Karaoke Forums

Hey,

I know this has been discussed many times before, and I have read as many of them as I possibly can, but one thing I have not come across is a link or a reference to maybe what that special "500 songs that everyone sings" are?

I am in the process of starting out and clearly I want to get as many songs as I can but at the same time want to make sure that I get the ones that people want to sing. I am just unbelievably baffled as to how many options there are, but I am looking for a solid foundation so that I can get things rolling and update as I start getting some gigs.

So my question I guess is, are there are some Disc Sets that you would recommend that got them started? I am not trying to get a good starter library for like $100 I realize I am going to have to spend some cash, that is fine, I just want to make sure that I spend the $$$ the most efficiently off the top.

Thanks very much to everyone who can hopefully point me in the right direction.


Cory

Laker19, I think there are ALOT OF US that would LOVE to have that list of 500 TOP KARAOKE SONGS. It would certainly save us a WHOLE BUNCH of money. I don't think the list will be coming out too soon. I'm certainly not going to hold my breath waiting for it. So the best I can tell you is buy a starter collection, LIKE EVERYBODY ELSE HAS, then once you have the basics, whether it's Soundchoice, Chartbuster, Supercore, or whatever. Then build from there. I certainly wish there was a magic bullet, but as of yet, I HAVEN'T FOUND IT.

Rosario
Serenity Now Karaoke

Foundation or chartbustors or soundcore. But you can buy a huge lot on ebay and start out with a couple thousand songs for a couple hundred bucks or less. Just stay away from Sweet Georgia Brown as much as possible.

About the only half decent starter set you're going to get for around the $100 mark is Supercore.

The reason there are so many opinions of the 5-600 song mark is due to location. Country in Nashville, pop or rock in NYC, grunge in the Pacific Northwet. Heck I daresay that even in areas of NYC what plays big in one borough would fall flat in another.

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You can be strange but not a stranger

I have some Pioneer disks cheap..

While having Sound Choice is the High Watermark I've got to say that you can get a Catalog Cheap and Fast by Going with Sweet Georgia Brown, Music Maestro, Backstage Pass, All Hits, Monster Hits, all who offer Song Packs that will Pretty much cover the usual. While there are tracks that totally blow the majority are usable and you can further your catalog with the better selections like Sound Choice, Sun Fly, ChartBuster, and Custom Disc's from Sound Choice Australia, Sing To The World UK.
This is if your using Disc Format. If going with Laptop well that's a whole different game in which no one really wants to say what they are doing because of many issues, Gray Areas?

my friend not only is each town different, each BAR is different too. All you can do is write down the request for things you don't have and get them in the following week.

If you have internet access you can download on the spot. I do.

This website is pretty helpful for that:

http://karaoke-singles.com/

Listen to the top 40, go to karaoke bars in your area and write down what people are singing.

That's the best way to build your library really. Even then, someone is going to ask you for something you ain't got. However, promise to get it, and then do. That's the only way to build a solid rep.

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Good music, good friends, howling good times!

Wrong!
If you spend any amount of time on here, MOST of us who are computer based will FREELY tell you what we use.
For example, in past posts, I have mentioned (freely, I might add!) that I use Autokdj, a free hosting program. I use Power CDG Burner to rip, KJ File Manager to name my files, and Song List Generator to make my books.
No worries about gray areas for me and I daresay probably not for anyone on here.
As long as we have our original discs, there's not much to worry about.

You still want a good cor selection of the most commonly requested songs. The Foundations will give that, then take the time to rip them to your computer. Then buy per request through some of the legla download sites.

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

I'm in the same boat. I've been hosting for 3 years with a friend's equipment and library and I am building my own. I know it's out of print, but if you can find the DK Millenium series, this is probably the best foundation you can get. DK is the highest quality karaoke on the market and it sets a great foundation with music from the 40's and 50's all the way up to the 90's. My second recommendation is the Sound Choice Foundation and Brick sets. There are two Foundation sets (I and II) and five Brick sets, which are addons to the foundation. Invest in either of these sets, and you'll be on your way.

Then I'd say invest another chunk of money in the Pop Hits Monthly set to get your modern music built up. After that, I'd say it's just filler discs from there. I'd also invest in some holiday karaoke as well. Sound Choice has a great Christmas pack which is a hit for the holiday season. I'd also get some Irish karaoke for St. Patty's day. I even picked up a few broadway karaoke discs, which not a lot of people have (and people FLIP when I tell them I have "Rent" haha) Hope that helps in getting you started. Not sure how familiar you are with disc brands, but here are my favorite brands in order of quality (IMO):
1) DK
2) Sound Choice
3) Pop Hits Monthly
4) Zoom
5) Supercore
6) RadioStarz
7) Pocket Songs
Chartbuster

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"K-Jay"
www.kjayskaraoke.8m.com

I suspect you will get some people disagreeing with you. I personally like DK a lot, but a lot of people seem to dislike the changes in key and the pan flute.

