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How do you handle someone that wants to sing a song that is totally out of sync with your crowd?

I have a dear friend that we have nicknamed "Broadway". The crowd is a Country/Rock bar mid 30's or so. He will come up and sing South Pacific or Jeckyll and Hyde. After that I 'lose' the crowds interest for a while, or people actually get up and leave. It isn't that he is singing badly, just the wrong type of songs.

I have tried to talk to him, but he says this is his 'thing' and he has stopped singing all together. Any suggestions?

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Let's Kick the Tires and Light the Fires!

Interesting and tough situation. Damned if you do, damned if you don't in essence. He knows you have the CD-G, so you can't really pull the "I don't have that" solution.  I suppose he has a right to sing what he wishes, as do ALL others.  If the crowd doesn't like his music, that might not be your problem. He has a right to his fun as well assuming the music isn't offensive in lyrical content, or excessive length. He goes, and likely isn't the only person in the bar that loves all the country songs being sung..  I suppose he has a right to his selection as do all others.  No easy solution IMHO... Fair is fair.  Tough situation tho..  I suppose if the bar owner or manager tells you "Please don't play that", it would certainly make things easier from your end. Might not be up to you to apply such discretion assuming the crowd has the problem of being "intolerant".

When I performed I had to do what customers requested barring my own likes and dislikes.  What made it easier of course is that being an instrumentalist allowed me to at least somewhat revise a song in accordance to the crowd (at least slightly), Assuming the crowd was an 80 year old group, and a kid got up wanting to sing "I'm an a$$hole" on very high volume,  it'd be easier to say "no".. In this case South Pacific, and showtunes ARE NOT offensive.  They are just "different".

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Northeast United States runner up for the "Singing Hall of Shame".

Not a KJ, so opinions may differ.

My take is that as long as there is no rule against it (e.g. no profanity, no "Stairway to Heaven"), you ought to let the singers sing what they want.  It sounds like eventually the guy figured it out himself anyway.  You can make a rule against it if you want to, like no show tunes or something, but my guess is you'll be better off just grinning and bearing it.  If you have to, ask a trusted regular to be behind this guy in the rotation and do something up-tempo.

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Reward: nine yen in drawer.

Take the songs out of your book.  Karaoke is a business.  When in doubt, a refreshing shave with Occham's Razor may be just the thing.

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Okay, who took my pants?

Agree with weed, take them out of your book the songs you don't want done.  If they aren't there, they won't pick them.  
We have rules set by our club they do not want anything with profanity (swear words) sang over the mic, so instead of just explaining to people repeatidly why they couldn't sing the song, I deleted them entirely and now rarely even get asked about them.

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As a KJ you have an obligation to provide karaoke entertainment for everyone
If certain songs are being sung that the majority of patrons DO NOT LIKE and are actually leaving.  Then I agree ...TAKE THEM OUT OF THE BOOK for at least this venue.  THERE IS A TIME AND PLACE TO DO SHOW TUNES .......and there's nothing wrong wit that  :D  :D

My first thought was, what's the big deal. I thought you were going to tell me he sings songs with the "F-bomb" in them and then you say it's a musical.  LMAO

I'm trying to put myself in your shoes and think if it would bother me. It is hard for me to picture because my venue people sing all kinds of music and it is received well. People will even clap for the unbelievably bad singer and give them encouragement. People actually leave when he sings and he isn't a bad singer? That's harsh!

A part of me says it's karaoke he should be able to sing what he wants especially if it's a good friend and it's just a musical. The other part of me says if it really is that disruptive to the night you should do something.

My suggestion would be, if possible, ask him to sing a song with you that you know the crowd will respond huge. Singing with you may get around convincing him to sing a different song. You pick it ! What I'm hoping is that he'll get big applause and get hooked. Most people want a positive response from the audience. Tell a few of your regulars what your doing and encourage them to pat him on the back when he's done and tell him he should do more songs like that.

You could take the songs out of your book, but what if you have a private party or a venue where people want to do these songs than there not in your books. I guess you could always keep 2 seperate sets of books, but I wouldn't personally want to. It would be easier just to tell your friend your sorry, but in this venue musicals drive the crowd away, so your not going to allow them anymore. Nothing against him because he has a great voice, but you have your livelihood to concider. If you can you can always try blaming it on the management and tell him they asked that those type of songs not be sung. That can't be any worse than the guy coming in and finding out you took his songs out of the book and not tell him.

Good luck it sounds like a sticky situation.  :hug:

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[updown]~*~ MONKEY BUSINESS KARAOKE~*~ [/shadow][/updown][/glow]

I thought I was going to hear the cuss-words thread again.  

