I posted the question ("who was discovered singing karaoke?") on the karaoke forum and got some interesting answers...
One fellow - SwingCatKurt - expressed the sentiment that you gotta pay your dues. Good answer. Maybe that was the thought in the back of my mind when I asked the question? A message to people who have delusions about making it the easy way? I dunno if that was the thought... I don't spend much time in the back of my head.
SwingCat went on to list a number of folks he knows that have used karaoke as a way to hone their singing and stage skills. That is to say, they paid some of their dues on the karaoke stage. But, they went on to start bands or join bands and work hard to get there.
One fellow suggested that Tommy DeCarlo of Boston was discovered singing karaoke. The story is truly touching. But it was a MySpace video that got him the big gig, and not walking into a karaoke bar.
Another suggestion was Jennifer Nettles of Sugarland. From Wiki, it looks like she started her own band (twice) before joining Sugarland.
Mindy McCready is another interesting story. It looks like she discovered country through karaoke, rather than country discovering her through karaoke.
"After learning her craft with private opera training from a retired Julliard School Of Music professor, McCready discovered country music from the karaoke scene and decided to sing country rather than opera in 7 other languages." McCready's bio
So... here is my conclusion so far... No one (that I know of so far) ever found their road to fame by walking into a karaoke bar. There have been some notable folks discovered through karaoke videos on the internet, and some by peddling karaoke recordings of themselves. And naturally, karaoke competitions are breeding grounds for people getting discovered.
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Sunday, January 31, 2010
Tuesday, January 26, 2010
Getting discovered through karaoke
A recent news article caught my attention. (from Rolling Stone, and from RTT News). It seems that Steve Tyler (lead singer with Aerosmith) was seen singing karaoke at a bar in Palm Springs, California. He apparently did not go to the bar intending to sing, but one of the groups that sang butchered a song of his so badly that he felt he had to redeem himself. He took the stage and showed the crowd how it should be done.
I don't want to get into what is going on with Steve Tyler and rehab and whether he is going to sing with Aerosmith and Aerosmith's search for a replacement for Tyler. That's all interesting stuff, but there has been plenty of news coverage on that.
Another topic I just want to mention ... the two guys that sang "I Don't Want To Miss A Thing" were booed off the stage. Don't get me started on this. All I want to say is that this is poor form for the audience. Please be respectful and realize that by golly, this is karaoke.
The news item got me thinking though. Steve Tyler went from being a rock star to being a karaoke singer. Does the opposite ever happen? Do rock stars actually get discovered singing karaoke?
I had a patron once tell me that Mary J. Blige was the only rock star who had been discovered while singing karaoke. Interesting. Sounds plausible. Or could this just be urban legend? That sounds plausible, too. I googled around and found the statement to be half true. It seems that Blige didn't go to a karaoke bar, but rather she made what was essentially a demo tape in a karaoke-style booth. (See article 1 and article 2.)
I spent quite a bit of time googling and found a couple of interesting articles about discovering rock stars: how some black singers were discovered, and how some women singers were discovered.
After 37 hours of gruegling [this is a word I just coined - a combination of grueling and googling], I only found one reference that claimed a discovery through karaoke: Coco Lee. She entered a karaoke contest and was discovered. Her Wikipedia entry does not mention karaoke, however. It says that she was discovered through the "New Talent Singing Awards" in Hong Kong. I wouldn't exactly call that being discovered singing karaoke.
That begs the question. Is American Idol just a glorified karaoke contest? I mean, most karaoke contests have a first place prize of maybe $50, or a gift certificate for the bar. I have personally given away quite a number of vintage Les Paul inflatable guitars as prizes. The only real difference with American Idol is that you win a recording contract, you are seen by millions of people, you get a real live band for backup, and Simon gets to tell you how awful you are. All that pales in comparison to the vintage inflated-with-air guitar.
If American Idol is really just a karaoke contest, then there certainly have been a number of stars discovered through karaoke.
