Karaoke, made popular in Japan in the 1970s, is now more widespread than ever with Karaoke bars all over the world. If you’ve always wanted to try it but are nervous about getting up in front of people and singing, here are a few pointers.
- Be prepared.
Find a song that’s likely to be in the karaoke song list at your local bar and make sure you really know the song. Even though the words are on the screen it’s easy to be surprised by a part of the song you don’t remember which might cause you to be off key or rhythm. - Pick a crowd pleaser.
What makes karaoke so much fun is when the audience is really getting into your song..If you’re singing something a bit obscure they might just stare at you with a blank expression. - Relax.
You’re not giving a professional performance at a sold-out show at an arena. You’re just having some fun with friends and other amateur singers. You’ll have more fun if you don’t take yourself too seriously. - Build your repertoire.
If you find that karaoke is something you want to continue doing, try to slowly build up the list of songs you’re comfortable singing. Mix it up and don’t always sing the same song at the same bar. - Have some fun.
Once you feel comfortable with the whole karaoke experience, mix things up. Try singing a song you’ve never tried. Dance a little. Change the way you sing the song, or change your voice completely. - Karaoke Roulette
When you’re ready for a real challenge, play this game with your friends. Flip open to a random page in the song book. You have to sing a song from this page. And your friend has to flip to a page at random and do the same. This works best with the books that are sorted by title rather than artist since you get more variety per page. - Karaoke Tag
In this game, you pick a song of your choice for your friend to sing. She is now it until she sings the song you picked. And then you have to sing a song she picks. This one is just evil.
Follow these tips and you’ll be well on your way to becoming a karaoke hustler!
