look! I forgot the words to "lady Marmalade" once. I was off the stage in the crowd and couldn't remember what verse I was at...I pointed the mic at the crowd and said "C'mon you know THIS! Sing it with me. ! The crowd sang the next line and I came right back in like I meant to do that the whole time...I even got points for "audience response" So you should Know your words- but of you forget them- don't act like you messed up...act like you planned it that way! But...the only way you can do that - is knowing the words... you can cover a brainfart- but if you flat out don't know...you won't be able to hide the fact. Looking at the monitor also seperates you from the audience and judges. The WANT to be involved...don't use the monitor as a shield!


If possible take note of the size of the stage. Walk it out in your home and practise any choreography or staging you want to do BEFORE the actual night of the competition. You need to be repitious about it because chances are if you're under pressure you won't remember it unless it's become second nature. Plus- if you have to think about "staging" you aren't concentrating on your lyrics and singing. Rehease your song until you don't have to think about it. Don't let your EGO tell you you don't need rehearsing...trust me you do! Pro's rehearse for HOURS, DAYS and WEEKS before they do a performance...they are pros...you are most likely an amateur...what makes you think you can do something a pro can't without practice? EGO is YOUR ENEMY! There will be another contestant who does all these things...and they WILL BEAT YOU..even you have the better talent...they will have preparation on their side. Remember- there is more to winning a contest that SINGING. In the previous post I listed the judging critera...make sure you're prepared and that you will be getting points for ALL the categories you will be scored on...this means REHEARSAL! and lots of it....if you're really serious about winning. The fact that you're reading this tells me you want to be!


I'll have to think about the other things I have left out and I'll post more when I do-I know I want to write about the signs of an amateur versus a pro performance, and interaction with the other contestants.... but for today i have written about all I want too if any of you have questions I haven't addressed- I'll do my best to answer them...just ask in the comment section. I'm sure other singers will volunteer their expertise as well if I miss anything(I'm sure I will!)

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Two other things to consider. Record yourself singing. You may think you're good, but listening to yourself with a critical ear, will help you catch potential flub ups. E-nun-ci-ate your words. Listen to Dennis DeYoung in Styx and you'll see what I mean.

SP, or stage presence, is my major weak point. I am not confortable in my own body. Let's face it, I'm a 400lb white guy. But I learned back when I sang in a male barbershop chorus, to sing in front of a full-length mirror. Sing to yourself. Do you like what you see? If not, change it.

Not trying to step on toes, just adding some of my life experience to the mix.

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"Anything worth doing, is worth OVERDOING"... - Steven Tyler of Aerosmith

Both of these posts on KARAOKE CONTESTS were brought about by another post called "looking for opinions" There is a guy who's competing in a contest and he was looking for advice(I never realised there were so may people interested in this sort of thing) ...I was going to do another post with ways to prepare for a contest including the common pitfalls and ways to avoid them. I had told him to do both the recording and the mirror thing in the original post- but since you bring it up here...that's kewl too! I agree. I can't tell you how many times I've thought I was "killing it" on a song- but when I listened to the recording it was about half as good as I thought it was live. I also agree that a mirror is mandatory practice equipment-many moves that "feel" very weird "look" great on stage!



But I'd like to address what you said about not being comfortable with your body. Your weight has no effect on a crowds reaction. (it may affect your assessment of your performance if as you say"you arent happy in your own body" but not a crowds appreciation of you) I hope you bear that in mind when you sing. I think talent shines through everything! Looks dont matter-check out Susan Boyle on "britains got talent- she's not even remotely attrective! Weight doesn't matter- look at aretha franklin and luther vandross - both big as houses- who cares?(other than their doctors) Even "america's got talent" winner who was a singer last year "neil E Boyd" - he is every bit of 400 pounds if not more....I think people love to see good talent....and especially with singing because it's such a "audial" medium. I hope you don't allow poor body image to keep you from sharing your talent!

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Well, I'm working on the weight issue. Tired of all the drugs, no energy, etc. I was always a shy teen until I got out of college and was working neighborhood cleanup duty in Raleigh, NC after Hurricane Fran. While there, I met a guy from Vicksburg, MS (Mack Harris) and he invited me to a karaoke bar in Durham. That's when the bug hit me.

