Karaoke Forums

Here's an idea (thanks seattledrizzle):

I'm sure, you have one or two friends as regulars there. Why don't you talk to them about the situation and ask them to do you a favor and do exactly, what seattledrizzle's experience is about? Walk up to him after a song (maybe different songs if more than one) and tell him, how much they enjoyed his singing.

I'm sure, I could talk one of my regulars into it.

Just a thought...

On the same page....have your core group of singers start the clapping after every song as a favor to you.    It only takes one or two to get it going.

I am usually too busy getting ready to start the next singer and announce who just sang and turning off their microphone and fading out the music to be clapping.   If it's totally silent i'll slow my process a little to start clapping in the hopes of getting others to join in.

My vote is: it really is a jealousy thing.. and if you find any answers around it, I'd love to hear them.

the past few times I've gone out to karaoke.. have kind of made me decide to stick to online singing...  

I've no qualms about myself, I know I'm average.. I just like to have fun AND I like everyone else having fun singing, regardless of whether they are good or bad or in between, and I clap and applaud for everyone, etc. But Singing online has given me a confidence that I end up taking with me to karaoke tho, so I'm a bit braver than I used to be when it comes to stage presence and cutting loose and having fun up there.  

A few months ago, I was out at karaoke & no one was singing at all, and the KJ and I are friends so he kept bringin me up to sing, knowing he can get by with just throwing a song up and handing me a mic and I'll try anything..  so between him, me, and his gf, we kept the party rolling for awhile.. trying to get others up there to sing, but no one would have any part of it. and there was also very little applause, even tho it was obvious that I wasn't the one tossing songs for myself up there because the KJ made it well known..

One of the women I was seated with turns to me and says, "you know, you really shouldn't sing until everyone else is ready to go home because you are intimidating the hell out of people so no one will get up there"...  ok.. well.. 30 min later I had to leave... The KJ tried to talk me into staying but I couldn't.  The next day a friend of mine tells me that the minute I left, almost everyone got up and sang a song and the party took on a way different atmosphere.

Stupid imho, but I guess, if my singing causes people to roll their eyes and stop having fun, then it's less fun for me too. at least online I don't have to see everyone's faces and hear deafening silence where some clapping or laughing should be ..

good luck solving this one

hi, i say it's jealousy also,  how people can lay that at the K J's feet i'll never know...
foxe i was 1 of those people waiting for u to leave so i could get up....ur just too good.......i guess that's why when i sing a song it looks like confetti up there there's so many slips being turned in to sing...l...everyone wants to sing after me...not a good sign....let the guy get up screw up a few songs then he might fit in....l...lord knows i never had trouble fitting in...jmo ...oh and foxe could u leave a tad earlier next time please?

It is, as far as I can determine, a matter of jealousy....and intimidation. I have had people say the same to me, though I REALLY work at dissuading people from saying that. I went to a local place not too long ago - there was a group of women sitting at a fairly large table in the middle of the room. When someone from their table got up to sing, everybody at their table clapped like mad. They were all paying attention to the singer. However, as soon as someone that wasn't in their clique got up to sing, they turned their back on the stage, talked loudly, laughed, and basically ignored the singer.  As luck would have it, they turned up at another place I went to not too long ago -  SAME THING!  No clapping from them.

I believe the host does have a role here in urging people to clap - I don't like that phrase 'GIVE IT UP FOR .... '  Sounds like you're BEGGING the people to clap.  But I will attempt to chide people into clapping if they don't figure out to do it on their own.

I have been involved in karaoke so long that even if I'm deep in conversation with someone and the song ends, I begin clapping. Kind of funny if you're at a friend's house and they're doing karaoke in the living room and you're in another room and YOU STILL begin clapping when the song ends.

Jealousy I would think might depend on bar size, and how much of the venue is there for Karaoke, bar layout etc.  Some of us clap for talent because we respect that.. So in most places you'd hear at least a few clapping for somebody who's talented. Assuming the crowd is young, and this is an urban area, and this guy is singing "Home on the range" that might account for this, but I can't understand why NO applause unless he's somehow alienating folks or many aren't listeining to the Karaoke singers.


