Karaoke Forums

Hi everyone,

Just wondering if anyone has had an experience where you have a song in mind to sing for the night and someone else has already put it in the rotation...i know some places i've been to will not let you put in the same song twice for the evening, while other places don't care how many times you sing it.
So, if someone else has already sang your song, do you still sing it?
Or how do you feel when someone else does one of your regular songs?

From a KJ's perspective I try not to allow the same song to be sung
TOO CLOSE TOGETHER . There are regulars who have their signature songs that they want to sing and I do allow that if they are spread out in the nigt. I never try to promote any DUELING songs or compettetive singing pitting one singer against another.

Davy,
Ron (Karaoke w/ Ron) has seen the way I lay out songs when I sing.. there is about 10 song slips on the table before I sing the first song..

I can usually do about 3,500- 4,500 in a really good book of 10,000 songs, depending on the song and not saying that I'll ace them or do spectacularly awesome them but i'll sing those songs any day.

To me as a KJ & a Singer, nobody "owns" a karaoke song and to approach a KJ and My take is alot of singers should have am alternate song in mind at all times.

Actually with every show that you go to, you should carry a list of each song that you sing, thier track #, and the versions you like.

That's how I learned what companies I liked to use in my shows on a regular basis.

I'm procrastinating on writing on this whole concept.. I have had 2 people in the industry ask me why don't I write on the foundations of how I run my Karaoke shows?

I have so far dismissed that thought.

Folks you can breathe easy.. and laugh. I don't plan on it anytime soon.

To be Honest... And I KNOW they don't want to hear my honesty.
I feel that people who think it's "thier" song are selfish and have a lack of talent or just don't know any other songs in the book.

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Brian D.
(BHB)

YOUR song???

Unless you bought and paid for it, it's NOT your song! !

When it says in the songbook:

"You've Lost that Lovin' Feelin'"............... Righteous Brothers (only DAVY can sing this! Sorry Folks!!)

THEN, and ONLY THEN is it your song! !

Actually it belongs to the person beside "Written by" or to the person that person sold it to.

My only problem is when other singers want to piggy back on my signature songs and sing back up. Which happens ALL the time. But after 8 years of this I've managed to talk them into doing these same songs by themselves. Because thats what karaoke is ALL about.

Ok, when i said "my" song ....i wasn't referring to the song being mine or any of ours as far as owning the copywrites to it...i'm just getting a general idea as to how many of us have our signature songs we like to sing and how we respond when other people sing it...good, bad or indifferent.

Davy

I'm not sure myself or anyone else had answer you original question But as I singer I would want to know if the song I requested has already been sung or if anyone has requested BEFORE me.\
If it has or was I always choose an alternate song. I think its just courtesy not to sing a song that was JUST sang or already requested. Now don't get me wrong if enough time has elapsed (an hour or two) I don't see anything wrong with singing a song already sung by someonelse

That happens quite often. If someone puts one in that I planned to sing, I'll usually find something else. If it's sang early in the evening, I may go ahead and do it late, as long as there's a couple hours or more in between. As far as other singers go, I'll let them do it as long as there are a decent number of songs in between.

OK- I have a guy that is the A-TYPICAL person we are talking about. He goes by the name of Tony Diamond- and he only sings.... can you guess....

Yup- Neil Diamond. Straight out of the movie Saving Silverman. He even wears thos sparkling disco ball shirts. The problem- he sounds like a drownin cat, and insists on using the cordless so he can wander the bar singing to all the ladies.

Heaven FORBID anyone else sings Neil while he is there, because he will actually go up to the host and ask why they are letting someone do his song. He even tried yelling at my wife once, asking how she could let me put it up.

Please tell me my torture is not unique, and other people out there have people like this...

Please!!

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Let's Kick the Tires and Light the Fires!

I know a guy at the place we sing who always sings "You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling" he does a decent job with it and i guess he thinks he's the clubs heart throb by going around to the ladies while singing it.
I remember the KJ telling me that he showed up one night and someone had already requested to do that song (the show's policy is no more than once a night for a particular song) so...after this guy found out someone else had turned in "his" song he sulked for awhile and decided to leave, now he makes sure he's the first to arrive so no one else gets to sing it.

What do you mean "My Song" fellah???

The nice man with the bridge for sale told me that for a price any song could be mine. So I bought a whole bunch...now I can say I really own that song!

By the way, should I be worried that I never got any paperwork and he has been around lately after cashing me cheque...hmmmm

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Terryoke
Krazy Kanuck Karaokeist

Karaoke is the only social disease that you can get in public and not get arrested.

