Karaoke Forums

looking for ideas,contests,mingaling with patrons with the mic using music?

Good equipment, quality music, a FAIR rotation....

Honestly, if I had to point to just a few things that make mine stand out they are:

#1 that I play about 70% karaoke and about 30% of REAL good club-type dance music. I get tons of compliments all the time from those who do not sing karaoke at all who say they come solely for the dance music, and that they've never seen a show that integrates the two so well. There are plenty of karaoke peeps in town and plenty of them that play filler music or even dance music inbetween karaoke singers, but I know for a fact that the filler portion of my show is hands above all others I have ever seen.

#2: PERSONALITY, and you either have it or you don't and can't learn it or teach it. Nothing is worse to me than going to a karaoke show of someone who just stands there and plays the music without interacting with the crowd!! This is show business and you have to be THE HOST of the show. And, again, there are no "tips" on how to interact with the crowd, you have to just know how to read them and know what people want and expect from you then beat their expectations!!

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C Mc
KJ, FL

This could make or break your show. As long as the filler music and the karaoke music is mixed the same, it's a definate plus. Should the filler music sound good, and your singers sound bad, it's a big turn-off. Clearly TopherM's mixing of the 2 is very good, otherwise it would turn people away.The most important thing to remember is consistancy. You cannot control what people sing, but you can control the mixing quality.

Once again, I agree here with TopherM. Here are some different opinions.

Same here on the music/fill combo.

My differences:

1. I use a big Old School Shure 55M replica Elvis/Sinatra style mic as my wired mic. I'm the only DJ/KJ in Portland that actually uses one as a primary singing mic(and have only seen one band using one also). Its a COMPLETELY UNIQUE singing expereince and I get MANY MANY rave review comments on it. Most of the singers have never even SEEN one up close, much less wrapped their hand around one and PUT LOVE IN THAT MIC!!

2. Having a latin salsa dance club downstairs, I incorporate alot of latin dance music(reggaeton, salsa, cha cha cha, etc) music as filler. On sunday nights thats all there is for background/dance music. I even have a set of Conga Drums for custies to play along to the dance music. Also have singers singing latin songs(not neceessarily mexican music).

3.On regular nights I ALWAYS start the show with a set of contemporary/modern blues music(Rod Piazza & the Mighty Flyers, Bill Rhoades and The Party Kings, The Mannish Boys, Rose City Kings, etc). I take  my singers on a "musical journey" from blues to disco to hip-hop. And it ALWAYS starts with blues.  I have yet to come across ANY KJ/DJ that incorporates CONTEMPORARY MODERN BLUES (featuring local artist CDs) into thier show.

4. Some nights I will also hook up my video cam to the monitors so the singers will be up on tv screens and it looks just like american idol to the crowd watching the tv sets.

5. Sometimes(like last night) we will combine a band with Karaoke. I act as the MC and do the introduction, start the music an hour before the band, introduce them, then play music on the break, then karaoke and music after thier done----combine both types of entertainment into one seamless evening's show.

These are the 4 things that set my shows apart. With the exception of the video cam they are completly unique items and  Ive yet to see any other KJ's duplicate them.

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"You know that I sing the Blues and I do not suffer fools. When I'm on that silver mic, it's gonna cut ya, just like a knife"-The SWINGCAT

I would say why some prefer my show come down to basics.
Preface by saying that my Saturday show is in a very local bar.  It will never be PACKED with people. It does get crowed from time to time but generally. Just a lOCAL beer and shot place ( not a club type ) THAT BEING SAID

I do get singers coming down from a distance for the following:

1) Fair Rotation
2) KJ doesn't sing TOO much
3) Smaller Rotation (get to sing more)
4) Good Selection
5) Decent Sound and equipment / mics / moniotrs etc.
6) Personable KJ ...ME

basics man just the basics

All the above excellent advice.

My patrons tell me they like that I don't just sit there pushing buttons. I stand, usually dance, the whole night while people are singing. I am set up so I am directly behind them. I talk to them during uncomfortably long music breaks in the song or get them dancing. The main thing people tell me that gets them coming back is crowd involvement. Sing a long songs (Sweet Caroline for instance) I get the whole bar singing along. I have funny props like blow up guitars etc... Paying attention to special events birthdays , anniversaries and making them apart of the show even though they don't sing. Different songs I'll do different things. Slow song invite the girlfriend or wife to come to the stage so their partner can sing to them. An upbeat pop song I invite the girls to come up to the front of the stage and dance. Certain nights I can get a conga line going or some line dancing. we really don't have a dance floor in the bar, so we create our own space.

Creating an atmosphere where everyone encourages everyone and actually takes the time to make a newbie feel special. It isn't a competition.
I try to make everyone feel special when they come in, remember there
names, encourage them and have fun with them. It takes a while in a new place to build the type of atmosphere I like. Where everyone talks to everyone and treats new people coming in like they're one of the family.  :hug:

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[shadow=pink][glow=deepskyblue]. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
[updown]~*~ MONKEY BUSINESS KARAOKE~*~ [/shadow][/updown][/glow]

Around here the karaoke is down and dirty... despite what others may think my karaoke people love me.  

Nonstop karaoke music.    :yes:

No blabbing (meaningless DJ dribble) between songs.
 