I dom't let my body issues get in the way of my singing. Usually people will snicker at me until I get up to sing. Then everybody wants to be my friend. God, I love karaoke!

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"Anything worth doing, is worth OVERDOING"... - Steven Tyler of Aerosmith

NO the karaoke host or sponsor is an idiot if they ALLOW the same song to be sung. IMO it's first come first serve in a contest, if the song is done or has been requested to sing for the contest, sorry - you pick another song! Don't rely on one song only as your savior! Have another as backup! I have never allowed duplicte songs in a contest - ESPECAILLY a finals contest!

Also don't necessarily think that a 'great' ballad like Unchained Melody is going to sweep it - NO MATTER HOW GOOD YOU ARE. This is an overdone song in any contest i've judged & typically doesn't get a great score from the contests i've judged in.



Couldn't agree more, even if you have to make it your own - do so! NEVER restart a song - it's death to a score - unless it's an OBVIOUS FUBAR on the kj's behalf!!



I have to agree & disagree on this. Some contests do NOT allow you to bring in your own version & you must rely on the version the karaoke company supplies - I have have hosted several of thee over the years that the finals would NOT allow brought cdg's of any kind, so go in & practice their version (or the version of the company hosting the finals if there is one)& get to know it.
ALSO don't expect just because you are a regular of the club that you are the best singer in the contest! You may be the best singer of the regular karaoke nights, but not necessarily the best singer overall! Some contests look for other things like how you dress, the way you portray yourself on stage & interact with the audience. The 'best' singer may not always be what the contest is actually looking for - be aware of that! I have run contests for years - since 92! Sometimes we wedre looking strictly for the best sounding singer & nothing more! There were a couple of contests we were looking for the WHOLE package, dress, stage, look, sound! We were involved with a statewide contest a few years back called the Evergreen Idol in which the winner of all the bars competeing won $1000 & be the opening act for Diamond Rio. Our finalist from our club won because we were strict on the judging & didn't necessarily pick our best in house singer! Our judges had aboslutely nothing to do with the club & consisted of local musicians, local radio personalities, local vocal instructors, & local karaoke singers NOT regulars of the club (these were actually alternate judges & didn't necessarily count towards the final score unless there was a tie).

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LIKE Lonman on Facebook - Lonman Productions Karaoke & my main site via my profile!

Lonman-your comment regarding the fact that there are many things besides just singing ability that are used to judge contests was covered in my other "karaoke Contests" post. And I know that you are a KJ/singer/judge that "knows his stuff" But I'll stand behind my comment that you need to have your own disks. I completely respect your opinion and you are way more into "karaoke" as a whole than I am. But I honestly believe from my experience that "MOST" karaoke competitions have no problem with a contestant bringing their own disk to a show as long as it is a valid karaoke CD and not ripped/burned or illegally made. I have competed in almost every single national or international competition I have ever heard about and not a single one made us use "their" disks. BTW- I considered competing in your evergreen contest- - it was only worth a 1000 though and the travel involved for me wasn't worth it! But HOW funny that you were a judge! I would have loved to meet you! Sorry I digress...In The contests I've competed in They DID make us use disks from "authorized karaoke dealers" i.e. no burned disks- and some even had time limits(One of them had a 3:45 sec limit so I had to skip the 45 sec intro on one of my songs to make it fit but that was Ok because they allowed us to specify where we wanted to song qued up to start- and I just said at the 45 sec mark. The only time I've ever seen a contest say you had to use their disks was a local one and the KJ had everything loaded into a computer so there was literally nothing to play the disks on if you brought them. BUT...even if you ARE in a contest that requires you to use their disks- I still say you need to have a copy of "whatever arrangement" you will be competing with- singing the song sporadically at a show isn't enough preparation IMHO. Most KJ's will be delighted to give contestants with that kind of initiative to ask "copies" of their version...or at the very minimum- they will tell you what manufacturers version they HAVE and you can still get your own copy. This is also a way for a contestant to find out if the key on the song is the best one for them...what could be worse that getting into a contest and finding out the key is either too high or too low? Or- what if the song you want to do is a terrible arrangement? Personally I'd switch songs rather than sing to a bad version of a song I love. But you have to be familiar with the arrangement you will "be using- wether it be theirs or yours to know these things. I know many people may disagree with me- but I would also venture a guess that if they share the opinion that they don't need to have their own disks and/or practise ...they aren't winning too many national karaoke competitions I said it to "king turi" in the post "looking for opinions" in a large competition where there is a hefty prize up for grabs...the other contestants are going to come loaded for bear...unless you have your own gun, loaded, polished and you have practised your "shooting" so that you can be a "hunter" YOU WILL BE THE BEAR! The only way you can be fully prepared for a serious contest it to practise...and that means in most cases- more than what you can get in at a karaoke show(or even a few shows). All the things you brought up like stage presence, drress, look.... all these things need to be thought out beforehand. Which again means you need to be prepared....I'm a professional singer and yes I have gotten up and sung a song that I am familiar with but have never sung before. Sometimes it's a beautiful creative masterpiece of me and the other musicians as we "read each other" and make the song our own....sometimes one of us takes too much liberty and it ends up a train wreck-LMAO! BUT...the only time we've risked something like that is at a jam session...where is doesn't matter and the screw ups are part of the fun...When I've had to sing with a symphony orchestra..there is always a rehearsal...I always have a recorded version of the song to work with at home and you can be darn sure that I am confident there won't be any screw ups with I walk out there in front of 10,000 people and 72 musicians! I guess what I am saying is that it's fine to play around with different versions of songs...to try new things, etc at your regular karaoke show,,,even a smaller contest. But if you get to a national or international level...chances are you're not competing against singers who have an amateur attitude towards their performance...you will be competing against singers who have all the things you mentioned...voice, looks, dress, performance etc "together" and the person that WINS will almost always be one who practiced... and ya gotta have your own disk to do that. I don't mean to disrespect anything you have said Lon...I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree on that subject.

