Karaoke Forums

I'm currently writing about the theatrical worth of karaoke and I recently read an article which inferred karaoke is a submissive act because it adds nothing transformative to the original artists work.

I'm still pondering the idea, but thought it would be worthwhile to ask you lovely people for your own personal opinions.

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'A genius is one who can do anything except make a living'. Joey Adams.

I would disagree. Most songs are not performed by the song writer but by a "Star" singer. There should be a lot that any singer can do to put their own spin on a song.

Is Karaoke Art? Well, if you want to call a bunch of drunks making fools of themselves by trying to sing... well, I guess you could call that an art form.

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Electro-Voice Evolve 50... Taking Sound To The Next Level.

Unless a person sings an identical playback, they will invariably add their spin to a song. Changes will be made. While I can't neccesarily vouch for it's quality, I think that it may well be an art.

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"No Contests, No Divas, Just A Good Time!"

" Disc based and loving it..."

How insulting... and coming from a KJ to boot!!!

Art is subjective. Creating art typically involves creating something that stirs the senses and emotions. The ability to do this well is generally reserved to individuals that know how to tap into something that others can't. Even among true artists there are those that stand out from the others.

On any given night, a bunch of people come up to our stages to sing songs they like. Much of the time, they are trying to recreate the original because that is what they know. They don't have whatever that special thing is to add more to the performance. For the general listener, we don't hear anything spectacular. We clap and congratulate out of respect for the effort.

On occasion though, someone delivers something that commands your attention. Whether that is the sound of their voice, the way they move on stage, maybe even directly involving the audience, or a combination thereof, there is something that makes us stop, listen and enjoy having our senses and emotions touched.

Like most of you, I have some really good singers that come in to the bars we work at. But even they usually deliver only a performance that is well above average, and very enjoyable to listen to.

Every now and then though, someone will channel something special and deliver a performance that really moves me. In the past 4 years of hosting, there have been countless performances that have simply brought the house down. There have been many performances that have made me laugh to the point of not being able to catch my breath. I have been brought to tears by 3 different performances that were simply awe inspiring.

That is art to me.

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-Chris

Do your singers know you feel this way? Fools of themselves? Wow, you really need to get out of this business and go find something you enjoy doing or at least believe in.

Well, I have to agree with Alan B. It is all about selling booze, which is a good thing. It's about letting go and trying and failing and not letting it bother you. That being said and getting back to the original post, Is it Art? No, the format is too restrictive unless you're singing your own songs or there are boobies flashed.

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Okay, who took my pants?

Art?? Not sure I would consider it art. Karaoke is fun, it can be silly, it can be rowdy, there are good singers, and not so good singers, there are great singers. The problem is that they aren't creating anything. Even, as far as improvising, you can only go as far as the track will allow you to. An Alan is right, some people DO make fools of themselves, and some people are drunks. Hey, if that is how they want to have fun, who are we to judge. . They can be very entertaining or rather painful.

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I am the ONLY SANE 1 HERE

I hope you realize that I was being facetious. At every show, I stress the fact that karaoke is about having FUN, not about how well you sing. And... I always encourage EVERYONE to participate.

With that said, the fact remains that many people won't get up and sing unless they've had a "few" drinks. Part of what I do is mingle with the crowd trying to get new singers up there and the response is always the same; "I'm not drunk enough to get up there". And if they DO get up there, they act like fools and scream into the mic. Doesn't happen that often at my shows, but it does happen.

And even though I encourage everyone to participate, no one wants to listen to some drunk screaming into the mic, including me.

So, as you can see, there is much truth to my statement above. I'm willing to bet that there is not one person on this forum who likes when a drunk comes up, screams into the mic; not to mention stumbling into your equipment, spilling their drink or dropping the microphone. That is NOT fun for both the audience and the host. So I guess by your standards, we should all get out of the business. You need to get real.

Art form?? Hell, NO.

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Electro-Voice Evolve 50... Taking Sound To The Next Level.

Karaoke literally would not exist without alcohol.....

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-Chris

True, but not everyone drinks alcohol. Some will drink soda, coffee or water. And the ones that do, most don't abuse it and only have a couple of beers or can control their drinking. It is usually never an issue. But if most karaoke singers consisted of drunken fools, I would not be catering to them and would not be in this business.

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Electro-Voice Evolve 50... Taking Sound To The Next Level.

Or cigarettes!

Insulting?? I don't think so. Did you even read my response above?

Like I said, I don't think that there is one KJ, including you Cue and your little "likers" who would actually appreciate some drunk coming up to sing, if you could call it that and...

scream into the microphone, bumping into/spilling a drink and damaging your equipment or knocking over a monitor, or dropping your expensive wireless mic on the ground. And, it could drive the good customers away. They didn't come out here to be repulsed by some loudmouth drunk. But, If you DO like this type of behavior and still feel I'm being insulting, then please accept my apology, but I don't think that any KJ would stand for this... even you, Cue.

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Electro-Voice Evolve 50... Taking Sound To The Next Level.

I do not see 99% of karaoke as art. It is a form of expression that falls short of being art. Dancing... The people doing the line dance during a karaoke break is not art. Ballet is. I see karaoke in that same light.
But karaoke is a wonderful form of expression, and isn't that enough?

Yes Alan, I read your response above... a response made 2 days after making the initial (what I felt to be) insulting comment just to justify it.

What kind of singers do you get? Man I haven't seen ANY of that - at least on any kind of even semi-regular basis - used to YEARS ago when we allowed all music and the bar was a little more lax on cutting people off. I had a drink spilt once on my mixer around 6 or 7 years ago, that wasn't even because of a drunk, the waitress tripped & a beer happened to toss through the air. Shut the show down that night. She even paid for it to be repaired out of her tips - which I only took half of the cost.
Mics fall - usually accidents, even pros drop mics on occasion. Don't buy expensive wireless mics if you are worried about it. The GTD Audio is a great mic that you won't worry about if dropped, however I've had that mic dropped quite a few times (again accidents) and it's still working fine. For loud singers, get a compressor.

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LIKE Lonman on Facebook - Lonman Productions Karaoke & my main site via my profile!

Marble - I respectfully ask that you disregard the naysayers.

If this can be called art (and it was even funded by the National Endowment For The Arts) then anything - including karaoke - can be called art.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piss_Christ

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-Chris

I say rent a building with some tables and chairs in it and advertise that you'll be doing karaoke every night there. See how many people show up. It's all about drunks in a bar for god's sake. Doing a karaoke show 7 nights a week for a couple of years made me lose my appreciation for the "art".

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KNOW THYSELF