Karaoke and Me

In a recent conversation with my friend Sara we explored her love of karaoke and why I fear it. I want to sing karaoke. I do. I think there is the possibility I could be totally amazing... but also a stronger possibility that I would look like a total fool and sound much worse. See, the few times I've been to places where people sang karaoke it has often been either really good singers showing off and they could just sing acapella if they wanted.... or it's been not-so-hot folks who struggle with the words or who THOUGHT they knew the song before they got up there only to discover that it's only one line they knew and no verses.... At any rate, I often find that singing to an accompaniment tape whether at church or at a karaoke bar sounds false and unnerving.

However, I am convinced that if I could invite an audience into my car and I could sing along to a song of my choice at top volume, (as I do when I am alone) with my customary wild abandon, that people would be amazed at my talent. I thought that until one day I tried this theory out. Unfortunately I made two mistakes. I performed for my friend Sarah B who really CAN sing... and I think I may have tried to sing acapella... (with no loud musical accompaniment and the lead singer to follow)

I have a recollection of me singing "Nobody" by Sylvia at the top of my longs and her turning pink with controlled laughter until she couldn't take it anymore and burst out laughing tears rolling down her face. I actually think I sang a medley of songs that may have included a Patsy Cline hit... maybe the first few bars of "Delta Dawn." It's not really my fault--actually a youthful me was encouraged by my mother, when sitting around the kitchen table or doing the dishes, to sing along to her 63 Great Country Songs Songbook that included songs I barely knew like "Paper Roses" by Marie Osmond or "We'll Sing in the Sunshine" by Gale Garnett.

And my choice of "Nobody" wasn't a brilliant one because it's not actually all that easy to sing... it's just that I knew all the words and could hear it "in my head." Considering the last time I HEARD the song for real was probably 1983, I may not be totally right on. On a side note, is it not alarming that I can remember every word and nuance of some popular song from my 4th grade year, but have vast holes in my knowledge base in all kinds of other areas? My mind was impressionable and I blew it on memorizing crappy songs when I could have learned Chinese or something.

But this Sara was convinced that I'd love karaoke in the right set of circumstances. She suggested I go to Boomtown Karaoke in Minneapolis that has box karaoke and that would cut back on the whole stage fright because it's just a room with some couches and a big screen tv and two microphones... and you can sing all night with just your friends. Then she pointed out that it's really all about song selection. Unfortunately for me, the few times I have been brave enough to sing they've often NOT had the songs I wanted to sing. Perhaps it's a sign.

Omigosh. You can hear about 37 seconds of "Nobody" right here.