Karaoke Forums

Actually, Champaign and Carbondale. REO was as much from Peoria as Champaign, but Head East was pure southern Illinois.

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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 stand corrected. I forgot they met at that awful school!

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KingBing Entertainment C'mon Up! I have a song for you!!! [font=MS Sans Serif][/font]

Awful school? Your University of Iowa would love to be as awful as the University of Illinois!

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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.

The bartendress last Friday suggested I learn Pink's "Don't Leave Me" and as it has a melody and I don't have to shout, I'm going for it.

Have finally started doing "Whenever, Wherever" after THREE years of trying to get it down. But that's OK as where we are, it's a NEW song to them. Threw in a few chorus's in espanol just to keep up with the rest of you.

Don't want to steal this thread but no comparison between those two schools. Just ask Tom Brands.

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KingBing Entertainment C'mon Up! I have a song for you!!! [font=MS Sans Serif][/font]

Here's a dumb question for you...

When you, as the host, get ready to sing....do you give yourself an intro? "For your listening pleasure, I'M going to give you a little orgasm for your eardrums!" or "You guys are in for a little treat now, cuz I'm gonna melt your faces with seriously hot singin'"

Personally, I don't like to sing at all if I have a large rotation. I think it kinda kills the buzz that the room has if I take someone's spot. However, I don't mind singing at the beginning of the night to help "break the ice". BUT, I will welcome those who are present, instruct them on how karaoke works (grab a book, pick out a song, write it on the slip, bring it to me, get funky, etc.), then if no one is singing, I'll do something upbeat (Think Slide by Goo Goo Dolls or One in Every Crowd by Montgomery Gentry), but without intro.....and I don't solicit applause for myself when I'm done. If anything, I'll say something goofy like "Karaoke...it's just that easy. You, TOO, can sing, and we'd love to hear your voice, tonight, too."

So....just help me understand. How do you handle your own performances??...Just curious.

BarStar,

You kind of hit the nail on the head there. I prefer not to sing if there is a crowd. But I will sing the first song to kick things off, nobody usually wants to be first. And I NEVER solicite applause for myself, but ALWAYS solicite applause for everyone else. When I start off with a song, I usually say something to the affect of "See how easy that is!, If I can do it, ANYONE can do it!" Then I give them the speel about "look through the books, pick out a song, fill out a slip and bring it to the host". If I ever do an intro for myself, it's just to say something about the song, (new song for me, or a golden moldie,,etc.). Then I invite everyone to sing, if I have even a couple of singers ready to sing, then the shows a big "ready to rock". While the first singer is singing, I am usually out into the audience drumming up new singers, and I do that all night long too.

I believe it's all about "them", not me. It's not "my" show, it's "theirs". I am not the greatest singer, and really have never considered myself to even be a singer, but thats a total different story.

Scott

The boyfriend does the first song, says "That concludes the Sound Check, Welcome to karaoke at Wherever, now let's start the show off with Whoever, come on up here!" Our first hour is usually sparse and no one wants to blow through their entire repertoire before the party gets started so we will fill in until we get some singers and than bow out. If we do have to fill in, usually the intro is something along the line of "I'm going to do an Oldie for (bartender's wife)" and no big deal. Then its "Thank You" and on to the next singer.

Everyone knows we don't sing once it gets busy so no one has begrudged us when we do. We are flexible and we play it by ear. But I think it is a good idea for a host to have some songs in their pocket to fit any mood or crowd if they do have to jump in and keep things going. I learn new songs just to let people know that we have them or if some young people actually pop in, to let them know they don't have to stick to Oldies/Country.

I don't make a big deal out of it. If I open the night I'll do a "welcome" voice-over during the intro, or at the very end if the intro is short. But I have a number of singers who don't mind going first so I don't even open that often.

The other major time when I sing is to do a specific request, and then I'll say something like "This one goes out to..." naming the individual and looking their way so they know.

If I'm filling out rotation I announce the song and step out and that's about it.

I always do the first song of the night pretty much to make sure everything's working well and because people usually still have their heads in the books finding their songs.

Usually while I'm singing, people will bring up their songs and either hand them to me or put them on my console. I welcome everyone and the show begins!

Anything new? Yes and no. I'm not that much into current music where I'm dying to sing the latest hit. But I did do a falsetto for "Shannon" by Henry Gross which wasn't nearly as scary as I thought it would be!

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

I bought the whole Sound Choice CDG just tto get Shannon. That sucked as I didn't care much for the other songs on the disk. I've performed it a few times in public and I always belt out the chorus to people's surprise.

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KingBing Entertainment C'mon Up! I have a song for you!!! [font=MS Sans Serif][/font]

I'll start off the night with an intro of where to find the books etc.. Then I'll sing the first song. Sometimes I'll ask a regular to sing with me. I usually have 6 to 10 slips in rotation before I start which means by the time the second song is sung my rotation could be up to twenty people. If the 1st round is less than 6, I may sing again in the second round. After that I don't sing unless the crowd really wants me to or someone tips me to sing.

Most people are in a hurry just to sing and don't appreciate the host taking up a spot in rotation. If I do sing I put the next singer up immediately saying nothing, but maybe thank you for the people who applaud. I feel an ergency to get as many singers up as possible. My karaoke regualrs know how many songs they've sung in a night and who they are after in rotation. If I screw it up they're not shy to let me know.

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