Come on, how can a crowd want to leave after one show tune?  What, are they music Nazis?  Give me a break.  Of course, you can take it out but that seems rather silly.  

I'm no fan of Country music by any means even though there are several songs that I like.   And even after hearing 1/2 a dozen country songs that I may never have heard before (or even like), I'm still willing to hang out and wait until my turn.   For that matter, I may get turned on to a country song I've never heard but like.   Point is, others DO like that music and if they put up with my Rock, I can put up with their choice of music.  Now if it were an entire night of country, I wouldn't stick around.  But one song???

If this person is a regular, I'd say that he'd prolly get a little torqued if you suddenly pulled his favs out of the book.  But its your show and do as you please.   A few show tunes here and there never hurt anybody.

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For those about to rock, we salute you!!!

*warning not a KJ*

I don't think it's cool to take it outta your book.  Granted it is a business, but it's just not fair. It's kinda like talking that one customer out of singing cause they are tone-deaf.

I'm glad you talked to him about it.  Really good show on your part  Anyway I'm in TOTAL agreement with Tom.

This guy may completely lose your crowd but if you throw a good regular up right after him then he can bring down the house and you're back where you were before Mr. Showtunes got up there

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[scroll][glow=darkorchid]~I'm the girl your mother warned you about~[/scroll][/glow]

You'd be surprised how many kj's DO take songs out & you may not even realize it - even if you asked if they had something, they may just say no.  Not necessarily because of a customer that can't sing.  I know kj's that take songs out for personal reasons, because they personally don't like a specific genre, don't like specific bands (I still know some that REFUSE to list Dixie Chicks for their comment), song pull out any song over a certain time length, or as in my case - because the bar don't want any profanity songs - and I know 'It's A Bar', but as much as I argued that we'd lose customers, well lo & bhold we DID lose business.  But what we lost wasn't nearly as impressive as what we gained.  We lost screaming drunks that wanted to cuss in every song as loud as they could scream - we gained better singing crowds, more respectful & better spenders overall!

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Ah, the guy can only sing one song at a time.  I’d rather hear a song that I don’t like sung well, than a tone-deaf guy, but I don’t mind either one, because that’s what karaoke is.  

I simply can’t believe that people leave a karaoke show because of one guy singing one song per rotation that they don’t like.  

I’d let him sing whatever he wanted.  I might mix the rotation just a bit to keep from too many inappropriate-to-the-venue songs together, but that’s as far as I’d go.

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Hate is like taking poison, hoping the other guy gets sick

You gotta be kidding If somebody plays a song on the jukebox they dont like do they walk out?  BYE!!! We have very few rules but one is you dont insult the singers If you dont like what he is singing then you get up and sing what you like.

Things like this pass. When a singer totally connects with the crowd and gets all the energy back and feels the magic and the high and rush they will change and sing  what the crowd wants.

I guess we are lucky in this area we have very few drunk singers anymore. There are singers around here that have sang together for 10-15 years and have very strong bonds with one another and with the bar regulars. The place Im in now is mostly pizza parlor and we do have kids in the bar from time to time. The people around here if there are kids present they dont cuss whether singing or talking. We have about 10 awesome singers and we get an energy level so high and people dont care what genre is being sung for they know the next one will be awesome. If a newbie is having trouble they show them patience for most have seen singers go through all the stages and know they will improve weekly.

If someone is cussing on the mic They are muted in a heart beat but I guarantee you it is a stranger passing though. That is when I encourage the crowd to boo. The crowds around here have patronized karaoke bars for years and are very sophisticated and know karaoke about as good as the host

In this latest place we do have some people coming that were not familiar with karoke and once in they do not leave They just sit there and smile. I would rather have 10-15 good sober singers and a big happy drinking crowd than 30 singers anytime.. Some have known the bar owner all their life and dont like drunk singers.

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I don't agree with the censoring of your books per venue.

This is what I like aout mix music between singers. When a singer sings something that doesn't jibe well with the crowd, it's up to the kj to keep it optomistic. Compliment them on a job well done, mention you don't normally hear that kinda stuff very often... thank them for educating the masses to something they normally wouldn't hear... I mean, do you encourage them to clap and show appreciation for the good, the bad, and the ugly??!!

It's only a few minutes of the listener's lives. Broadway may be his thing... I can dig that. I may not like it (personally I like it, but I can see the pop or country crowd may not), but when it's MY turn on the mic, I want to sing what I want to sing. I have my issues with the no profanity rule, but deal with it, as that's the way the RADIO deals with it.