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BTW Marc- glad to hear that those people who "snickered" are made to see the error of their ways once your talent becomes obvious. Doncha LOVE IT when someone has to "eat their shoe" so to speak when their first impression turns out to be so ill-grounded? I do! It's happened to me so many times now that I have learned to censor my first impressions until after I actually know something about a person...the way they look is such a small representation of who most people are. I got tired of feeling like a sh!t for pre-judging a person based on that...then they turn out to be like the best person ever! Guess there ARE some advantages to getting old!( wink) Ya learn SO much along the way!

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One, Those are some GREAT thoughts for entering a talent competition! The only problem si that connecting such competitions is usually a death knell to a regular venue show- Hence the phrase below my signature line.

However, your posts are very helpful to those entering sposored competitions that are run for their own purposes. Thank you!

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"No Contests, No Divas, Just A Good Time!"

" Disc based and loving it..."

... love that signature line! And you're right- these posts are strictly for people holding or entering competition...a regular show is all about having a good time...there shouldn't be any rules for that! Well other than DRINK UP and don't kill each other...oh and "wait your turn"

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I'm sure most do not have any problems with it, but I have seen & even hosted a couple that were strictly what was in the book. It was a contest sponsored by Sound Choice & they supplied a small disc pack consisting of like 120 songs total & this was the ONLY selection the contestants were to use. I have also seen some small local contests that did not allow customer discs because the organizer believed this was an unfair advantage to those who did not own their own discs (yeah I don't necessarily agree with this one either). And then like you said some run strictly computer now & have no way to play customer discs (but this is another debate I do not agree with either - bring in a damn player!). All I was getting at is there are contests that may not allow customer discs, although probably not the norm for most.

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BTW- I considered competing in your evergreen contest- - it was only worth a 1000 though and the travel involved for me wasn't worth it! But HOW funny that you were a judge! I would have loved to meet you!

I wasn't a judge, I hosted our bars qualifying rounds. There were something like 225 bars involved with this particular round. I never judge at my own contests - unless there is a problem with judges or something that would need me to act as judge as well. The next year they did a $2000 and be the opening act for Peter Frampton, but it was a rock idol & this one didn't get a whole lot of interest oddly enough. Too bad you couldn't have made it up! Maybe another time although our club don't get involved with many contests lately.

I won't give copies of any song to anyone. But will direct them where they might be able to buy it themself.

