Karaoke Forums

never enter a contest if you want it to be fair. they are not inherently crooked, they are inherently biased. such as the singer in bradenton FL who placed in a contest who stunk, but sung proud to be an american. one of the judges was a veteran of war. people can only judge properly what they know. and if I was a judge I would be just as guilty.  :hmmm:

Very few contests are truly judged fairly.  Even those that are, leave someone feeling that they weren't.

The thing to remember about contests, is that they will have one winner, and everyone else "loses".

No such animal as a fairly judged karaoke contest. They should be judged by computer. Otherwise they might as well be the Olympics.

Well, do I think that Karaoke Shows are fairly judged! I most of the time don't think that they are. I have been in a few contests and most of them are by who the establishment has wanted to win for one reason or the other. Some are because the person may draw in more crowds in the future if they win and the establishment sees the "round of applause" that they recieve as they sing their 1 or 2 songs.
I am not saying that I should have won those contests, as I am NOT that way. There have been others in those contests that should have won a higher spot than they did and they as well as myself didn't win. Now saying that, when the judges did their stuff and the results were given, the crowds were very surprised that myself and some of the others didn't place higher or win.
What is to be said about that? This is why I so strongly think that most shows are rigged and that the true singer/entertainer doesn't win.
(there is a scam in there somewhere)
That is my take on the whole situation and I thank you for your time.

Top 10 Reasons why karaoke contest winners win...

10. They actually deserved to win.

9. The cliquish in-crowd preferred their song that night...to the others.

8. The judges know how well he/she tips.

7. They're a knockout with mediocre talent.

6. They're a fair singer with shrewd diplomatic people skills.

5. They had an affair with one of the judges.

4. They're a regular and have never won before.

3. They're in good with local Karaoke publications.

2. They can't sing for beans but have great stage presence.

1. They brought a lot of friends to clap for them.

Now, if this is all fair, then so are all Olympic judges.

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So you can sing. But can you write a song? That is the difference between karaoke...and the big time!

Are karaoke contests judged fairly? For that matter are any competitions judged fairly? Any time there is judging, politics can always get involved and skew the results (e.g. see what happened in the Olympics). Unless you get some sort of unimpassioned objective formula to judge a contest on such as:

accuracy score (%) x difficulty factor x ....
(I hope you get my point)

contests will probably never be completely fair.

Also during competitions, you're trying to compare apples to oranges to pears to bananas, etc. What do I mean by this? A lot of the time judges are evaluating different music genres against each other using the same guidelines. Also the venue where the contest may be held would more than likely affect the outcome of the competition simply by favoring certain music over another. What if contests were categorized-- therefore you're comparing like genres to each other and would eliminate some bias toward certain genres found at venues (e.g. even if singers are performing Country and Western in a venue that would not normally go for C+W, at least they would go head to head with each other and not be penalized for doing something that the venue isn't normally receptive to)?

Just some ideas.

fairly, i doubt it... I have entered probably 25 - 30 contests in the last seven years.... I have always won a spot in the finals, if that was the format...i have never won a finals....I am not bitter nor angry...actually I do not "sing" all that well, but i can "holler" with the best of them...I am always told that I have an excellent "stage presence" and nearly always get excellent crowd response....which accounts for making it to the finals but never winning....I can compete with a small group but don't hold a candle to the really good singers....it seems that some people just need to accept where they are...i have about 70 - 80 songs that i sing...about 20 of which i sing on a regular basis...about 5 that get "requested" once i become a "regular" at a karaoke show....did i mention that i travel all over the US ....mostly in the South...and I try to sing 2 or 3 nights every week...i enjoy the competition if for no other reason than just to hear the good singers that show up for contests, but don't normally come to Karaoke on a regular basis.... besides entering the contest "quarantees" you a spot in the rotation... I digress....

I can certainly understand the argument for the inclusion of somebody's stage prescence in the tally of their final scrore, however I disagree with it. I think that it is unfair to people who may have awesome voices but maybe lack the confidence in their ability to not look goofy moving around on stage. I know that I would fall into that category. If somebody is an excellent vocalist and has stage presence, then that is great. They deserve to win. But why should somebody who gave the better vocal performance lose to somebody who knows how to dance. It''s a singing contest. Period. It should be judged soley as such.

I agree with Brad my vocal talents are excellent but my dancing looks like something from the movie footloose and when i am on stage i put my effort into the song and how i feel, not my dance moves. I dont think you should be judged for the way you dance, after all it's really about vocal talent to me. thats just my personal view for myself only.

michelle

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LUV & KISSES SHELL

I have never entered any karaoke contests and am new to serious singing (I've been studying voice for just about 3-1/2 years), but I am thinking of trying to compete in Karaoke Fest 2003 and would like to put several of the theories presented in this discussion to the test to determine if a contest can be judged fairly or if it is truly a popularity contest -at least when the judges are the patrons. How? Just for fun, I would like to try to qualify by singing an extremely difficult and reasonably well-known opera aria (even for those who are not well-versed about operatic repetoir) that I will be performing in an upcoming semi-formal recital scheduled around the same time as the preliminary qualifying rounds. Common sense would indicate that if this is truly a popularity contest, I should receive absolutely no votes even though I can perform this piece probably better than 98% of the people who would sing at karaoke. I'll let you know what happens.

If anybody has any thoughts on this, let me know.

Signed, The Human Guinea Pig

Stage presence does NOT mean acting like a fool. It means having a presence, while on the stage, that commands the attention of the audience! Acting like a fool, would probably fall into the category of audience appeal. In any scoring I've seen, (unless the judging is based on audience response) audience appeal is given a much lower percentage in the final scoring than stage presence, technical difficulty, vocal ability and such.