My recommendation is to try to educate your audience every now and then that karaoke is for the everyday man or woman, and to show some tolerance and patience during the 'bad' singers, or those songs that they don't like. Hey, I hear songs sang all the time I either don't like or don't "get"... that's the nature of the game. In fact, I can't think of a gig I'd WANT to go that you couldn't have weird or unusual tunes sung. My good buddy Cueball came into town on my birthday and I loved his songs he brought with him. I was laughing my A@@ off at some of his antics. ANd yeah, the crowd was mildly amused... but he was doing his thing, and dang it, he was GOOD at it.

Hey, I sang some Rick Springfield (previously unproduced until this Zoom disc came out) one night at a club. I didn't get that good a reception to it, and the bouncer told me I had balls of solid rock to try to sing Rick! ! Hey, it was MY thing!

+ 1.  

You’ve got the right spirit, my friend.  I certainly couldn’t have said it better.

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Hate is like taking poison, hoping the other guy gets sick

Yeah I had my issues with it too, but it's either work with the club & get paid or not.  And frankly, I agree with it now days.

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One thing however,  I might be off-base, but given this example,  this individual we are speaking of ALREADY KNOWS South Pacific, and showtunes ARE in his KJ library. The fact that this guy isn't "in synch" with a country crowd and the fact that THEY "lose interest for a while" is the way many are in a young crowd when ANYBODY older goes up and sings New York New York, or in the bars I go to, "Garth Brooks",  the kids can't stand that, in an older bar few will like what the kid sings but they tolerate it,  it's ONE song !!.. Now here's the predicament as I see it,
This *isn't* just ANY customer, but a "dear friend", this is obviously a decent guy who MANY probably like too at that bar, it's just a song or two they don't like. SHOULD this become "Broadways" problem ?  There might be an easier way to work this out.  after-all,  IF a dear friend KNOWS you have a song in your library, aren't you going to offend this individual by removing it ?  You can't.  If this is a decent person AND a friend SHOULD *YOU* be the one to deny him, or try to mediate something ?  Is it possible that perhaps the KJ might ask the bar owner, or manager, and THAT person will say, "Don't worry about it, the guy deserves his song, he's a decent customer" ?

This is part of the quote:


Hypothetical example:
In most bars there are individuals some can't stand, they alienate and are just plain annoying to hear, look at, watch their behaviour, etc, their mannerisms offend many, but do you 86 them if they pay for their drinks, and don't overtly do anything to get themselves 86'd,  or do you as a bar patron realize you MUST tolerate MANY types of weirdo's in a bar setting ?

My thoughts are this individual is no sore thumb at that bar,  he's a "regular" for a reason, according to a decent percentage of the regular crowd,  it's *just* his TASTE in a song or two that sucks,  not the guy..  Maybe broadway sings at a time they are about to leave anyway ?   WHY would a crowd having fun leave because a person sings a different style ?  Who's being intolerant ?  Granted, business IS business, but should the KJ be the one to "drop the bomb" on a person who knows the KJ has plenty of what he likes in his library ?  The guy *knows* he has this selection, he's not a first or second time straggler glancing the books..  AND,  he's a dear friend, how's he going to "lose this stuff from the library" without coming across as dishonest ? Wouldn't he be better off to find a more honest diplomatic means of dealing with this assuming he should deal with this at all ?  

JMHO,  I hear what all are saying, but the guy is a friend, likely to many others, and KNOWS the library already..  How can you lose this stuff from your library at this point in THIS particular case if he's an established reg that knows the library ?  Maybe Broadway should be asked to come in monday and sing for a straight hour if he opts to, encourage him to bring in others that like Show tunes on a slower night, and start that ball rolling.  There are plenty of more positive ways IMHO, than LOSING the selection in THIS particular case.


IF the guys a decent guy, and close friend, and this were as easy as losing the library, I'm sure this wouldn't be a predicament.  Fact is the guy IS a friend, KNOWS the library, and the question is what now ?  Lie ?  Deal with it in a positive way if at all? Be honest?  let another person be honest ? or say nothing and not assume it as his problem OR yours ?

My thoughts are while *HE SHOULD* lose the stuff he doesn't want sung *for future ocurrances* he wishes to avoid such as this.  Given this example, that MIGHT not really be an option that will remedy this particular issue.

There's a predicament because if you're a KJ, or ANY entertainer, and a good friend flys up to visit you from a different part of the country, or world, etc.. and you wish for this person to enjoy themselves as well, granted, you aren't going to bump your rotation around BUT, if you have stuff in your library this individual likes, are you going to lose it because a few in your crowd don't "fancy" the style or genre of one or two songs over the course of a full night that you're entertaining ?  Also, HOW many nights a week does this happen ?  If the guy clears the bar of business 3 nights a week at 11PM sure that's a problem, but perhaps this is one saturday night a week, and Broadway is singing at 1:30AM.  A lot of factors that DO make this a tougher situation than how it immediately seems.  Decent customer, friend, intolerant crowd.. Is this HIS delemma to worry about (as entertainer) ?? Or the bar owners ?   Losing the material in your library is what you do before this stuff happens, or to prevent future similar situations granted,  but in this case it doesn't seem doable given the variables.

