In the great spectrum of performative singing, karaoke falls somewhere between singing along with the car radio and performing in a tribute band. First developed in Japan in the 1970s, karaoke or “empty orchestra” is now a global phenomenon enjoyed around the world.
One might ask the amateur vocalist: why subject yourself to the anxiety of public performance and the potential embarrassment of failure? And for the audience: why listen to a bunch of off-key, poorly timed, and underprepared wannabes? Well, the answers to these questions are likely as diverse as the performers themselves, but the common denominator is that it is damn fun.
From music class to karaoke bar
While many of us have dreamed of being career musicians like our adolescent heroes, most of us don’t find ourselves rockin’ out on stage in front of throngs of adoring fans. Nevertheless, listening to music is still an important part of life—a joy that evokes many strong emotions. Karaoke allows us to experience a small piece of the thrill and high of the performative side of music.
My own journey to karaoke started early, in a small town with a great music teacher. Ellen Tolson was a West Coast hippie with an exceptional talent for bringing out the best musically in kids. The boys’ music group I was in practiced vocal exercises and pre-assigned songs, but she also allowed us to pick songs for the annual concert, so we got to perform such beauties as “Low Rider” and “I’m Too Sexy.” Although I can’t say I retained any special talent or technical skill from those days, they did leave me with a love of singing.
Sweet Caroline and my karaoke debut
Ten years later, I was back in that same small town, at the bar, for my first karaoke night. Two old friends from the music group and I sang Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline.” We got the whole bar singing along, “Da da da,” and I thought, “If this is karaoke, then sign me up for more!”
Sadly, my public singing then went on an extended hiatus. I must have lost that naive swagger of youth; the little voice inside would whisper, “What if you don’t sound good?”, “Do you even know the lyrics?”, and “Too embarrassing.” But now I’m in my forties and I don’t know if it’s a midlife crisis or a general dialling down of anxiety, inhibition, and the need to be cool, but karaoke is back in my life and I’m loving every minute of it.
Local karaoke scene
In my early days in Cumberland, karaoke night was at the now-shuttered Cumberland Hotel. Although it had a bit of a rough edge, it was a blast. Old-timers I would never have expected would get up there and belt out the gentlest love ballad. These days, karaoke night is revamped and reinvigorated at the Waverley Hotel, produced by Robin Konstabaris and Step Carruthers of Lucky Village Enterprises. Thursday nights see a pumped crowd, eager to get their songs in the rotation. There is a fun mix of performers, ranging from first-timers building up the nerve to sing in front of an audience to talented karaoke regulars giving impressive renditions of their favourites. You can also catch karaoke nights at the Kelly O’Bryan’s (Thursdays) and the Flying Canoe (Sundays).
A little bit of practice makes for a much more enjoyable experience for all involved. It’s fun to see what does and doesn’t work with karaoke. Plenty of songs you love shouldn’t make the cut. Some are too long, with endless instrumentals—boring, plus you’ll take up other performers’ precious time. With some, you realize you don’t know anything but the chorus, and they are actually quite tricky to nail. Some are way faster than you expected, leaving you tongue-tied and perpetually struggling to keep up. But that still leaves a whole lot of songs that do work.
Embrace the diversity of karaoke
A friend once quipped to me when I was telling him about karaoke, “Yeah, but aren’t there only like 40 songs that everyone keeps repeating?” The beauty of it, however, is the great diversity of genres. You’ll hear songs from musicals, death metal, and everything in between. It tends to be a very accepting and encouraging environment of all types of music and levels of singers, and I think one of the great secrets is that if you are really into it and put your all into the performance, you can make up for your talent deficits. So, grab a mic and start belting out some bangers. Maybe we’ll see you soon at karaoke night.