Pocket Songs doesn't really apply to mainstream karaoke, and while RadioStarz are nice they are extremely limited in availability. Otherwise, I mostly agree with your ratings except I put Chartbuster up quite a bit for country. They often have the best version available in that area.

The Millenium hasn't been on sale since I started doing karaoke, but I bought every DK Premiere / Encore / Applause disk as it went on closeout at karaoke.com. Now I wish I had bought two copies of each one at that time.

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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.

One other thing: Know your singers and your venue. When I was setting up, I got a great deal on a bunch of used Sunfly discs. I bought them because they were a good price. It's turned out to be in my favour because my newest gig attracts alot of British singers. Sunfly is a British label and in recent weeks there's been a lot of songs sung from my Sunfly collection that I've never even heard of, but the Brits all know them and go crazy for them!

I'm one of those that would highly recommend DK discs. If you're singing above a whisper, most of the time you don't hear the "guide melody line," and it can be helpful to people who get off key. They are also the only discs that used a real orchestra.

I would stay away from packs like Sweet Georgia Brown or Music Maestro. They are inexpensive, but you get what you pay for. Backstage is also low quality.

As for the rest, I agree with the consensus above. Check e-bay or other sites where people list used sets. KJs leave this business every day. You might be able to find a large volume of discs for less that way. Good luck.

birdofsong

What DK does for you is lower the key 1 step automatically, and provides a "guide track" for the singer. for this reason many average singers love DK, although they generally can't tell you why (it because its easier to sing).

Most will swear to you that DK is "just like the original", and so forth. This is fine, and if I don't have a DK track, and someone says that's what they usually sing I give them Sound Choice and just lower the key 1 step... sometimes. Unless the track is a cold start, inwhich case I will choose something else that give the singer a lead in.

DK never has a cold start and generally gives you a 2 measure introduction.

DK is great to have for beginning singers, and because it is frequently requested.

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Good music, good friends, howling good times!

It doesn't do that at all. On a *few* songs it lowers the key a half-step. I do dozens of songs in the DK versions, and it doesn't do it on any songs I do. Mostly songs where the vast majority of people do need the key lowered. It also raises the key a half-step sometimes, i.e. on Folsom Prison Blues.

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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.

I agree if you can find the DK millenium it is a great starter set and will have most or all of the "standards" you will need as a base for your library. These STANDARDS may not get sung alot but they are needed in any library. If you can get the SC foundation series 1&2 and all the 5 bricks your just as good !

Once you get the basics you can buy PACKS of the hits for the last few years and then cheap sets to fill on any holes

I agree. Some of these brands I mentioned as favorites don't cater to mainstream karaoke. Zoom, in fact, is mostly artist compilations. I was rating strictly on my opinion of quality of the tracks. It is a shame though. RadioStarz (also artist compilations) and Zoom do amazing work and they're not expensive. I will also agree with you on Chartbuster for country. I don't have a lot of country yet and I have no doubt the Chartbuster decade country sets will give me a good solid foundation for country music. I only rate them lower because, overall, they are somewhat mediocre.



I'd have to disagree with you there. Many many DK songs are performed at my show (many of the Beatles songs I do are DK) and I'd say the only time I've noticed having a slight change in key is when I sing "She Loves You", but this works in my favor as I would've needed it -1 anyway. I need to sing "Come Together" -1 as well, but I have to do that myself as it is in the same key as the original song.

As far as the guide flute goes, when I'm up there singing, I never notice it, it's so quiet.

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"K-Jay"
www.kjayskaraoke.8m.com

This is what I have found. The people who don't hear the MIDI flute playing on DK's, are the same people who sing in monotone. They are deaf to at least certain tones, and it reflects in their singing. Singing in key doesn't make the MIDI dissappear either. The people who say this just don't have great ears for music.

Felix the KJ

They didn't necessarily purposely record all their music with drop key, but they did record a good portion in a drop key. This was a direct comment from the late president of the company back when he was a member of the now defunct JOLT Forum in the mid 90's. He said they did this for alot of the higher songs that they felt most people would not be able to hit.
Some songs the flute guide is not as pronounced as others. I have most of the original 99 series, and some are VERY pronounced. They may have done some reworking when they moved them to the Millenium set.

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

Well, I like them, and I happen to have a good ear. I'm also a classical flutist. Just because you don't like them doesn't mean you have to be insulting of the skill of those who do.

birdofsong