Karaoke Forums

I have been asked to fill in this week for the KJ at the place I go to sing on Fridays. He has been teaching me his software (MTU Hoster) and I even downloaded the trial version so I could practice using it at home. I have a good "announcer voice" but no experience DJing, much less KJing. Any tips or advice for a first-timer?

Patrick McNeal

The best thing you can do is just be yourself. You already sing, so you aren't nervous in front of people. Make sure you are friendly, accommodating, fair, and make sure you know Hoster. If you need filler music, just make sure you always have something cued up and ready to go. If you make a mistake, make fun of it. Use it to make the people laugh. AND, ALWAYS lower your music and mic volumes between singers. It is always better to have to raise your volume than have to suddenly lower it. .

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I am the ONLY SANE 1 HERE

If you can pay attention to how your friend does his rotation and mimic it. Don't try to sing too often as you as a kj are there to get them to sing not to show off your voice.

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

I've done a fill-in or three for a few kjs, and my only real advice is get there even earlier than you think you should if you are setting up the equipment for the first time so you aren't scrambling to make sure everything is set up and working right at the time the show starts.

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Co-host of The Greatest Song Ever Sung (Poorly), a karaoke-themed podcast

Great advice Shame. Last year I had a good friend, that is a KJ, whose mother fell and broke her hip. He had to leave on short notice to go his mother's side. He gave a new host, that had very little experience, a shot at the gig. She said that she used the same hosting program and had all the needed equipment. When the evening came to do the show she arrived an hour before start time, but with all the singer interruptions and being very "green" the show started 1/2 hour late and was a total disaster. We have never seen her again.

Set up ALL your equipment at home a do a mock show by inviting some friends over to your house. Make sure your singers TV works flawlessly, and if needed, have a way to feed the audience TVs. Relax and have fun, don't sing too much, and don't have your family sing unless needed.

All above are good advice.
One more....Have Fun!

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Music speaks to the heart in ways words cannot express.

Thanks, everyone! Luckily for me, he is going to have all the equipment set up ahead of time, but I will get there plenty early to make sure that it is all working properly. There are not a lot of singers on Friday (new venue for him) and I know them all pretty well, so I'm sure they will cut me a lot of slack!