I'll play the same song more than once at a show, but generally after the first singer has left or if an hour or so has passed between.

More often it's not a case of "That guy just sang my song" but rather "I can sing that song better than that guy, play it again so I can do it right."

If a singer has only one song that he or she can sing, maybe this would be a good opportunity to suggest something else for them to try. I use the ol, "You really do (insert song here) well, I think that (insert song 2 here) would be a pretty good selection for you too. You ought to give it a try."

A good KJ should have no trouble suggesting other songs for someone who is regular enough to want to lay claim to THEIR SONG at a show.

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Spreading the karaoke gospel

I try whenever possible to have ZERO dups...

the original singer might have left, but what about the poor souls that have to hear that smeggin' song twice!! Oy!

I actually don't mind hearing the same song twice in one night. I like to hear the different styles of the way people sing them. Everyone is unique !

DBK,
Now I need to come to your Show In Florida the next trip there.. .. I need to Do the Drowning Cat - Neil Diamond .. Songs...

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Brian D.
(BHB)

I go to a place where they've got an automated unmanned system. You put in $0.75 and plug in the numbers for the song you want.

It has happened to me on more than one occasion that someone else will run up and start singing the song that *I* paid for in the machine.

Not much I can do - I don't want to look like an (@$%&#!) so I just go ahead and let them sing it.

At places where there is a KJ handling a rotation, if someone else sings a song that is on my list, I do not sing that song that night. If I had put the song into the rotation and someone else gets their turn before me and starts to sing it I will ask the KJ to swap out my number for another one and give him a new slip. It's not that I think I can do the song better and I don't want to make the other singer look bad, it's that I am just as interested in keeping the audience entertained as the KJ is.

I never sing the same song twice in one night either. Mainly because the audience gets bored hearing you do the same stuff over and over.

That's one way I got my personal favorites list to over 60 songs in just a few months. Now that I own my own system I'm finding even more songs that I've never even done that I can do like Creed "Arms wide open", and Jim Croce "Operator"...

- FutureMon

From a KJ's perspective...Margie will let the singer know that the song has already been put in but we don't stop them if they want to sing it anyway. Usually that will take at least an hour or more. Doesn't happen that often.
Also as a KJ, if we know that a singer is limited, Margie will not sing any of the songs that they usually do.

As a Limited singer... If someone sings one of the 5 songs I know, I don't sing it. Most of the time I don't sing anyway(don't like to take away time from the singers).

Cort
MC Entertainment

OH THAT PHRASE MAKES ME SO MAD!!!! Karaoke is not about being good, it makes it more bareable thought, but it is mainly about having fun.

If I hear somebody in the crowd make the comment "I could do that better" Guess what, I will find out your name, and you WILL BE put on the spot...... I had a singer do Crazy one time and I heard a patron say it.... OK I am on the left, to the right of me the current singer, to the right of her is this heckler's table, so you know if I heard it the singer had to of. So when she finished I did my little "lets put your hands to gether" thing and then cued it up again and walked out to the table with the wireless and said "This fine lady here thinks she can do crazy better, no normally i don't let the same song be done twice, or break rotation, but for her i will make an exception... you see ladies and gentlemen it is not proper karaoke ettiquette to heckle singers"

I got her up and guess what..........? bombed
She got a free mixed drink out of it, the original singer got a kick out of it, as did the rest of us.

Karaoke where i come from is a 50/50 show, 50% karaoke 50% comedy and goofing around.

I had a guy who I'd never seen before in rotation.

One of my regulars comes up to sing.
The guy bellows "That's MY f***ing song!"

I ask him to pick another and I'll put him up next, and step away for a moment.

Now, it becomes a sureal nightmare.

I return to the stage, the songs still in the intro, and for some reason I think "my song" guy and my regular are celebrating like baseball players winning the world series.

I realize:
My song guy is spraying my regular guy with beer, not champagne.
My regular does not look pleased.

As I'm trying to deal with this, I feel that concussive force which turns out to be a thrown beer bottle shattering on my regulars chest.

My song runs.
I follow.

He's out the door and vanished.

I start the show again. My regular does his song and is looked after by the bar all night. He's shaken but cool.

I find out about My song guy.

He works for an internet company I used to be associated with.
I phone the lawyer for the company and explain that no charges are going to be pressed BUT that this guy reflects the company and his behaviour has tarnished their image.

It's all I could do.

Yeah, I really hate the words "My Song" too

Malibujesus