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LIKE Lonman on Facebook - Lonman Productions Karaoke & my main site via my profile!

oneofakind,

Yeah, I love it! One of the coolest things I ever did was go with my wife and her friend to a "bar" that did karaoke in Ingleside, VA. I could tell before I walked in the door there might be trouble. Hogs/Harleys and 4x4 pickups were scattered through the parking lot.

Lo and behold, we found the only dive bar in town. I've never seen so many people giving me the evil eye... And big old me walking in the room with two women. I scanned the room, got a book from the KJ and sang the live Bob Seger version of "Turn the Page". When I got done, you'da thought they were my brothers clapping and patting me on the back. Needless to say I was shocked. Me. A college graduate and engineer hanging out with bikers from a town I didn't know.

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"Anything worth doing, is worth OVERDOING"... - Steven Tyler of Aerosmith

yeah but remember Marc...those bikers(nice as they may be) shouldn't have been looking at you with anything other than camraderie- I've seen a woman or 3 stickin behind them on the road like flies-LMAO! When I was Miss Myrtle Beach(back in the stone age ) I got to ride with one of the harley owners in the biker week parade(they taught me how to ride a harley in the A&P Parking lot! Through the course of that I met tons of the harley riders......they knew how to "look rough" but most of THEM were college grads with darn good jobs(how else can you afford those expensive bikes?) They were also some very NICE people..I'm not at all surprised you fit right in with them!

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I agree. Most of the bikers here are military and drive like their you-know-what is on fire. So what's your connection with Myrtle Beach (besides the crown)? What year was that?

Growing up in Wilmington, we hung out at Wrightsville and Carolina Beaches. Ages ago I had a 4x4 to drive on the beach south of Fort Fisher.

Sorry about getting off topic, and thanks for the conversation.

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"Anything worth doing, is worth OVERDOING"... - Steven Tyler of Aerosmith

That is so true what you were saying about being prepared for a song, that makes the whole difference I find. Before I enter contests, or even, before I go out with friends at a karaoke bar, I practice 5 to 8 songs on karaoke websites, llike The karaoke channel ( online.thekaraokechannel.com) . This gives me confidence when I am about to hit the stage !

"Also don't necessarily think that a 'great' ballad like Unchained Melody is going to sweep it - NO MATTER HOW GOOD YOU ARE. This is an overdone song in any contest i've judged & typically doesn't get a great score from the contests i've judged in. "


sigh..I wish I had joined this forum before I competed in the New Mexico State Karaoke contest last month. My finals song was "Unchained Melody". Never realized that it prolly had a history of being often sung and not scored high in many cases.

Cave Dave

This is where you have a golden opportunity to REALLY impress the judges...if you're gonna do an overdone song- you can make it your own...change it all around- hit higher notes than the original has...do a completely different feel on the song(like sing a country song with an R&B feel- or an R&B song with a country take)...anyway that you can make YOUR version stand out from ALL the gazillion other people who have sung the song will do the trick. I have 3 songs that illustrate what I'm talking about over in the showcase..I did Desperado with an R&B twist, I did Moondance and completely changed the melody around...and I did a Barry White tune as a female..all of these usually get me good scores from the judges(or any audience) Especially the Barry White tune because it's danceable...but also Desperado -look at the comments THAT one got...I was shocked! ) Anytime you make people stop and go "wow I've never heard this song like that!" as long as it's as well done as the original will give you an edge over people who are just copying the original. granted it takes a TON of practice because you have to really think about what you;re doing..and you have to perform it over and over...usually record it too...to make sure what you have in mind WORKS. I tried to do two other Barry White tunes before i found one that suited my voice and thats the one I subbed("can't get enough of your love") The breaks between chest and head were all wrong for my voice on "my first my last my everything" and "never gonna give you up" ...you just have to keep at it until you find a way to make a song work once you find one that feels right. Yes unchained melody is overdone...but I saw one guy do it about 15 years ago...he kicked the Righteous brothers out of the water...his range was just "SICK" I was judging the contest and I admit when then song started i groaned...but when he started singing..he'd lowered the song and it gave his voice an intimacy that made all of the panel sit up....then when he got to the high parts...he was riffing all other the place and going even higher than the original...now THAT was something worth hearing...the fact that it;s so overdone HELPED this guy because I've never heard anyone else do it like him...so yeah..if you have the creativity and chops..you can sing overdone songs and it can help you...but you have to not let your ego get in the way by telling you you're as good or better than the original if you;re not. That's a hard distinction for many "good" singers...they can get a little carried away with the praise they get from karaoke shows...they need to keep in mind that praise received at a karaoke show is coming from people who are comparing them to the other singers at the show that night.and chances are they aren't being compared to pros..but when you get to a competiton stage- you're saying.." I am good enough to COMPETE" and you will be judged with a much harsher scale...songs that karaoke people tell you "Oh THAT WAS FABUOUS" at a normal show... may only be "well he hit the notes- but just wasn't very entertaining" when scored by judges in a competition. It's almost like there is a "real world" and a rosy "karaoke world" between a normal show and a serious national or international competition... that's why you get so many people with sour grapes after contests. They let the effusive praise they get at a normal show go to their heads to make them think they are better then they really are...and they get their fannys whipped when they get into a situation where they're actually competing against other people who can seriously sing AND perform. That's why it is so important to KNOW YOUR WORDS... when you are competing..you'll be up against other contestants who probably CAN sing pretty well...You would be smart to be comfortable enough with the song that you don't have to think about lyrics and can focus on performance.


