Karaoke Forums

Last night a singer got up to sing. Then someone else asked the KJ if they could sing along. The KJ said it was up to the singer. The singer, under pressure hemmed and hawed a bit, but then said "yes", but you could tell they weren't exactly thrilled about it. So they both started singing, but about 2 minutes into the song, the main singer quit singing because the other person was ruining their song (screaming). Now there was no singing, just the background karaoke track. The KJ turned off the machine, and the karaoke stopped for about 5 minutes. A big arguement ensued between the two singers. The KJ yelled that they wouldn't start the karaoke back up until peace reigned! In fact the KJ was hoping the bartender would step in, but they didn't. A couple people stormed out of the bar, not to return.... Finally the karaoke started up again. Note that the person who wanted to sing double was part of a group that had been turning in two slips for the same person with different names and aliases so they could get more air time.

Moral of the story...I don't know, but you gotta stand your ground sometimes as a singer! And when someone asked to join my song a little later, I pretended like I couldn't hear them and kept singing.



[schild=11 fontcolor=000000 shadowcolor=C0C0C0 shieldshadow=1]Hey, just let me sing my song! Then you can sing![/schild]

Unless your name is on the slip or unless the singer invites you up, you don't sing. Simple as that. Especially if it was known this guy was trying to scam the rotation.

Hindsight is always 20/20, but probably what I would have done when both walked offstage was to restart the song so the original singer can have another go at it, or after I got another singer going, walk over to that singer and let him know he can pick any other song he wished and I would put him at the head of the rotation.

Didn't I just see an episode of Judge Judy where two older gentlemen were suing each other over singing karaoke? One was a host, the customer got a restraining order, talk about drama!

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[font=Lucida Console]"Sing for the day, sing for the moment, sing for the time of your life!"[/font]

I agree with Dan on this one. I would have given the original singer a second shot at a turn, and privately would have told the other guy where the bear deficates in the forest, and might have even pulled his name totally out of rotation. But I think your decision was yours to make, not ours. So, hope it all turns out for the best.

Scott

Unless their name is on the slip I do not hand them a microphone...Period!

Duets are always handled the same, somebody gets credit for the song and they only sing once per rotation, end of story.

The KJ should have handled this problem quickly by just saying "Sorry your name is not on the song slip" and I'm going to have to ask you to wait until it is your turn to sing. With that he/she should have qued up the song and kept the show rolling.

People who come up unannounced and solicit to sing with others generally spells disaster or at the very least an unhappy singer that gets upstaged or thrown totally off track. I look at them the same way I would if a guy comes up and says he wants to tell a joke or make an announcement. Unless you can predict the outcome it is best to not allow it at all.

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FlipSide Karaoke
Scott

your kj needs a kick in the nads...so much for running a decent show!!
No to the jerk who asks to sing...the kj shouldnt even have put the orig singer in that position...unless the original singer had personally invited the other one to sing a duet then no way should an extra mic have been produced!!!

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"Be who you are and say what you feel... Because those that matter... Don't mind...And those that mind... Don't matter."

Some shows I know of have a loosely run, pretty impromptu type of show. Where singers join up with others, group songs, etc. The shows I like to run, where Karen has criticized me for having too many rules, cover scenarios like this.

NOBODY comes up to the singer and asks anything. Once the singer grabs the mic and begins singing, no interruptions!

And as far as the singer that had been part of the group handing in slips with multiple names trying to get more air time, yeah, take 'em outside to tell them why the Pope is Catholic! !

RULES! DANGNABBIT!!! ORDER! PEACE THROUGHOUGHT THE GALAXY!!!!!!

I had a very similar incident this weekend.

Got a call to do a bar at about 30min notice as their regular KJ let them down (apparently a recurring issue - I suggest he may have this as his backup but takes bookings for private functions?)

Anyhow, this one guy "Nick" had a great voice, a real soulful voice that I actually enjoyed. He sang a few times.

This other guy "Stewart" was a real karaoke fool. Kept singing ballads ("Angels", "Home") but couldn't get anywhere near the notes he was meant to be singing. But honestly thought he was boyband stuff. Kept pulling up a stool, etc. I informed him, if he stood, he'd get the best out of his voice, and he blew me off like he knew better and so on. Fair play - only trying to help.

Anyhow, "Nick" sings "Don't Let The Sun Go Down On Me". Really well, until "Stewart" asks for a mic to join him. I look towards "Nick" and gesture to ask. He shrugs.

