Karaoke Forums

So its no secret that I like to sing heavy metal in all its forms. It's actually attracted some people to the bar I go to. I've actually had people come up to me (people my age, so mid 20s) and say that I am the reason they come down, my song choices and vocal delivery are energetic. While I don't agree on the vocal delivery part, it is a boost of confidence.

I usually sing stuff like Black Sabbath, Dio, Judas Priest, the rare Pantera song, the rare Slayer song. And on VERY rare occasions, I try out an extreme metal tune, like a Children of Bodom song or something.

Now, as of the past few months, there has been this group of older fellows (who doesn't sing), who has taken a liking to running their mouth about me at their table, thinking I can't hear.

"That song was absolute f***ing sh**."
"That guy has no business being near a microphone, his music is sh**"

I even had an older guy once come up to me and say after I had finished a song, verbatim, "I know you think you're being funny right now, but that was very disrespectful to everyone here. You need to give your head a few shakes, because that was sh**."

I was utterly flabberghasted. Is the point of karaoke not to sing what you love? Who is this guy to tell me what I can and can't sing. So I let him know that. He hasn't been back since, but the others remain and constantly run their mouth whenever I'm singing.

What exactly can I do here?

Keep doing what you're doing and ignore it - or dedicate the next song you sing directly to them ! I turned around an entire clientelle from older karaoke stereotypical standards sung by 30-50 yo avg age group to lots of todays rock, pop, classic rock, metal & newer country singing 20-40ish avg age group over a few years.

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

Took the words out of my mouth! You have to have a thicker skin. Just smile, wave, and sing what the hell you want.

And repeat often on the mic with a BIG smile "If you don't like what you hear, the floor is open! Come on up and show us what YOU'VE got!". And look/point right at them while saying it. Heck, I'd walk right over to their table, ON MIC, and call them out in a friendly, non-aggressive manor. "So! Which one of you lady killers has the best singing voice? (Get them pointing at each other.) You? Whats it gonna be? You guys arent AFRAID are ya?!" Get the crowd involved. "Who wants to hear Cletus here SING!!!!!".

Etc. Kill them with kindness and a spotlight. They will either join in or leave. Either way you are good.

The only reason why I've been as nonconfrontational about it as I have is because it's not actually my karaoke show; it's my boss's equipment and show, but I occasionally fill in when she has to work overtime, or make the rare decision to go on a vacation (I ran her show for the past two Sundays while she was gone, which I was glad to do). So, with her and I being close friends but not being my show, I had to try to set the best image I could for her. Also having social anxiety didn't help, I was amazed I was able to tell the first guy off, polite as I was.

Which meant for those two Sundays I avoided the extreme metal; no screamed vocals, clean-vocaled metal entirely. But I still got mouthed about.

I'm thinking this coming Sunday though, since my boss is back and I don't have to "uphold an image", I'm gonna do one or two extreme metal songs. Mouthpieces be damned.

I will say though, having filled in as a temp; KJ-ing is fun. Hard though. I have major respect for you all. Especially having to deal with confrontational people sometimes.

To me when I run a show, I play to the crowd. When I go to someone's else show I do what I want. BUT that's me.

Being a Karaoke host the one thing I like is the extreme variety that my customers bring to the show. Even though you may endure a few Debbie downers now and then just ingore it. Don't even acknowledge them or their comments. Just sing what makes you happy thats what Karaoke is about.

How about be the host and stop being the singer? Your job as host is not to alienate the customers, just don't get in the rotation. You're there to facilitate the entertainment for the customers of the venue, not to be the entertainment, unless I'm missing something here. Go sing somewhere you're not the show host.

Agree & disagree. A host should sing only when needed but should be able to have the choice to sing what they want as well if they feel it will work. Otherwise sing to the crowd.

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

I totally agree. If you only have 3 singers, I could see you singing but if you have a decent sized rotation, your job is to host, not sing.

On your choice of music, unless your singers are all 20 somethings that like those songs, I wouldn't do it. You need to know how to read the crowd and sing what's appropriate. The type of songs that get sung at your show.

Stop being a baby. Karaoke is NOT about you, it's about your customers.

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

If I didn't sing (I started out a year and a half ago at this place a total stranger, before eventually befriending the host), there'd be an equally annoyed subset of people. I've had people tell me that part of the reason people come in is to see me, my boss and her boyfriend (the actual hosts) sing. Regardless, I didn't know there could be such hostility about the hosts singing. Every karaoke place I have ever been at, the hosts have sang.

I've grown to be less sensitive about this whole issue, but meh. It doesn't matter, my boss is back from her vacation and has retaken control of her show, so I'm gonna sing some extreme metal. And I won't feel bad about it one bit.

I always sing the first song of the night, then my rule is I take myself out of the rotation once it reaches 10 singers.

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C Mc
KJ, FL

if the customers are actually Asking you to sing, then as far as I am concerned it's different then automatically sticking yourself into a rotation. You are actually catering to what the customers want, which is just good business.

When I was hosting I NEVER sang, unless I was specifically asked to, and it was usually a duet with some shy person who didn't want to sing on their own.

Every other show I have ever been to, the host sang in every single rotation, and I personally didn't think it was fair, so I decided a long time ago that if I ever got a regular gig, I would run it differently.

