Karaoke Forums

No, C. Staley, not exactly.

You use the word diva as a put-down and it seems to me, from your posts, that you hold karaoke singers and your audience in contempt.

I refer to past posts where you refer to the audience/singers as sheep and organ grinders' monkeys etc.

When I said big effin deal, I was referring to KJ/Hosts, like yourself, who sit in judgement of people who are enjoying "pretending" to be a rock star or "Diva".

I've been doing this a long time now, and I've never seen the part where the KJ is endowed with special powers of judgement to debase and ridicule the real people who enjoy this pastime. I see that as arrogance.

Frankly, it's nothing to me if a participant wants to pump up their ego or the song or the energy. I say, more power to ya! The audience will have the final say if your performance was acceptable or better yet: Amazing!

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Never the same show twice!

Wrong.
I use the word "diva" for those singers that not only sing well, but have no humility.... because they like to rub it in the noses of the other "average" singers that are there. They are the ones that truly believe that they deserve some sort of preferential treatment because they have graced you with their arrival.

I'm amazed that some of these divas manage to get in the club with such a self-serving inflated head.

I applaud all the singers that are actually doing their best to sing whether or not they have been born with a singing talent.

I do not appreciate the egotistical and narcissistic divas.... no matter how well they can sing.

the show may begin, i have arrived to wow you with my vocal prowess, and baby making dance moves. i will expect total silence until i have finished my improved rendition of you favorite songs at which point you shall lavish me with the praise and adoration i deserve. of course i shall be generous and give you 3 or 4 painfully inadequate howlers before coming back to the stage for your enjoyment as often as i feel you deserve. make sure my glass is kept full of room temperature water for my golden chords, and lean how to use that mixer, more bass and reverb, the musics too loud, you cant hear the subtle nuances of my angelic voice you cretin!!!

diva.

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Paradigm Karaoke, The New Standard.......Shift Happens

At what point am I going to meet these "Diva" monsters you all are referring to?

Honestly, I've never met one.

I've never encountered anyone that actually stood on the stage and behaved in the manner you're describing.

I have had people go over the top with antics and attitude while performing but never to the point where it would be taken seriously or offensively. Goofing off and being campy or sarcastic or melodramatic or saying "check this out" (like I did when I won my first karaoke contest) is all part of the fun. (the exception of course is equipment abuse or personal attacks via the mic).

Again, I am questioning the judgmental nature of accusing someone of being a narcissist or lacking in humility or of rubbing it in the noses of "average" singers. That is where I say, hold up a second, this isn't that serious. Everyone "here" knows that - and if you were "all that" you'd be a "pro".

I don't know what the atmosphere at your shows feels like, but at mine everyone is treated with encouragement and enthusiasm. If you want to embellish or enhance your experience by acting like a star or a diva, have at it, make it your own. There are no consequences or side-effects (except that you may feel free to enjoy yourself). If you're going to act like an a$$, that's on you and you'd best expect to be treated like one.

One of my favorite lines is "There is no sorry in karaoke, just like there ain't no cryin' in baseball".

I suppose, after consideration, that one of the ways your perspective(s) may differ from mine is that those of you who live and work in the same cities/towns that you Host/Kj are probably much more familiar with your audience/participants who are residents of the area. You get to know these people because they are all a part of your community and relatively stable as a group. What I mean is, that you actually have a more familiar personal dynamic with your a/p than someone like me who has a substantially larger proportion of transient a/p because of the resort town situation. The concept is the same as the moral of the fable "The Lion and the Mouse".

I don't see the need to ascribe motives to the a/p's behavior, specifically to produce a negative result or attitude. Maybe that's why I've yet to encounter the sort of "diva' you're referring to.

and... Paradigm... never, not once, ever, has anyone ever requested silence while they sing, but I see the picture you're painting.

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Never the same show twice!

Well, the way I see it, is that "it's only karaoke", so when it's my turn to sing, I like to bring my drink up to the mic with me, so I can yell at the top of my lungs "SOCIABLE", and swing my drink in the air. Then I love to make sure the whole audience is having as much fun as I am, by asking "is everybody having a good time?", "I can't hear you, IS EVERYBODY HAVING A GOOD TIME?" Then, I make sure the karaoke host has the right song cued up. Of course it's one of my favorites, "piece of sh** car", or "closer", or whatever other song I can find that has as many obscenities as I can find. I know how much the audience will cheer every time I scream " SHE F**KIN' HATES ME". Then during the instrumental break, "SOCIABLE", then I like to finish the song by telling everybody to have a "great F**KIN' time. "Yeah, that's the ticket", that's MY idea of a good time at karaoke. I can't understand why anybody would actually want to try to seriously sing a song at "karaoke".

Yours truly, Rosario
Serenity Now Karaoke

Most of the time I go up, drink in hand, and have fun, not worrying about pitch or hitting every word. Still, the bar I frequent has enough regulars who just sort of speak the words of whatever song is on that sometimes the musician in me takes over and I sing one I know just so I can hear what I'm expecting. As far as practicing goes, the most I think I've ever done is singing along with the radio in the car to see if a song is in my range. At the end of the day though, the important thing for me about going to karaoke is whooping and applauding for every single person who goes up there, because speaking as in introvert, it takes guts. And the point of it all is to have fun, so who really cares?