Of course I can envision myself getting up in front of a crowd, singing, and at the end all I can hear are crickets chirping (of course the bar doors will be wide open, the venue will be empty, and everyone will be outside smoking, or asking "Is that guy done yet ? I'd like to return"

Why would NOBODY clap assuming the guy is friendly, and has a FEW friends ? Clapping is usually a little contagious, and if the bartenders and barbacks clapped, I would think some at the bar would start the ball rolling, I don't understand the layout of this bar though, He tips well, isa decent patron why aren't the venue employees supporting him? Unless you work in a place that is just extremely cliquish, and this guy needs to mingle somewhat so he can establish "Coolness factor"



While he can appear friendly to you, I have also known many like this that are quite arrogant and exude this in specific ways.  He could be spending a fortune, clapping for others (but insincere), have you spoken with him ?  Not so sure it's jealousy, as opposed to something else he's doing isolating himself from the crowd..Look at it this way.. He's attended the bar MORE than a few times right ?  Why doesn't he have friends there ?  Friends clap for friends ?  A person can go to a bar as a regular, and still stand out like a sore thumb..

Does he look exactly like any of the following well loved people in history ?  Jeff Dahmer, Adolf Hitler, Charles Manson, etc ?  Why doesn't this guy have friends there yet, Is he a loner, Does he hit on guys GF's ?  (or girls BF's for that matter)
Sounds as though there is something about his behaviour that isolates him from others there.  Is this a biker joint, and the guy wears a powder blue leisure suit with white buttons ?

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Northeast United States runner up for the "Singing Hall of Shame".

sure np I'll wait to arrive until 1:30pm (closing call) and then I can be known as the DIVA of the joint 'eh ? .

ya goof

And thank God for that "Mercy Applause." If not for that, I may never have gotten into Karaoke (going strong 12 (or is it 13?) years now). The first time I ever got up, I sucked! I had no business singing the song I tried, and I knew I was bad. If not for that "mercy applause," I would not have gone back a week later to try and redeem myself (which I did!). Since then, I have come a long way. I have grown and developed my singing talents (in some cases, I've made those songs mine (in my own style, as vs imitation)).

As for the subject here, it's a hard call. Steve Kaplan brought up some interesting points in one of his posts. This guy might sing great, but has he alientated others? Does he mingle with the crowd? Does he dress differently (as elaborated in Steve's post)? Does he bathe? None of these are truely good reasons for absolutely nobody to applaud, and I agree that it's up to the KJ to rectify that. When I run a show, and I notice that the crowd is not applauding, I will remind them to "Make some noise" for the singer. I also make an announcement at the beginning of my shows, where I state to "Please applaud for the people who get up here to sing. For some, it is very difficult to get up in front of people and do that." When things start to quiet down (later on in the show), I will make that announcement again. There was one bar where I hosted a show, and it was like pulling teeth to get these people to applaud for the singers. I had to keep saying, "Let's give it up for..." or "I can't hear you!!! Make some noise for..." after every single person that got up to sing.    

I don't blame this guy for not wanting to sing anymore. Is that just at your show? Do you know if he goes to other shows? If so, do you know if he gets the same reactions there? I wouldn't want to go back to a place where nobody applauded for my singing. Of course, I'll make allowances for the fact that I may sometimes sing obscure songs, or songs that are not really geared for the type of crowd that was there that night (then, I'd expect the sound of crickets when I finished). I've also been very surprised when I've gone into a place and belted out one of my Broadway tunes, and gotten standing ovations (when the crowd did not appear to be a Broadway type crowd), or I had the audience roaring in laughter when I've sung "The Pussycat Song" (I still can't get over how many over-60's people have even approached me to sing that song from week to week). I've also been to places where the crowd is one big clique.... they will ONLY applaud for their own group and nobody else. At one of the shows that I attend, there is this one guy who is such a DIVA! He expects EVERYONE to pay attention to him when he sings. If he notices that you are NOT PAYING ATTENTION to him while he is singing, he will walk up to your table and sing right in front of you (yes, the shows I've been to use cordless Mics).

