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disagree ! -- Again if your show is full of regulars they probably wouldn't mind if the KJ sang a song or two .... Just not every rotation that I agree.

I'm totally with Lisah on this one - situations vary. If the place is falling asleep due to "balladitis" I may pop in "I Hate Myself For Loving You" or some other such wild and loud song. I certainly don't ever take advantage. If, however, there is a lull in singers (between shifts, coming and go) and someone asks me to sing something, you bet I will. No ironclad rule here...because seldom is a show the same every week, at least for us.

The danger lies in making these rules so ironclad that there is no wiggle room to make changes. I know most of my singers don't mind if I jump in and do something, particularly if, like I said above, it livens up an otherwise sleepy room. BTW, I firmly believe we cannot take for granted the opinion of the nonsinger, especially in a fairly large place where there are pool tables and dart boards - the nonsingers are sharing the airwaves and if it is at all possible to please everyone, it is good to please those nonsingers too ... because they are just as important to an owner as the singers. Throw them a bone or two during the night - they appreciate it.

I keep myself in the rotation the whole night, but that doesn't mean I sing every turn. I use myself as the marker for the beginning each round.
As for taking myself out when it gets to about 5 , it really all depends on the singers I have present in the room. I have several regular singers and if, for some reason, it's a slower night and say only 6 of my regs show up, with no other singers, I may happen to know that those singers only have so many songs in their repitoire. Now if I go and take myself out too soon, we would run through their songs too soon and inevitably end up listening to me sing filler until we got more singers.
Not what I want to do! So I might keep myself in until things change. (It's actually only happened once, but once is enough!)
A good KJ doesn't AUTOMATICALLY take themselves out, but reads the room and makes their decision on the basis of what they see.
As for some of you leaving if the KJ sings, I'm with Jam on that one. They don't have to sing every rotation, but don't begrudge them if they sing every so often.
You wait patiently for 10 singers but get uptight if that tenth is the KJ?
Don't let the door hit you in the a$$ on your way out, Prima Donna.
Most of us got into this because we love karaoke. Yes, it's a job, but it's also something we love to do.
In my case, I'm unable to attend the other 2 shows (in a neighboring city) on my nights off and at this point I probably wouldn't again anyways, due to wonky rotation at one and terrible ear-pieceing sound and favortism at the other.
So the only other time I get to have my "fix" is at my own show.
I'm entitled like anyone else to sing a song or two.
Don't get me wrong, though, if the rotation gets on the larger side, I will skip my turn and use it as a marker only.

I don't personally care if I sing at all anymore... burn out?

I can't sing at all anymore - vocal cord damaged.

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You were singing less than a year ago -- what happened?

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[color=#ffff55]Mickey J.[/color]
Alas for those who never sing, but die with all their music in them.
-- Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.

That sucks!! I hope it'll heal soon? It's not permanent? !

Yikes!
Having had nodes removed from my vocal chords over 15 years ago, I now treat my voice with the respect it deserves.
What happens with many singers is that they really don't know how to get volume without "pushing". This should NEVER be done unless you want no voice left. Vocal chords are fragile and if you continue to "push" it over time, you do nothing but damage.
If you sing correctly, you can get the volume and the notes that are needed without doing damage. The second I feel my chords straining I shut up. It can happen, even from coughing (that's how I got the nodes in the first place - bad pneumonia and all the harsh coughing). I cough VERY carefully these days and if I have a cold I am especially careful.

I hope I never get there. I don't think I will though, music has always been my first love.

I think LisaH makes some excellent points. Especially getting a dance song in there if the place is getting too weepy and slow. It really is a play-by-ear situation.

This is a tricky concept, but I think the talent of the KJ is another consideration. My current KJ used to sing at Warner Bros Records, for gosh sake, so people really do come to hear her sing.

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See/hear the serial version of Michael's karaoke novel, "Outro," at outronovel.blogspot.com

I think the burn out I have is more from just karaoke, not because I don't like to sing. On the rare night when it's slow, I do enjoy singing more often...choosing the songs I want to sing instead of singing what is requested or needed makes a big difference. Nine years of KJ, two nights a week plus weddings and other dj jobs...I have to take a vacation every six months or I do get burned out. I love this job though.... I must or I'd stop

Unless it's really really slow, I sing the first one to start, and tweek, then Im done...as far as team KJing and singing.....not enough money for me let alone having to share some of it.......