5 bars later, "Nick" hands me back the mic, and asks if his rotation can be pulled forward a bit. I am HUGELY apologetic, explain it's a new crowd and assumed the 2 of them were friends. "Nick" was totally cool about it, but we can both hear "Stewart" murdering the song. Warbling unnecessarily, out of key, poor mic and voice control and playing up like he's on stage at Wembley (the old Wembley, not the new abomination).

When the song finishes, I decide, let's see what the cround actually think of this guy, cos I can't judge if he's "one of the boys" or "village idiot". Nothing - no applause, a few sniggers, that's it. Immediately I play a sample of a dog howling, clock striking and so on (to emphasize the silence) then pull into a filler track for a few seconds.

"Stewart" asks what the hell that was, and I explain that you never interrupt a singer, especially when they are commanding a song so well. He got into a right diva strop, an his girlfriend (I assume was his GF, could have been friend, whtever) was in hysterics.

Later in the evening "Nick" sings again, and I'm informed it's his anniversary, so I get the if up too, and we all applaud them and I shout a bottle of bubbly from the bar. I come back with 3 glasses and give one to "Stewart" also, so there's no ill feelings.

Oddly enough, "Stewart"'s girlfriend told me later I was one of the most fun KJs she'd ever seen! .

I'm working on my 2nd year as a KJ so I'm still learning how to deal with what works and what doesn't. The first place I played had a very relaxed atmopshere and mostly new singers. Multable singers was the norm and joining it was not a problem. But there was always respect for the singers that didn't need help. These people made my job easy and we would have a blast.

The place I play now, most of the singers are very much serious about the rotation thier song and how they sound. So I very serious about protecting my singers from those that don't understand that the world doesn't revolve around them.

I don't like to have rules for a party because I want people to have the freedom to have fun. Adults should already have rules that they live by . The rules that I have are for me to follow. I should add the rules that I have are from making mistakes just like this KJ made. But one mistake should never lead to another and should never happen twice to learn better.

Respect is the key that makes anything good. And I'll except nothing less from me or the customers.

I have instituted a one-free-duet rule. You get to be on the stage twice in a rotation once per night. After that, any time you are on the stage that is your turn for the rotation. If your next song is a duet, the other person will have to wait until you get your turn. (They can put in another song if they want, though.)

Lots of great input on how something like this should be handled--sounds like the first thing is that you don't let it get even halfway started! I like the idea of you have to have both names on a slip for two people to sing, otherwise you don't even give them the mic.

There was a person I used to sing with that whenever we saw something like this happening, we would hiss, "Drama", but later on, we started saying "Shakespeare" instead, figuring Shakespeare was synonymous with Drama!

If something like this was ever on Judge Judy, I want to see that episode!

[schild=11 fontcolor=000000 shadowcolor=C0C0C0 shieldshadow=1]Judge, you Honor, can I sing the song right now while the defendant's got his trap shut?!?[/schild]

If you have worked the same room for a number of years you know who's going to want to horn in, and the singers who may want a friend onstage with them even if they are not on the slip. I don't have any ironclad rules, but just try to use common sense.

One thing you never want to do though is stop the show if there is an argument or fight. That just highlights it and potentially causes it to enlarge. That's the thing that caught my attention in the original story the most.

One word: NO!!!!

See also: UH UH, NO WAY, DONT EVEN THINK ABOUT IT!!

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"You know that I sing the Blues and I do not suffer fools. When I'm on that silver mic, it's gonna cut ya, just like a knife"-The SWINGCAT

Isn't that the truth !

I pretty much know who cares if someone horns in on a song or not. If someone just grabs a mic uninvited I have them leave the stage.

If they ask to sing with the singer I say "no" before the singer has a choice to respond. They are usually extremely thankful after.

If the singer says it's okay I make sure I set the volume for the intruder lower than the intended singers mic.

If the intruder is screaming and singing like a fool over the intended singer I turn their mic off. They never seem to notice.

Some people are just to nice or don't want to look like they think they're so great they don't want someone singing with them, so they will say "yes" if someone asks if they can sing with them. That's what I'm there for. It's my job to keep drunk mic hogs off the stage. Most people who will want to jump up on stage and intrude on someones song are usually drunk rude people anyway.


The only reason I would stop karaoke for a fight is if I'm announcing the cops have been called.

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