Karaoke Forums

I was wondering how people felt about those of us who sing in a foreign language. I live in Arizona, and sometimes people sing in Spanish, always that same polka music, and, I'm not trying to offend anyone, but just would like to suggest to Mexico that they publish some new songs that sound DIFFERENT from all of the others.

My retaliation was to create some French pop/rock and rap CDG and perform it. It's great music, extremely popular, and I picked the most unique, bizarre and unusual songs (mostly Les Rita Mitsouko), and added some interesting slide shows. So far, locally, I have found that people love this music. Although most of it was made in the 80's and 90's, it is something new to most people in the United States.

How do you feel about music when you can't understand the lyrics? If you love the sound of the music, does it matter?

-denise

If it sounds good, go for it. We have a bit of Spanish done, even at our cowboy oriented Honky Tonk and at first everyone talked during it as they didn't understand it. Now they are more used to it and get into it a bit more. There are also many main stream songs that have a few lines of French in them--"Michelle," "Ma Belle Amie," etc. Shakira's "Waka Waka" has 4 languages in it. So people get used to it. If done in the spirit of "I just love this and want to do it," it can expand horizons and give people a different type of experience rather than be seen as boring or a threat.

My guess is that if it is lively and has a nice beat, you will have a winner.

Well, in case you're interested, I put an example in the Singer's Showcase, "Les Histoires d'A". There is some European music that I like now with both French and Spanish in it, like "La Vie C'est Une Job", and "Paris Latino". I hope to see more of it. It's not the Spanish that drives me nuts, just Mariachi/Polka music, but, to each his own. IMO, we have to sit through everyone else's performance whether we like it or not, so we all have the right to do our own thing.

-denise

It's all well and good that you like a specific type of music and you want to sing it but by using the word retaliation kind of makes it look like you're singing these songs to get even in some way instead of singing them because you love them.

I had a guy get on the mic one night and complain about the fact that someone was singing country music in the great state of New Jersey. The guy's next choice was the song "KISS MY COUNTRY (@$%&#!)" by Rhett Akins. I guess it was his way of "retaliating" but by the time the song was over, the first guy was waiting to shake his hand .....for his sense of humor I guess.

I know what you mean.. I lived out west for many years and couldn't help but laugh when a carload of mexicans would pull up beside me at a red light with their polka sounding music blaring.. always sounded like the same song, every time.

Much the same way all that 'cookie monster' heavy metal music sounds the same to me.. or the way that new 'rock and roll' music sounded to kids' parents back in the 50's and 60's.

Much the same way a network card looks just like an internal modem to a person with little to no familiarity with such things.

And that's the reason. Familiarity.

As to people singing songs in another language.. hey.. as long as they're singing something and having fun.. bring on the 'cookie monster rock' or the mexican polka.. or the whatever.

Occassionally been to a Mexican restaurant where it was maybe 50-50. That's ok once in awhile. But I don't know if I could do it evry week.

An Italian place as well. That night even some French songs by a French Canadian.

As long as you're out singing having fun, go with it. It doesn't really bother me. Heck some see the country musicI love as foreign . We go to English singing places usually. When the occassional foreign song is being done, it generally just turns into background music to me. Still clap and give em kudos for going up there though.

Yes, anyone who gets up to the mic and does a song, especially without having to get drunk to summon up the courage, deserves some respect, and I always applaud, even if they suck. If I really like them, I yell and scream.

I initially thought about doing the French music as a smarta$$ed response to the Mexican polka stuff, but I found that I really enjoyed doing it. The music is all fun for me now, and finding out that other people enjoy it just makes it that much better for me.

Since we have that new illegal immigrant law in AZ, someone heckled me with, "Hey, let me see your papers!", but I was prepared for that one. I held up a pack of orange Zig-Zags...here ya go, baby.

-denise

We have a 10 disc set of French discs plus we will play customers' discs in any language as long as the player can play it.

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You can be strange but not a stranger

I get about 1 spanish song request every 2 shows, but occasionally a bunch more. I also get a german or french song every 2nd month. I currently have about 300 spanish, 80 german and about 30 french songs in my book. This is going to be the target of expansion soon.

Where are you located? I am really happy to hear you say that. Maybe I can sell you a selection or two in the future.

-denise

My favorite local KJ is the same way, and I think he's awesome. I sneak a $20 into his tip jar every now and then, although he probably knows that I'm the one who is doing it. Some KJs are just there doing a job, and some care about their singers and want everyone to have a good time.

-denise

I am in Athens Georgia, It is a big university town, and most of the foreign language song requests are from students from other countries or language teachers.

I really would like to have a selection of Chinese/Japanese/Korean/Arabic karaoke because I know there is a demand, but I will need a lot of help to know what I am buying as I speak/read nothing from those languages. At least with European languages I know the alphabet. As for the foreign language songs, for now I am concentrating on the VERY popular songs (outside of Spanish), so a singer who is just happy to sing a song in those languages is happy enough to see SOMETHING, but not expecting the impossible obscure song in another language. Without cultural profficiency it is hard to get a good selection in another language, and just random buying of songs is going to most likely be a waste with regards to satisfying your target singers, unless you know what they want from the language.

Your best way of assuring you're not wasting money is to have them write down songs that they would want to sing and tell them if you can find them you'll gladly get them for them. I do that with any songs that my customers want. Usually I can remember them off the top of my head but for the really obscure ones I have to have them write it down so I can spell them correctly.

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The Line Array Experiment is over. Nothing to see here. Move along.

If I were working in Vancouver, Canada i would love to have a wider selection of foreign songs as the population is quite diverse and you get a LOT of tourists from different countries.


However, where I am is an entirely different animal. Several people from my church can speak spanish, and my neighbours are from Cuba.

Other than that, 90% of the people here are white redneck types much as I hate to foster a stereotype, in my case it happens to be true..

-James