If I have a good rotation and the singers are entertaining the crowd I would rather have them do it and tend to other things. However if the show is dying and the energy level is dropping I will sing a high tempo song to liven it up again. This applies to private parties as well and often get requests from the host. At wedding receptions I choose and dedicate a song the to the newly weds after the bride groom dance. I sang "The Right Left Hand" once and the bride immediately came over and hugged me. Then later she asked me to dance to an old 50's rock song.

It is my obligation to provide a show with some good entertainment. If necessary i could sing for 4 hours non stop. I provide a total package and I am not there for singers only who feel that the show is only for them. Yes I have karaoke addicts that dont come back but usually they are there for self and could care less about anybody else. They contribute nothing but an attitude which crowds do not appreciate. This includes some of my old regulars that I have sang with for years. They pop in once in a while sing one or two and buzzz off to another bar.

I would rather get a compliment about my show than my singing. Then I know I am doing my job. My pleasure from singing is from turning on a crowd seeing smiles and providing inspiration to some. When I sing it is not an ego trip and everybody in the place senses this and nobody is counting how many times I sing. A big NONO is not singing 2 in a row unless it is totally dead with no singers.

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I only sing about 3-4 songs per MONTH, and ONLY if it's slow. It's been that way ever since I first started KJing 9 years ago. The thing that used to bug me the most when I went out to sing was KJs and their partner/significant other/whatever singing alot when the rotation was long. I swore that was one thing I would NEVER do. If I want to sing, I do it on my night off.

They have to pay extra for me to sing at a wedding (I actually get a bit of stage fright for those...all eyes on me ...ew) ... never have sung at the reception unless it's a really casual one where they WANT karaoke. I really think karaoke at a wedding reception is a party killer. I guess it's ok if the whole guest list is made up of karaoke singers...but that would be rare

Lonnie, what happened? Is this something that will repair itself eventually? What a horrible situation for you - you have a great voice.

I understand Diafel's point here - I did get into this because I love to sing, and at times it takes everything I have to NOT sing. And I am also in the situation of only enjoying singing at our shows - I am seldom satisfied at other shows for any number of reasons...so even though it's a double-edged sword, I enjoy it if we have a slow time (light rotation) and I do get to sing.

Lisah, understand the burnout. I recall at one point, when I was doing far too many shows a week, that fleeting thought - if I just broke the board I could have a night off. DOH!

Karen, that's funny...sometimes I get a fleeting hope...when something goes wrong with the equipment, I secretly get this little flicker of hope that I won't be able to fix it and will just HAVE to go home!! It's never happened but I can hope sometimes..

There are days I don't feel like singing but have to start the rotation again after a DJ break unless I get a large rotation and then I take me out of the rotation and won't sing unless a singer neeeds me for a duet.
After singing on my system, I find it hard to sing on another system because I know how to dial my vocals in and most hosts that I attend do not know how to adjust on the fly.

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

I only sing if it's slow, and my significant other or roadie are aloud to sing in rotation but they must be part of the audience, anyone working must stop when the rotation reaches five singers. If there are two of us working then we take up one space and alternate.

The only time the rules changes is for duets, but only I am allowed to sing more than once in rotation. . . and I do try and space them out throughout the night, by asking customers to give me another song and wait for the next rotation, but sometimes, i have so many requests to sing duets it becomes impossible.

Female Kj's are rare in my area and a lot of male vocalists take advantage of the fact i know all the duets and quite often ask to sing with me and A lot of the talented ladies in the area, are also bored of singing "summer nights" etc with which ever drunk wants to hit on them... so they kindly pass them on to me, so some nights i can have five or six duets with my name on at a time, alongside the females who want harmony lines so it can get manic... most nights however i'll only sing twice (as the female dueter), which considering most singers get four goes doesn't make me feel that guilty.

The only time it ever causes a problem with the customers are on my nights off, because i refuse to sing any duets.... and lose a well waited for turn!

I got sick back in AUgust complete with laryngitis & it never recovered. Cannot hit any mid to high notes without cracking - hard. Doctor said I strained it & should take a few weeks off, but it's kind of hard to do when I work 5 of the 7 nights. I am trying an herbal therapy now that 'seems' to be helping a bit, but only time will tell!

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Lonman, also drink licorice tea. It will help soothe and is great for the throat. Believe me, I went through alot after I had my surgery and I still use it.
But it must contain REAL licorice, not anise, which is licorice flavoured.