Karaoke Forums

I have noticed between where I am and where a friend of mine does his shows there's a difference between the number of good singers. Where I am, CT, you would be hard pressed to find a really bad singer. Yet my friend posts videos on Facebook that for the most part are singers that if I wasn't a person who believes in good enough manners I would find a reason to leave the room so I didn't have to listen to the butchering of a good song.

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

Danny, over the many years that I have hosted, I found that each individual location had their own level of dedication to karaoke. Some found it only a place to hang out with friends, others were a place that they could showcase their talents, and yet others I couldn't even create a reason for people to even show up. It all depends on demographics of who is supporting the venue. My most talented show was a lesbian bar that really had a plethora of talent. The one show that I have now, the patrons (for the most part) are a bunch of drunk cowboys who only want to have fun, few serious singers. I just go with the flow and smile knowing I am doing my best.

Over the years I hosted, naturally I ran across all different kinds of singers. One thing I found out that most singers don't have an objective view of their own signing skills. You definitely have to be able to read a room, be able to adjust, and sometimes go with the flow, even if it doesn't match your vision of what the show should be for that night. When you are a KJ you are more like an air traffic controller, when you are the DJ you are alone flying the plane, the trick is not to let it crash.

I have even had a few singers that have suggested to me that I should send all the other singers home. Let them carry the whole show. I had to tell them that it is Karaoke night, not a private concert, but if they wanted to pay I would run up some tee shirts, with their face on them, and sell them in the parking lot. I don't think I would have got many takers.

Sometimes it's the singer, sometimes it's the host, and sometimes it's the recording equipment.

I'm not a great singer (I mean, I've improved a lot over the last 15 years, but I'm still not even what I'd call "good"), but I have been to places that definitely improved how I sounded (better on-the-spot mixing, better use of effects, etc). I've also heard the same performance recorded on two different devices that sounded completely different.

I'm good with good singers, bad singers--whomever. It's karaoke--you get your time to do your thing.

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

Thanks for bringing up that point NoShame, sometimes doing a great job on a song is sort of like being a surfer, looking for that perfect wave. You have to have all cylinders firing to pull off a great performance. It is hard to admit that sometimes you are flying by the seat of your pants, no matter how well you have planned an hosting evening.