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problem with karaoke singers at a bar location
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Author:  brianharrell [ Wed Apr 17, 2013 1:38 pm ]
Post subject:  problem with karaoke singers at a bar location
In the past I have had a full house at a location I host with over 150 guests and regular full rotation of singers.

BUT..... a core group of regulars has gone way off the normal path of songs that most people sing like obscure showtunes and many not-so-known songs alternative and hard rock etc... just not popular stuff. (I have a collection larger than most KJs so I have almost anything).

AND

They sing the SAME songs every week.

This has caused the # of people at the location, guests and singers to drop to a level that may threaten the show even going on at that location.

How to "fix" this show so that it is successful again?

Any ideas?

Thank you
Author:  Lonman [ Wed Apr 17, 2013 2:31 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: problem with karaoke singers at a bar location
Aside from telling those people they cannot sing those songs or flat out removing them from your list, not a whole lot you can do if they are spending money & supporting the show.
If they aren't spending money, the club can ask them to leave.
Author:  Cueball [ Wed Apr 17, 2013 2:53 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: problem with karaoke singers at a bar location
brianharrell wrote:
.... a core group of regulars has gone way off the normal path of songs that most people sing like obscure showtunes and many not-so-known songs alternative and hard rock etc... just not popular stuff. (I have a collection larger than most KJs so I have almost anything).

AND

They sing the SAME songs every week.

This has caused the # of people at the location, guests and singers to drop to a level that may threaten the show even going on at that location.

How to "fix" this show so that it is successful again?



Since it's a core group of your regulars, how about offering to devote one rotation/round to "Kamikaze Karaoke" just to break up the monotony? It doesn't have to be every week... maybe once a month. There was a show that I used to go to over 10 years ago, and it was getting stale. The same people were there every week, and they were singing the same songs. I suggested a round of "Kamikaze Karaoke" to the KJ, and he followed through with it. The next week, I suggested that we have all of the Regulars names put in a hat, and each of the Regulars submitted a Song Title that they wanted to hear sung. Then the KJ did a random drawing of each name, and then a Song Title. The only exception was if they drew a song that that person was known for singing.
Author:  NoShameKaraoke [ Wed Apr 17, 2013 3:02 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: problem with karaoke singers at a bar location
Can you be certain that that is the reason the show is dropping off--the repetition of the same songs by the same singers?

Another alternative, to add to Cue's--do a targeted kamikaze system. Instead of just random songs, our little troupe put one of their "signature" karaoke songs into the hat, and then drew one out. That way, there was no "but I don't know this song!" because they were the ones we found we kept falling back on, so we had all heard these songs--or, at the very least, the other singer's interpretation of them--enough times that if we didn't really know it, we could fake it.
Author:  twansenne [ Wed Apr 17, 2013 3:14 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: problem with karaoke singers at a bar location
ahhhhh...One of the disadvantages of having "a collection larger than most KJs "
And watching out for the SC investigators.

But need more info before I pass judgement...
1. How many people in this "core group of regulars"?
2. How many people in your average rotation?
3. How many people can the venue hold?
4. How many people at the venue when you are hosting karaoke?

I ask, because if your "core" is 4 people, and you normally have 20 person rotation, or if the "core" is 15 people and you normally have a 20 person rotation, the answers for your question are different.
Author:  mightywiz [ Wed Apr 17, 2013 5:00 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: problem with karaoke singers at a bar location
that's a tough one to do.

but first you have to weed out the riff raff (water drinkers & the free loaders that don't buy nothing).

start selling $1.00 water bottles, unless in a state where you have to supply free water.

or you can do drink tickets, everytime they buy a drink they get a ticket to sing. the waitress would have to hand these out while serving drinks. and not give them to "free water" drinkers.... for this to work the waitresses really have to be honest and not just drop a handfull of tickets to there friends.

this weeds out the riff raff quick, and they won't return.

our bar if you don't have a karaoke slip turned in before your called you get skipped! this fixes the problem with the stragglers that come up on stage and then have to think about what they want to sing. and speeds up the rotation. basically less dead air.

other than that, you must be doing something right or you wouldn't have that many coming to your shows.

anytime you have more than 25 singers in a rotation it sucks, cause it pisses the regular singers off. and there is really nothing you can do about it. the drink/song tickets works for weeding out the croud and you don't have to do it very long to weed out the non drinkers.... then you can go back to old ways. but you probably won't as the bar will make more money making more space for the paying drinkers.
Author:  ripman8 [ Wed Apr 17, 2013 5:42 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: problem with karaoke singers at a bar location
Sounds like they must be decent singers. Why not appeal to them personally? Let them know they have a big impact on the success of the show and the night. Encourage them to try different genres.
Author:  johnny reverb [ Wed Apr 17, 2013 5:57 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: problem with karaoke singers at a bar location
ripman8 wrote:
Sounds like they must be decent singers. Why not appeal to them personally? Let them know they have a big impact on the success of the show and the night. Encourage them to try different genres.