Maybe I need to refine my question. What I really meant was more along this line: "Hey Revelator! I got this really awesome voice. You won't believe it. Really. Trust me. Do ya think a talent scout from a major record label will just happen to stop into this place for a beer one night, hear me totally rockin' out, and then sign me up on the spot?!?!? I dunno if I mentioned this, but my voice is fabulous."
Sadly, I'm going to have to answer "prob'ly not". I often have people tell me before they sing that they have an awesome voice. And they tell me that I gotta let them sing next because every one in the club is dying to hear them sing. So, I know that the awesome voice is not the issue. Still, it doesn't appear that people get discovered that way. So, maybe the talent scouts from major record labels don't visit karaoke bars? Or maybe these talent scouts just quietly sip their beers and leave, oblivious of the major talent that they are missing out on?
I dunno the answer to this. But I would like to hear if anyone knows of another singer/rock star/recording artist who was discovered while singing karaoke.
John the Revelator
I don't want to get into what is going on with Steve Tyler and rehab and whether he is going to sing with Aerosmith and Aerosmith's search for a replacement for Tyler. That's all interesting stuff, but there has been plenty of news coverage on that.
Another topic I just want to mention ... the two guys that sang "I Don't Want To Miss A Thing" were booed off the stage. Don't get me started on this. All I want to say is that this is poor form for the audience. Please be respectful and realize that by golly, this is karaoke.
The news item got me thinking though. Steve Tyler went from being a rock star to being a karaoke singer. Does the opposite ever happen? Do rock stars actually get discovered singing karaoke?
I had a patron once tell me that Mary J. Blige was the only rock star who had been discovered while singing karaoke. Interesting. Sounds plausible. Or could this just be urban legend? That sounds plausible, too. I googled around and found the statement to be half true. It seems that Blige didn't go to a karaoke bar, but rather she made what was essentially a demo tape in a karaoke-style booth. (See article 1 and article 2.)
I spent quite a bit of time googling and found a couple of interesting articles about discovering rock stars: how some black singers were discovered, and how some women singers were discovered.
After 37 hours of gruegling [this is a word I just coined - a combination of grueling and googling], I only found one reference that claimed a discovery through karaoke: Coco Lee. She entered a karaoke contest and was discovered. Her Wikipedia entry does not mention karaoke, however. It says that she was discovered through the "New Talent Singing Awards" in Hong Kong. I wouldn't exactly call that being discovered singing karaoke.
That begs the question. Is American Idol just a glorified karaoke contest? I mean, most karaoke contests have a first place prize of maybe $50, or a gift certificate for the bar. I have personally given away quite a number of vintage Les Paul inflatable guitars as prizes. The only real difference with American Idol is that you win a recording contract, you are seen by millions of people, you get a real live band for backup, and Simon gets to tell you how awful you are. All that pales in comparison to the vintage inflated-with-air guitar.
If American Idol is really just a karaoke contest, then there certainly have been a number of stars discovered through karaoke.
Maybe I need to refine my question. What I really meant was more along this line: "Hey Revelator! I got this really awesome voice. You won't believe it. Really. Trust me. Do ya think a talent scout from a major record label will just happen to stop into this place for a beer one night, hear me totally rockin' out, and then sign me up on the spot?!?!? I dunno if I mentioned this, but my voice is fabulous."
Sadly, I'm going to have to answer "prob'ly not". I often have people tell me before they sing that they have an awesome voice. And they tell me that I gotta let them sing next because every one in the club is dying to hear them sing. So, I know that the awesome voice is not the issue. Still, it doesn't appear that people get discovered that way. So, maybe the talent scouts from major record labels don't visit karaoke bars? Or maybe these talent scouts just quietly sip their beers and leave, oblivious of the major talent that they are missing out on?
I dunno the answer to this. But I would like to hear if anyone knows of another singer/rock star/recording artist who was discovered while singing karaoke.
John the Revelator
Friday, January 15, 2010
What is the worst karaoke song?
I get people asking me this all time: "Hey Revelator! I need to make sure that I don't get lucky tonight. What song can I sing that will completely nix any possibility of a potential mate making eye contact with me?" My typical answer to that is "Just stay right here doing karaoke." In all my vast experience with karaoke and dating, I only got one date with a woman I met at karaoke. And that date was definitely not what I would call lucky.