Still, none of this means that I think contests are good for business or fair. I don't think that most are!

Judy

I went out with Pam and Ralph, (Sat.) and acted the fool WITH stage presence.

I sang to a table of hotties, and they loved the attention.

A good time was had by all.

Just singin'

Jerry

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Yes, We do That... Computers, Web Sites, Networks, Antique Cars, NASCAR,
Tour Guide, Stunt Double, Romance Lessons, Hyperbole, Humor, Modesty.
Karaoke too...
Quotes on request... Jerry Dixon

Right now where I live a local fox affiliate is holding a month long karaoke "contest" at four local bars. It has been going on for the past two weeks and will continue for another two weeks. I have reservations and complaints about this. It is a fiasco with no forethought or preplanning on anybody's part. First of all, each of the four weeks they hold preliminaries starting on Wednesday night and going through until Saturday. Each night has it's bar where the contestants go to compete. This is what brings me to my first gripe. The regulars in these bars that sing karaoke, but perhaps do not want to waste their time getting into the "contest" are almost totally shut out from singing. They aren't even kept in the rotation and designated as non-competitors. They do not separate males from females. We all know, that not only will a female voice beat out a male voice in a competition (assuming that all things are equal), but that even a hot female with a mediocre voice will beat the best male singer with few exceptions. Last but not least in my problems with this is the fact that at least one of the bars' "judges" is one of the bartenders. I can tell you who will win even before they sing, this guy is so transparent. If you sing any style of music that he doesn't like, you're done, put a fork in you. The worst thing of all is that he is busy behind the bar all night and doesn't even pay attention to half of the singers. Have any of you ever experienced similar things?

Brad

I agree.. Lack of planning is allways a problem. I've been unfortionate to be involved with a number of "Projects" that required planning.

Since I didn't have the authority to DO the planning it didn't get done correctly.

Yes, I worked for L.A. County for 20 years, and the engineers controled everthing. What a bunch of morons. They add subtract, divide, and ignore the human factor.

I've seen other projects go sour.

Last year, a karaoke magazine, (nameless) held a contest on a ship, (nameless) and nobody was taking tickets at the door.

I'm not sure how many walked in without paying, but I know a large number did.

Now you would think, the door would be a priority. Not so it seems.

So even the best plans of mice and men can and do go astray.

I have no complaint with someone not planning.

But they have no right to complain when it doesn't work out right.

(I will go again this year, and I expect to see someone at the door)

Just sayin'

Jerry

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Yes, We do That... Computers, Web Sites, Networks, Antique Cars, NASCAR,
Tour Guide, Stunt Double, Romance Lessons, Hyperbole, Humor, Modesty.
Karaoke too...
Quotes on request... Jerry Dixon

Matt

Sounds like Danny DeVito and Arnold in "Twins"

Just sayin'

(The short thing)

Jerry

_________________
Yes, We do That... Computers, Web Sites, Networks, Antique Cars, NASCAR,
Tour Guide, Stunt Double, Romance Lessons, Hyperbole, Humor, Modesty.
Karaoke too...
Quotes on request... Jerry Dixon

Get this folks even the latest offering "Nashville Star" is so messed up..the producers from SONY records were quoted by The Nashville Tennessean Newspaper as being hesitant to working with "artist's who weren't really artists' at all" if that doesn't show how bush league the TV competitions really are. It makes me really wonder why i'm really in Nashville anyway
working in this industry?

I'm truly Embarassed...
Brian D.

I have found that the only way a contest can be truly fair is that the judges (or judging committee) have no vested interest in the outcome of the judging (i.e. through bribes, favors, etc.) Also, like songs should be grouped and judged against each other rather than trying to compare different genres against one another (i.e. by categories such as pop, C & W, CLASSICAL/OPERA , etc.) so as not to be biased by theme. Last, but not least, uniform judging criteria should be established-- i.e. each performance should be rated on Technical Merit and Artistic Interpretation (as in figure skating-- we know that figure skating is completely free from bias ) and maybe by the ever-present intangible "X-Factor.

This is just my two cents worth. Anybody else have any ideas?

That's the way my whole scoring system all 35 pages of it, has been run all along... in competitions it is briefly explained in 3 pages. I hold the copyrights to it. and it's scary that nobody has yet to want to even see it in use in a video yet...because my singers have told me they (the competitions) are so fair..
the only thing is only the judges really know how it really operates...

Sing SAFE!

Brian D.

Has anyone been in the Karaokefest contest so far, and what do you think of the judging that the singers vote for eachother instead of by judges???(Just curious what everyone thinks because of this topic.)

Anyone care to comment on it at this time???

As a female finalist last year, I had to judge the male finalists. I knew one of the guys who placed. He sang in falcetto the whole song. I knew from hearing him beforehand that he could sing ANYTHING - so I judged him according to what I had heard before. Had it been anyone else, I don't think I would have rated him as high. The 5 finalists (out of 23), however, were also my choice of the top 5. Go figure. Maybe I am a good judge after all ! ??

When I made it to the finals at the club/bar that I competed at, I noticed a lot of pressure from regulars who were in the contest and they would vote for other regulars. I honestly feel that strangers should be the judges at the finals. Not family members or guests of the Queen Mary. But TOTAL STRANGERS. Representatives from Priddis Music or Voco Pro would be good because they are vendors at the event anyway.

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Plant flowers in other people's gardens and your life becomes a bouquet.