JMO.. lot's of interesting points, but the guy will know "his friend is being dishonest with him", the songs he likes can't just disappear, either way there needs to be an explanation.

Food for thought

Is it possible that a rationalization the KJ can use in such a case (to wash his hands of a difficulty that might need not be HIS particular problem if it's some in the crowd that're intolerant, and again there might be a few across the bar that LIKE this stuff too) be simply,

"I'm just the entertainer,  it's my responsibility to meet my customers desires regarding what they wish to sing,  not weed out genre, and judge what is "good" ?  It's also not my responsibility to worry about the reaction of some that might not like a song because few like most songs sung" ?

Further more, maybe inappropriate song is a WRONG mindset for the KJ to be taking here, the crowd can sense it, it feeds into the negative mood somehow too.  Try to somehow turn this around.. If the guys a friend, and decent customer doesn't he deserve his day in the sun too ?  Karaoke is for the CUSTOMERS individually to also have THEIR turns having fun, is it not ? The guy IS NOT singing something offensive BUT different.  Not to have appropriate material for some deemed "Inappropriate" because some in a crowd are the ones that aren't tolerant might be the backwards approach.  Doesn't seem to be the entertainers problem to take on IMHO, that might even be a bad move and cause hard feelings indirectly....Probably better to NOT view this as a problem, especially YOURS.  Try to look at it as a positive thing, the crowd might take a different take in time..

again,  just a different perspective after rereading the details.

What will clear out a country crowd quicker ?   I show tune sung well ?  or a person who really sucks and screeches singing the crowds favored style ?  Think about it.. You going to lose your WHOLE library because of a tone-deaf screeching goofball that's singing the proper genre ??  Seems THAT is a means to drive off a larger customer base assuming the crowd is intolerant to begin with (I also notice this was touched on in a prior post too viewing back) !!!

How much of a problem is this ?
Who's problem is it ?
Should you have to deal with this ?
Isn't the wrong way to be dishonest ?

Added in:  I've made it obvious I'm not a KJ, AND that I know little about being a KJ, but it seems this is not specifically a KJ problem.  It's a dealing with people problem, and VERY common problem ALL entertainers in ALL venues must face, we ALL had to deal with it, HOW it's delt with always depends on magnitude of problem, but also WHO'S problem this is, if anybodies, unless it's made to be somebodies sometimes best to leave this stuff be.
.

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Northeast United States runner up for the "Singing Hall of Shame".

I'd like to go to a Musical free KJ, I can do without another Chicago tune or the recently Dreamgirls song.   But then again, I can do a reversal with my own Avenue Q disc.   Some "Internet is for Porn" for their Jennifer Hudson Dreamgirls,  A little "If you were Gay" for their Queen Latifah Chicago, and some "Schadenfreude" for their Nicole Kidman Moulin Rouge.

But its another 5 minute song someone does that the crowd may not take notice and go on with their own things.

OK....I admit it, I intentionallyworded this topic to get a few people interested and start a good conversation going.

First, I know it is not common, but I generally allow 2 songs per turn here. 10 minutes of show tunes can turn even a diehard crazy.....

Second, he brings his own discs. I am well rounded, but do you really think I would stock Jeckyll & Hyde?

Third, I LOVE Avenue Q. As soon as it came out on karaoke I splurged and bought it locally instead of cheaper online. I thought the bar would ROLL in laughter. I have never seen so many blank stares and dead silence as when 6 of us got up to do "The Internet is for porn"......"It sucks to be me" went over even worse. I have NEVER added the disc to my book or spoke about it again....

Lastly- those who do NOT know what the heck Ave Q. is- buy it, listen to it, and get back to me. If you are not pee in your pants hysterical I will be shocked! (Unless you are Lonman and cursing offends you......)

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Let's Kick the Tires and Light the Fires!

Wasn't me, it was the clubs request.  I really could care less, but I complied & we eventually got better singers, less screamers & more respectful crowds because of it.  Funny thing is, many of our crowd now are under 30 & understand & LIKE the rule.

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yeah, your two-fers are the real killer, not the singer's selection. Just my opinion...

and hey, I happen to have a LOT of songs that may be "innappropriate" for clubs. Childrens' stuff, Xmas Stuff, Broadway or musical or showtunes, Irish and Jewish stuff...

Because I WANTED a well-rounded library that can work for MORE than just the bar gigs!