Here is another form of the question: "Whooahh... my buds and I are too drunk to read the books, let alone hold a pen to fill out a slip. We need a song that will really get this place rockin! I mean, not that any of us could sing even if we were sober. So give us a good song, ok?"
The underlying question is this: What is the worst karaoke song? When someone turns in a slip, what song is guaranteed to make the KJ cringe? I can say without hesitation that "Don't Stop Believing" (Journey) is the karaoke song that I fear the most. I get a cold sweat and put on a forced smile. "Bohemian Rhapsody" (Queen) is another. And so is "Piano Man" (Billy Joel).
"Don't Stop Believing" is my first choice because nobody can sing it. Well... ok, Journey did a great job on it. The song is tight and it gets people going. I love the song. But, in all my gigs I have only heard one person who could do it justice. That person was not me, by the way.
So... that's one man's opinion. I was wondering whether anyone else felt the same. Since I didn't care to take the time to poll a whole bunch of people, I started Googling the words "worst karaoke song". I found 19 sites that had lists of bad karaoke songs. Some had just a few. Some had a top ten or a top twenty list. One site had the top ten lists from a lot of different KJs. Hot damn! All together, there were 184 songs that were called out as being the worst.
Then I started what they call a meta-analysis. Scientists in medical journals do this all the time. There might be 20 papers published, each with a handful of trials of a drug. No one paper is statistically significant in and of itself, but if they are pooled, then the results can be significant. Below I have the list of the worst, with the number of votes along side each one. "Paradise by the Dashboard Light" wins by a long margin!
I sang Paradise once. Before I signed up, I asked a woman at the bar if she would like to hear the song. She said "no" so I ignored her. Since I couldn't find a woman dumb enough to sing the other part, I sang both parts myself. Guess what? The song is 47 hours and thirteen minutes long. And both parts are so high that a guy needs to be from the Vienna Boys Choir to sing them.
I am not from the Vienna Boys Choir, by the way. I have never been to Vienna. I did have a Vienna sausage once, though. I think. Which gets me thinking... where do they get those Vienna sausages from. Is there any connection between a city known for boys who can sing really high and a city known for cute little weiners?
But, as I said, I never did sing in the Vienna Boys Choir. And I didn't get lucky that night, either.
Hopefully this post will keep you from making a similar mistake. Good luck.
John the Revelator
www.RevelatorKaraoke.com
Here is another form of the question: "Whooahh... my buds and I are too drunk to read the books, let alone hold a pen to fill out a slip. We need a song that will really get this place rockin! I mean, not that any of us could sing even if we were sober. So give us a good song, ok?"
The underlying question is this: What is the worst karaoke song? When someone turns in a slip, what song is guaranteed to make the KJ cringe? I can say without hesitation that "Don't Stop Believing" (Journey) is the karaoke song that I fear the most. I get a cold sweat and put on a forced smile. "Bohemian Rhapsody" (Queen) is another. And so is "Piano Man" (Billy Joel).
"Don't Stop Believing" is my first choice because nobody can sing it. Well... ok, Journey did a great job on it. The song is tight and it gets people going. I love the song. But, in all my gigs I have only heard one person who could do it justice. That person was not me, by the way.
So... that's one man's opinion. I was wondering whether anyone else felt the same. Since I didn't care to take the time to poll a whole bunch of people, I started Googling the words "worst karaoke song". I found 19 sites that had lists of bad karaoke songs. Some had just a few. Some had a top ten or a top twenty list. One site had the top ten lists from a lot of different KJs. Hot damn! All together, there were 184 songs that were called out as being the worst.