And I am usually the leader of applause, both obligatory and not. It is hard for me, though, when someone does the same songs week after week after week after week. When I don't applaud, which is rare, it is because people don't try something new.

I suppose what perplexes me most of all, is that assuming the KJ has some control of  the crowd here, and the KJ just claps, wouldn't a few also follow suit (assuming this isn't a hostile or unresponsive audience) ?  Yet wasn't it also made clear that this is not the case (based upon others that sing getting very good responses) at this venue ? While I agree with what Billy stated "not fair to put certain things on the KJ", JUST if the KJ acts enthusiastic about this singer, wouldn't (or shouldn't) that alone turn *a little bit* of this around over time ?  This almost sounds like protest withholding. 

This is what is confusing to me..0 applause for a *now familiar face* with ALL apparent (from what the KJ *appears* to know about this gentleman) attributes and no displayed negative behaviour- this just doesn't make sense on a friday night (given certain elements of psychology assuming some like him). "Cold shoulder" means there's a reason.  I'm curious what the OP of this thread isn't picking up on about this individual "who is an excellent singer"and "Seemingly excellent patron of the bar".. There's more IMHO that we can't perceive based solely on description given thusfar. It doesn't make sense time after time as folks get used to his appearance they aren't warming up or lightening, softening somewhat, this guy is no longer a stranger to ALL. This is a riddle to me. Everything appears to point to "sore thumb" here. Maybe he's not intentionally alienating folks but seems they are doing all but boo'ing him..

I did a few foolish things in my past just by walking into certain "joints" with a really nice suit and tie and remaining a loner.  I exuded arrogance, and  some of these places (knowing now what I know) I could've been targeted just for feeling (Whether I displayed it or not), above the patrons during that time (pre-karaoke). These were locals in a very different socioeconomic bracket where the ladies even wore cut-off sweatshirts and ripped jeans.  Not a suit and tie place.

This is one of the tougher parts of being "entertainer", you DO at times need to take control of the crowd somehow.  So is it safe to assume that the KJ isn't addressing this properly either by not knowing what's actually happening (perhaps asking the bar why this man appears to be getting cold shouldered might help him straighten things out ?  Somebody among the silent majority MUST have some idea, right ?)  given the duration this has transpired?  See, HERE's what doesn't make sense. Let's use the earlier example of

"Is this singer you SW ?"  LOL

Assuming it was, at least one or two would still be clapping... (I'd be).
(Of course given this same scenerio, I'd likely be the one to get the protest withholding when it was my turn to sing)

In some venues when you have the bar backs, bar tenders, and head of entertainment applauding (friends join in) and you have applause generated from different and important locations in the venue to start the domino effect going. Remember Toquer's webcam ?  This would be an interesting scenerio for us to view on cam..



At this venue though ?  If-so, this really doesn't add up. I'd think you'd know what the crowd might find a turnoff about this guy. Regular crowd ?  More transient crowd (as in certain hotel bars) ??? I noticed you are in SC.. I can imagine if it's a relatively conservative location and one of we CT yankees comes in singing songs about how great the North is, talking in a weird New York accent THAT would turn-off quite a few

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Northeast United States runner up for the "Singing Hall of Shame".

My ex woke me up one night.  She was clapping in her sleep.  LMAO

She must have been having a karaoke dream.   Or it was a delayed reaction to my earlier performance.  :whistle:  LMAO


Singers that don't consider themselves to be very good can be intimidated by good singers.   They will sit back and wait until some other "bad" (not so good) singers take a turn.


As the professional KJ that i am....   If i want to kick start the crowd into singing,  i sometimes will deliberately blow a line in a song to make me look less than perfect.    And i make a joke out of it when i do it.  That way the singers feel, if he can make a mistake then it's ok if they do.

Most of the time the bartenders are too busy to be clapping and pouring at the same time.    The bar owners are getting drunk and everyone else is trying to get a drink.   So the singers and a hand full of listeners is all you've got.


I have heard singers say that they were not good enough after hearing a really good singer.  INTIMIDATION MORE THAN JEALOUSY.   I think.

Maybe in your world, I haven't worked for a bar yet that the bar owner was in there getting drunk.  I know my current club, she will not even SIP a drink.  I'm sure there are those clubs, but I have yet to work in one.