On that same point...there are tons of songs that are considered "overdone"...most of these ARE overdone because they have a reputation of being "hard to sing" so everyone figures they will showcase their chops...it would be prudent for those people to stop and think that there is a REASON these songs are overdone...and mainly...that is because they REALLY AREN'T THAT HARD! If they were THAT hard...no one COULD do them for them to BE "overdone"I'v never been able to figure out why everyone thinks that "The prayer", "the star spangled banner", "unchained melody", "broken wing", "before he cheats" " I will always love you" yada yada yada are so hard...they really arent or there wouldn't BE so many people SINGING them. I've had students say " oh but I sing it so much better than all the other people TRYING to sing it" I laugh at them...because in a competitive situation-ESPECIALLY at a national or international level, you aren't being compared to the OTHER people singing it... you are being compared to the original. If you're not as good or better than that- what have you really proved by singing a song better than 10,000 people who pretty much suck?


So there are my 2cents on overdone songs...if you truly CAN sing...and you can bring comething fresh to the song...GO FOR IT! Think Adam Lambert on American Idol this year...that guy made me LIKE songs I "DESPISE"!! "can't get no satisfaction", "Black or white". "RING OF FIRE" can I say that again...RING OF FREAKIN FIRE!!!!!...Tracks of my tears... and OMG...that gawdafful techno wannabe BORING ..."Mad world" He made me love it! THAT's what I'm talking about...yes you're limited by the karaoke track because you don't have an orchestra behind you to completely change the instrumental..but if you listen to Adams VOICE- the music behind him wasn't the only thing that changed..vocally- he bore NO resemblance to the originals. Ironically the only time I didn't like him was when he covered "whole lotta love" in the semi finals. he just sang it like the original and i had come to expect more than that from him by then ....So when you're selecting a competition song...consider what you can do to make a song you love "all your own" and if you can do this asa well as perform the song well- it seriously doesn't matter doesn't matter what you're singing.

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"Karaoke Survival Guide: 5 Essential Tips" is a pretty good tool to use before going on any competition. I recommend any of you singing souls to try it !
http://lounge.thekaraokechannel.com/kar ... val-guide/

...nice to see what I'm saying being backed up by an actual karaoke channel!

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I so agree! Being prepared is key! IF you are more prepared, you will be more confident, and good things happen!

I actually practice in my basement with our remote control as a microphone! It works!

I always bring my own discs because whats the point of practicing to get to a competition using someone elses music? It could be different, and you aren't used to singing with that track! Plus I like using music with NO background vocals of any kind. I'm pretty sure all karaoke music at those competitions have them (unless the song itself doesn't have any in it), so I always bring my own!

So many good points here!!

Thanks Dannielle!


yeah I'm with you on the remote thing! I've used spoons, brushes, Twizzlers, the attachment from the vacume cleaner, the cordless phone, candles, even the net for the fish tank as a "mic" fill in...and I have 5 different real mics I could use....



can you say LAZY?????

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