I’m sure you’ve encountered the Karaoke phenomenon. You’re out somewhere, and you see an odd stage setup – sort of like a DJ only with a screen and a microphone. Suddenly, somebody springs into action, goes into Game Show Host mode and announces “It’s Karaoke Time!” and the room’s energy ramps up.
Looking around, you realize that many people in the room were waiting for this moment. One by one, (sometimes in pairs), people get up and sing to their favorite hits. The screen I mentioned scrolls the lyrics, so the singer can’t screw that up (or can they?). The soundtrack has all the lead breaks and background vocals, and there’s a generous amount of reverb “sweetening” on the vocals, so everyone sounds as good as they think they do when they sing on the shower.
Karaoke is enormously popular – some bars specialize in it, and proprietors love it. The quality of the music isn’t usually very good, but it’s a spectator sport, and people just can’t wait to have a chance to sing, or goad their drunken buddies into getting up for a song.
There are some people who take it more seriously and indeed, I have been at a bistro where the only entertainment was ONE GUY, singing Karaoke for two hours! And the place was packed!
I don’t understand the attraction (aside from the drunken humiliation factor). If you can’t sing well, why are you doing this? If you can sing well, why are you doing this?
For some participants, it’s a confidence booster. For others, it’s a silly lark. Some see it as a stepping stone to showbiz, but I have to wonder how effective that is. I have seen people that are very good singers do Karaoke, and I have to wonder why they don’t try and get a real, live band together, instead of singing over that cheesy background stuff?
The Bluegrass Open Mic I’ve been hosting in Martinez for 7 years or so is actually more like a live karaoke. The house band provides the backing tracks, and the performers (usually on guitar) come up and sing, and they generally blossom with the reliable backing. That makes me feel good. I’m also proud that our event is never the drunken “Hey you oughta get up there and try this” style of event. I guess it means we’re missing out on some of the audience fun of real Karaoke, but that’s fine by me.
Have I ever sang Karaoke? I did, once. On a cruise ship. It was boring and awful, singing through that mushy, reverb-laden PA to similarly mushy, non-descript backing tracks. I didn’t find it fun, and singing in tune is not as much fun for the audience as those who either make a fool of themselves or those who take it very seriously.