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This is a very interesting thread.  I too, have some of this happening....just to certain people.  The one it happens the most with is my wife, who is not a great singer...but certainly does as good as or better than most of the others there.  She only comes out every few weekends, but more often than not...She'll even do a good crowd song, do a great job....I'll give her props....then "silent crickets".  Of course, she has to come up and remind me she go NO applause and is hurt by this.  Then inevitablely someone will come sing and do a sub-standard job on a crappy song.....boom room explodes.  I don't get it, at all.  I generally don't get much of a response myself, but I'm used to that..and it doesn't really bother me, again I'm used to it.  It goes in spurts for me.  Sometimes I can pack the dance floor with upbeat songs, other times noone will even look up from their seats.  It's all timing, knowing the crowd, knowing the mood.  Sometimes, even that doesn't work.  It's a crap shoot!  MrD

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Of course you can, if you like, continue to ponder whether it is the song, the quality of the singer (too good, or too bad), the composition of the audience, the "vibes" of the moment when someone doesn't get recognition for their effort (particularly a very good one)

I assure you that no matter how long you contemplate those possibilities, you'll never arrive at a conclusion as to what is going on.  And even if you did discover the empirical truth as to the cause of the problem, do you honestly think that information will enable you to change the results?

Meanwhile, looking everywhere but at yourself for the "blame", you relieve yourself as a KJ of any responsibility for the circumstance and, therefore, have decided that you are helpless to do anything other than discuss what might be causing the problem!.

I've been to shows (including mine) where the effort of EVERY singer is recognized by the audience.  And it happens because the KJ insists that the audience acknowledge the effort.  I already indicated taking that on as part of the job isn't easy to do with all of the other things on my mind as I invite up the next singer.  SW admitted he has too much to handle to involve himself in such an effort.

But.....it can be done.  It is being done.  And it was not my idea to do so.  I keenly observed over the years as many nuances/factors I could detect that distinguished one karaoke show from another.  And those KJ's who "work the room" in every aspect of that term are the most successful.

PS.  Mr. D., I do acknowledge that it may be awkward to urge the crowd to applaud your wife's performance .  Also consider the possibility that some in the rotation are P'd off because your wife is taking up a "valuable" turn in the rotation.  That can cause resentment and I have seen it happen

Years ago i had an absolutly horrible singer.   He seemed like your typical country bumpkin/nerd.    (Don't write me any letters...)

Anyway when he sang it was bad.   But the crowd went absolutly WILD.  Nobody ever got more applause and hollering and whistles and yelling.    He was on cloud nine.

Now think about the reactions of the other "good" singers.

We held a contest a few months after he had been coming around.  He entered.   He didn't win because he's not good in the least bit.   But he wanted to beat up some judges because he actually thought he was the best singer there.  From the reaction he always received from the crowd.    In this case it backfired.

We have one host who always brings his wife and her friend. With him singing, and those two, the first three places in the rotation are always taken. When the rotation gets large, people resent it a bit....I stopped going to that one.

I know of a KJ that brought his whole fam damily.   At least 5-6 or more of them sang EVERY rotation.    I heard that's why they lost some jobs.    As i said it's all part of knowing how to run your business to achieve the maximum results.

Usually that means the host, if they sing should sing something upbeat.   Normally it's something i have to sing, not want to sing.    There is a big difference.

Think about what's being said.   Singers want to SING at karaoke or they leave.  NOT watch magic and other non karaoke things.

If the 5-6 or more family members are spending money in the club & aren't being treated with favortism, then they are a paying customer like anyone else.  My family all sings, Mom & Dad, several cousins, my wife, aunts & uncles & yeah I bring them out to my shows when I can get them all together.  So what!  They are still spending money in the bar.
Now if the kj was fired because his family wasn't spending anything or causing trouble or were getting preferential treatment, then yes, i'd fire them too!

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I have bar owners that come to my shows. Some that I worked for or worked with over the years.

When we have the family reunion and all nighter at the farm this summer there will at least one with his family there because they are almost family. We do family birthday parties in their bars and have known them for years......

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