Karaoke Forums

Well I got my first New Years gig and I am wondering what everyone does that is a little different then the norm. Just looking for some ideas not looking to steal someone else's set up. The place that I am hosting is doing a ton of give aways I do know that.
Just thought I would bring up the subject and see what every one does that night.

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DownHome Karaoke

Honestly, depends on the bar and what they have going on, but usually not too much different. The biggest thing is just make sure you keep a clock visible so you don't miss the big countdown. You should be leading that.

What I've done in the past is actually setup a countdown timer that I found on the web and had it displayed on the singers monitor (which also feeds at least one bar TV). This way everyone knows when it's getting close and you don't have to worry about people whose watches are running a little fast jumping the gun and starting the countdown without you (I've seen this happen).

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DJ Tony
Let It Rip Karaoke

Really advertise that you have karaoke that night. Many places around here decide to have a band for that night and that displaces a lot of people who want to ring in the New Year with their singing gang. Last year we had a few people from towns an hour away email our website looking for somewhere to sing but ours went band also. This year our venue is keeping the karaoke in hopes of getting all of the singers who will be displaced by bands at the surrounding bars.

New Years Eve Agenda / Showtime 8PM - 1AM (I apologize for the long post).
• Go to the venue early. My wife and I decorate the room. 2 balloons per table. We have an unlimited use of helium.
• Set-up 4 balloon bags (40 each) up in the ceiling for midnight drop.
• I don’t normally play DJ dance music at my show but New Years Eve is an exception. One hour of karaoke, half hour dance music.
• I encourage my “balladeer” singers to sing upbeat tempo songs if possible. If not, that’s ok too. We just want to keep the momentum going.
• As my token of appreciation to our regulars and customers alike I give away prizes, use the money from the tip jar (probably a month’s worth). Raffle a dinner gift certificate, 2 bottles of wine, iView Karaoke DVD/CDG Player, 27 karaoke cdg (500 songs) Buy it @ http://cgi.ebay.com/Big-Hits-Pack-500-S ... 5196924548
• 20 minutes to midnight, change two main TV channels to Dick Clark/Ryan Seacrest Rockin’ Eve to monitor the countdown. No more singing at this time. It will be all dance music.
• Music stops 30 seconds to midnight. Everybody do the countdown in unison. Assigned persons pull strings from balloon bags. Play Auld Lang Syne as the balloons are dropping (DK38-12 karaoke version preferred for that Big Band Era sound). Man, I'm getting excited already s
• Play “Celebration” by Kool & The Gang, followed by “Here 4 the Party” by Gretchen Wilson
• Karaoke start again at 12:20 AM ‘til closing.

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To be fortunate enough to derive an income from a source as fulfilling as karaoke music has got to be as close to heaven as we can get here on earth!

We run a finals for a 7 contestant karaoke finals for some cash (8th year for this), drink specials, usually some dinner special, this is the one and only exception I will play a short dj set approx 11:50PM and run it through 12:10AM as I call out the times to countdown, fade out all music 10 seconds to Midnight, do the yell, play Auld Lang Syne (although no one bothers nor even knows it), then back to karaoke the rest of the night. It's a 'lucky' if you get 1 song in to sing night - usually end up with 50+ singers.

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

We will again this year be providing a karaoke party for the families of children with cancer at Ronald McDonald House, affiliated with Childrens Hospital in Seattle. No one deserves it more. Nothing like a reality check.

Kudos to you Karen, for your compassion and concern for the families whose members are afflicted with, and suffering from this debilitating condition. More power to you.

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To be fortunate enough to derive an income from a source as fulfilling as karaoke music has got to be as close to heaven as we can get here on earth!

This is my schedule - The owner passes out glasses of champagne before count down. I do karaoke until about 30 seconds before count down. I lead the count down over the mic with help from a regular watching the tv. I sing Auld Lang Syne with anyone who wants to sing it with me. Then it's conga line time. I have a regular set up before hand to lead the dance and I sing "Hot Hot Hot". In the past after the count down there seemed to be something missing - kind of a, what do we do now feeling, so I started planning things to keep things up beat. After that I have a few more songs that promote dancing and goofing off. Then it's back to karaoke as usual, but I do steer the karaoke regulars to sing particular songs.

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