-james

The last time I went to anther karaoke show, the husband and wife team BOTH sang in every single rotation, which got on my nerves. THEN a couple songs after they both sang, they skipped my turn and sang a duet together. I went up and asked them about it, and they said someone asked them to sing, to which the obvious answer is till "wait until your friggin turn!" I left and won't be back, and I am VERY forgiving to hosts that run their show differently than mine. That was just selfish.

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C Mc
KJ, FL

That is primarily why I don't sing at my own shows (unless asked) and pull myself after 5 singers. I watched too many shows where the hosts would sing entirely too much, even taking the last song of the night - even if they had time to get that one last singer in. Hosting a show has never been about singing, it's about getting everyone else up to sing as much as possible!

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

To me, if THE MAJORITY enjoys your singing, and requests things from you, there's nothing wrong with obliging -- as long as you can be flexible and have an awareness of when it is and isn't appropriate to sing. On the odd slow night, I'll keep myself in the rotation; less than five in the rotation is my own personal rule, and even then I'll slowly back away near the end of the night. The exception being duets; I'll be available for duets or an occasional guest rap verse with the provision that I'm not going to do excessive heavy lifting throughout the night. (Meaning I'm fine with doing the part of the person to the right of the "featuring" credit, but I'm not going to continually put myself up for songs that are 75% me/25% you. That looks bad on me, and I'm happy to explain that to anyone.)

All that being said, as it pertains to the main issue, I'm loving the "kill 'em with kindness" tactic. Anyone who would call out any singer -- host or otherwise -- for their vocal prowess or song selection is a d-bag, just a turd sandwich. But yes, it is your job to be the bigger person. Be passive-aggressive, yes. Be a smart-a$$, sure. But perform with more confidence than ever before, and with a big sh*t-eating grin on your face. If you're confrontational, you get the reputation of being the confrontational karaoke guy. Outwit them and make them feel the stupidity the rest of us know they have.

To me, hosting has always been about ENTERTAINING. That may mean I sing... I tend to make song choices that cater to the crowd that is in front of me, rather than what I want to sing.

This does a few things for me: 1) It allows me to sing an upbeat song when everyone else is singing slow songs, to help keep the energy level up. 2) I have a large vocal range and sing a lot of different styles. People feel comfortable asking me if they want to do a duet, or if I will sing with them to give them confidence. In the latter case, I only sing minimally, to 'guide them through it'. 3) It allows for a few games, and change ups. For example, I do a kamikaze game, and have gotten a bit of a reputation for being able to find new songs for people. The way I do it, is I pick their songs... and I genuinely try and find a song I think they will know and be able to sing, but isn't on their list. Conversely, they get to pick my song. One week I did 'Get up (Sex Machine)' by Jame Brown, and it was hilarious. They've also had me do "man I feel like a woman' which I totally played into... so they know I'm a good sport and its all in fun.

While a person may enjoy 'heavy metal', its not for everyone. You could be the greatest heavy metal singer in the world, but in front of the wrong crowd, its just not going to go over well.

In my opinion, a good host is able to recognize what is in front of him crowd wise, and be flexible enough to cater to them.

So, my Host singing rules are: Sing minimally, and when you do sing, you sing to the crowd, and try to keep the energy level up. This frequently means you don't sing the song you want to. I mean, You're Hosting and getting paid!! ... your desires are not paramount... your job is to entertain people

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Good music, good friends, howling good times!

To me hosting has always been about facilitating. Making sure everyone else has a good time. When I 'host' a party, I am there to make sure everyone is enjoying themselves. When I host a karaoke show - same principle. When I GO to a party - I party, when I GO to karaoke, I sing. If I want to sing I will GO to karaoke, not do it at my show if it's not necessary but only as needed.

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

The problem with the OP is not that he's singing but "what" he's singing. As a host, you are being offensive to your audience.

If the majority of your people are into country music, then for pete's sake, don't sing heavy metal. You need to sing the stuff your crowd sings and likes. It's not about yourself but pleasing your singers. That's your bread and butter.

It's obvious that your people don't like what you're doing. But instead of singing to please the crowd, you're acting like a rebel without a cause. You need to learn how to be a host. Rather, a good host.

If you want to sing, go to another karaoke show. Sing anything you want. If you want to host, cater to and please the people. It's about them, NOT you.

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

Too many "Hosts" fail to know what "Host" means..

As I said, during the two weeks I was hosting, I actually sang quite tame heavy metal in comparison to what I usually sing. I stuck to Black Sabbath, Dio, and Judas Priest. Stuff that most either enjoyed or didn't mind, except for two or three of the really old folks who hate anything released after 1965. So I don't really see the relevance.

Literally only like two or three people out of about fifteen patrons had started mouthing. The rest loved it, even if they admitted it's not what they normally listen to.

Now that I'm not hosting anymore, and am not there in an "official" capacity (the boss is back from vacation and took the reins again), I have reverted to doing an extreme death or black metal song a night in addition to the Sabbath, Priest, Maiden, Dio, etc.

I really don't see anything wrong in doing so. Yeah, roughly 10% of the patrons still mouth about it, but if I can't sing what I enjoy when I'm not the host, what's the point of even going??