No blue screen.

No waiting for singers to come up after you call their name.

No filler music at the risk of death... my own.

No business killing contests.   More death.

No favoritism with the rotation.     Even more death.

Quality sound system.   And know how to professionally mix the overall sound.

Don't act like a jerk.     Act professional, but have and be fun.

Treat every singer the same.

Entertain the non singers.    You are there to entertain everyone present, not a select few.   The bar owner makes money on everybody in the place.  :yes:    

Know how to read a crowd, to keep everyone there and happy.  :yes:
 
Protect, promote and build your reputation and that of the bar.    :yes:

Learn how to run a profitable, professional karaoke business.   Follow good business building practices.

I have NEVER "done" karaoke. (then, why am i here you ask?) But... are there ANY nude karaoke nights anywhere? I imagine THAT would make your show stand out from the rest. Or, at least, topless night. That would be kinda neat, imho. No, i am not TRYING to be annoying. I am completely serious here. I really think that would be neat.

yes, there are.  i saw it on a tv show once, but i don't remember which show.
http://www.portlandmercury.com/portland/Content?oid=29675&category=23483
http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/fringe/9608/17/naked.karaoke/index.html
http://www.nudist-resorts.org/talk/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=767

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All work and no play make Homer something something

I had a 400lb man strip to his tighty whities - nipple rings
and all at my show. It wasn't a pretty sight. i suggest not encouraging this.

I've had people moon the singer and girls flash the singer. There is nothing worse than hairy plumber butt. EEEeeeew!

Don't get excited boys - usually the kind of girls that flash are 2 baggers  LMAO

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[shadow=pink][glow=deepskyblue]. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
[updown]~*~ MONKEY BUSINESS KARAOKE~*~ [/shadow][/updown][/glow]

There was that big deal in the news about 10 months ago about a guy who was running NUDE karaoke once a month at his bar. Amid all of the media attention to the event, he had something like 85 people sign up to PARTICIPATE AS NUDE SINGERS in the event.

If you paid attention to the follow-up story, however, you would have seen that 85 peeps may have signed up to sing naked, but only TWO followed through. A husband and wife in their early 60s that lived at a local nudist colony were the only ones in the crowd brave enough to actually sing in the BUFF, including the KJ himself who punked out with everyone else.

SO, naked karaoke SOUNDS like a good deal in theory, but like all other public nudity events NOT hosted by strippers or involving drugs, it just turns out being unattractive old people who honestly don't care that they are nude while the rest of us DEFINATELY wish they just weren't...

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C Mc
KJ, FL

OH, one more thing. I would argue that the fact that the KJs on here are actually even ON here looking for advise and sharing the collective knowledge means that we all are in the top 1/4 of good KJs.

There are plenty that don't care nearly enough about their equipment or ettiquitte, or their patrons enough to even seek out a site like this one in the first place, let alone take someone else's good advise on how to improve their craft.

Point being, when it comes to questions like this thread, it is all preaching to the choir!!

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C Mc
KJ, FL

We have actually done private or public shows for Friends. (swingers online)..I am familiar with nudity or exposure at karaoke shows.  Personally Id rather have a good singer.

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Join The Karaokle Singers Social Network. Upload Your Music!!

Not entirely Topher.

I am still learning a lot here. This thread is very helpful, thanks.

BTW- I would like to get up to see BigDog's show sometime. It sounds like a totally different approach to karaoke. There are a few others I would like to see for myself too.

After some researching, i realize that I should have looked it up, BEFORE asking. I just figured, since I am too shy to do karaoke, I could do it naked (where i am NOT shy), and people would be looking more at ME, than listening to how badly I was singing:) Plus that whole conquer your nervousness by picturing the audience naked would be a LOT easier;)


HOwever, topher, I see your point. If it isn't hosted by the local strip club... there are NOT going to be people getting naked worth looking at.... (not that that WAS my point:) (plus, the girls at the strip clubs here are all brown baggers. UGGGGLY. I imagine them SINGING would only be worse;)

Gilly, anytime you want to do nude karaoke, just give me a shout.    I'll drop who I'm doing....


I have to beat the girls off with a stick now, if I did nude karaoke the women of the world would go absolutely crazy......  LMAO  LMAO



They do already...

I see your point. Sometimes when I post to these kind of questions
I think I'm preaching to the choir and they are thinking so what I do that. I
still post for the few who are new and once in a while I'll pick up a new idea that
will work for me. I think bigdog posted most of what we all do, but that is good for
the one or 2 new KJs that need to hear it. I wish I would have found this site before I
started I probably would have made fewer mistakes along the way.

I'm learning more on the technical side now. I love to go to the tech forum and just read. We have a really good site here for all levels I believe.

BTW - it was a newbie who started the thread

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[shadow=pink][glow=deepskyblue]. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
[updown]~*~ MONKEY BUSINESS KARAOKE~*~ [/shadow][/updown][/glow]

Nothing really to stand out from others, however I run a fair rotation (No bumps for bribes), good sound, good selection, no dead air - be it announcing the next singer over the outro of a song or fading into some music from a contstantly playing computer until the next singer is ready.  I do not sing in the rotation unless it's a requested duet or a requested song - it's not for me, it's for you.  I can sing any time I like when i'm not working.

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