by all means......like Rip says....speak up, man
Author:  mrmarog [ Thu Apr 18, 2013 4:03 am ]
Post subject:  Re: problem with karaoke singers at a bar location
I use the "F,F,F" rule. To keep things lively the song is best received if it is one or two of the three...Fun, Fast, Familiar. Obscure songs discourage listeners/dancers to listen/dance, and you need listeners more than singers. You can't fill up a place with 100 singers they would stop coming. Encourage your singers to sing to the audience....not at them.
Author:  MrBoo [ Thu Apr 18, 2013 4:31 am ]
Post subject:  Re: problem with karaoke singers at a bar location
I started appealing to the listeners and it can make a huge difference. For years I mostly interacted with singers regarding songs they wanted to sing. Then I started interacting with regulars that do not sing on what they wanted to hear. I would get requests, then seek out the best singer for that song to sing it. It would be like, "hey, that table over there wants to hear you sing yada yada. Can I put that one up for you?" So, the listeners get to hear a song they want to hear, the singer isn't doing a crap song, the singers are getting good feedback because the audience has ownership in the song choice and you didn't have to say, "please don't sing that song". Its a win (singer) win (audience) win (you).
Author:  TopherM [ Thu Apr 18, 2013 5:39 am ]
Post subject:  Re: problem with karaoke singers at a bar location
LOL....that wouldn't work in my bar. I can imagine walking up to one of my singers, looking them right in the eye, and saying, "It would be smashing if you'd sing Hoochie Mama for that gentleman over there." :o
Author:  Bazza [ Thu Apr 18, 2013 5:48 am ]
Post subject:  Re: problem with karaoke singers at a bar location
TopherM wrote:
LOL....that wouldn't work in my bar. I can imagine walking up to one of my singers, looking them right in the eye, and saying, "It would be smashing if you'd sing Hoochie Mama for that gentleman over there." :o


Really?! Why not? I do it all the time. They are always flattered. People like to be liked.
Author:  MrBoo [ Thu Apr 18, 2013 5:55 am ]
Post subject:  Re: problem with karaoke singers at a bar location
It can back fire.. LOL I had a table ask for Dancing Queen and couldn't find anyone that would touch it so I had to do it.. Hey, it didn't sound great but everyone got a kick out of it.
Author:  ed g [ Thu Apr 18, 2013 6:43 am ]
Post subject:  Re: problem with karaoke singers at a bar location
Try theme nights once a month to steer the music in a different direction, most regulars will go along with it.
Author:  brianharrell [ Fri Apr 19, 2013 9:37 am ]
Post subject:  Re: problem with karaoke singers at a bar location
[quote="twansenne"]ahhhhh...One of the disadvantages of having [color=#FF0000][b][i][u]"a collection larger than most KJs "[/u][/i][/b][/color]
And watching out for the SC investigators.

But need more info before I pass judgement...
1. How many people in this "core group of regulars"?
2. How many people in your average rotation?
3. How many people can the venue hold?
4. How many people at the venue when you are hosting karaoke?

I ask, because if your "core" is 4 people, and you normally have 20 person rotation, or if the "core" is 15 people and you normally have a 20 person rotation, the answers for your question are different.[/quote]

full rotation 20 people and 10 are this core group.
Author:  brianharrell [ Fri Apr 19, 2013 9:45 am ]
Post subject:  Re: problem with karaoke singers at a bar location
You all have excellent comments and I thank you very much.
I will just have to make a rule that the songs have to be more popular hits so that we do not lose so many others who are non-singers in the audience just out for a good time that night.

Also, I will watch very closely to the customers who spend $ there and those who do not and those who do not get 1 song per night.

I like the game of having them pick from a list of their tunes as like a controlled kamikaze type part of the night and I pick from the songs on their list that are best for that night and popular.

Thank you!
Author:  kjmann [ Fri Apr 19, 2013 8:30 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: problem with karaoke singers at a bar location
I try to encourage my regulars to try new things. I even suggest new songs that are in the style they like to sing. most of the time they are willing to give them a try.

=)
Author:  TroyVnd27 [ Fri Apr 19, 2013 11:04 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: problem with karaoke singers at a bar location
brianharrell wrote:
They sing the SAME songs every week.

This has caused the # of people at the location, guests and singers to drop to a level that may threaten the show even going on at that location.

How to "fix" this show so that it is successful again?

Any ideas?

Thank you


I'm in a little town - out of the way for just about everyone. A lot of nights, I might only have 8-12 singers, sometimes less than that. There is one thing about my show that not many can say: it's always fresh. The low number of singers allows me to do that kamikaze karaoke often. I know my singers - and I know what they "should" be able to sing. I spring the "all-time karaoke favorites" on some, but most - it's the new stuff. Right now, I'm springing Bruno Mars' "When I Was Your Man" on the ladies. Well, I was. Now, it's being requested 2-4 times a night.

I think that if you want to keep your show "fresh", it's up to you to get the regulars to step out of their comfort zone. With a large rotation, that would be hard - but maybe you should work some magic and get an off night show going. Even if its slow, I'm sure many of your regulars will come out - and that's when you get them to do different stuff.
Author:  brianharrell [ Sat Apr 20, 2013 5:45 am ]
Post subject:  Re: problem with karaoke singers at a bar location
Again, Thank you to all the industry professionals for all your suggestions!

This will REALLY help!
Author:  NoShameKaraoke [ Sat Apr 20, 2013 8:32 am ]
Post subject:  Re: problem with karaoke singers at a bar location
TroyVnd27 wrote:
I'm in a little town - out of the way for just about everyone. A lot of nights, I might only have 8-12 singers, sometimes less than that. There is one thing about my show that not many can say: it's always fresh. The low number of singers allows me to do that kamikaze karaoke often. I know my singers - and I know what they "should" be able to sing. I spring the "all-time karaoke favorites" on some, but most - it's the new stuff. Right now, I'm springing Bruno Mars' "When I Was Your Man" on the ladies. Well, I was. Now, it's being requested 2-4 times a night.

I think that if you want to keep your show "fresh", it's up to you to get the regulars to step out of their comfort zone. With a large rotation, that would be hard - but maybe you should work some magic and get an off night show going. Even if its slow, I'm sure many of your regulars will come out - and that's when you get them to do different stuff.


The one show I go to is like that. It's shows like that that bumped me from 30 or so songs done to... god, who knows how many. Unless I'm really feeling like singing something in particular, I don't even tell the guy. He just puts things in that fit my rather limited range.
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