Then I started what they call a meta-analysis. Scientists in medical journals do this all the time. There might be 20 papers published, each with a handful of trials of a drug. No one paper is statistically significant in and of itself, but if they are pooled, then the results can be significant. Below I have the list of the worst, with the number of votes along side each one. "Paradise by the Dashboard Light" wins by a long margin!
| Song | Artist | Count |
| Paradise By The Dashboard Light | Meatloaf | 15 |
| Angels | Robbie Williams | 10 |
| American Pie | Don MacLean | 9 |
| Summer Nights | Grease | 9 |
| I Will Survive | Gloria Gaynor | 8 |
| I Will Always Love You | Whitney Houston | 7 |
| My Heart Will Go On | Celine Dion | 7 |
| My Way | Frank Sinatra | 7 |
| Friends In Low Places | Garth Brooks | 6 |
| Mustang Sally | The Commitments | 5 |
| Picture | Kid Rock | 5 |
| Words | Boyzone | 5 |
I sang Paradise once. Before I signed up, I asked a woman at the bar if she would like to hear the song. She said "no" so I ignored her. Since I couldn't find a woman dumb enough to sing the other part, I sang both parts myself. Guess what? The song is 47 hours and thirteen minutes long. And both parts are so high that a guy needs to be from the Vienna Boys Choir to sing them.
I am not from the Vienna Boys Choir, by the way. I have never been to Vienna. I did have a Vienna sausage once, though. I think. Which gets me thinking... where do they get those Vienna sausages from. Is there any connection between a city known for boys who can sing really high and a city known for cute little weiners?
But, as I said, I never did sing in the Vienna Boys Choir. And I didn't get lucky that night, either.
Hopefully this post will keep you from making a similar mistake. Good luck.
John the Revelator
www.RevelatorKaraoke.com
Thursday, January 14, 2010
2009 in karaoke
I spent a lot of time not blogging in 2009. Here are some highlights that I might have written about...
I was quoted in the March issue of Milwaukee Magazine. I was excited to see the article, but I was a bit disappointed when I read it. Aside from the two paragraphs in the middle that I contributed to, the article does not portray karaoke as a very positive activity. I sent a letter to the editor.
In March, I went to New Orleans on a trip for my regular job. I presented at the conference and gave a tutorial (which were both fun). Actually, I got a little good PR on my tutorial!
The biggest part for me, though, was New Orleans. I have always wanted to see New Orleans, and was worried that my expectations were so high that I would be disappointed.But I was definitely not disappointed at all. Live music was everywhere. The food was fabulous. Bourbon Street is one solid 24/7 party. And yes, I tried the Hurricanes. At many establishments. And the people? Nowhere else can you find people more accommodating and friendly.
Here are two very memorable things from my trip. The first was running into a Doo Wop quartet that just happened to be singing as a trio because the bass was gone. Naturally, I jumped right in for him.
But that experience was soon trumped. I went to Preservation Hall, which is kind of ground zero for New Orleans jazz. It is a small place with very little seating, but the jazz group was great. They did a few songs and then moved into What A Wonderful World. They led the audience and I sang right out with my Louis Armstrong impression. The band leader heard me and had me do a verse by myself.
I can die happy. I can say that I sang a solo at Preservation Hall.
In May, I was honored to be asked to sing at a wedding. That is something I hadn't done in four years. Always a pleasure. I didn't do Louis Armstrong, though. I did learn another country song, though: Amazed by Lonestar.
There was a string of five weeks starting in mid-July where I hosted seven karaoke gigs in addition to my normal weekly gig. For me, that's a lot. Several of those weeks, I had three gigs.
I should explain here... I have a full time job. KJ-ing is a hobby job for me. When I first started this, I was thinking that I would do a gig a few weekends a month. Then the Bootleggers gig came along, and I had fun. I kept doing it. Tuesday mornings, it's hard to get up and keep moving, but I love it. So... Three gigs is perhaps another 20 hours of work on top of a full time job.Those were five long, but exciting weeks.
One of those summer gigs was at State Fair! Yes... I hosted karaoke at State Fair!! Well. It's actually not as impressive as it sounds. It was for a company party. They rented a tent. I ran karaoke in their tent.
In 2008, I had a karaoke party for my 50th birthday. In 2009, I had two more 50th birthday karaoke parties. No, I didn't turn 50 for the third time. They weren't my birthdays, I just hosted karaoke for them. And this coming Tuesday (January 19)? I will be hosting karaoke for yet another 50th birthday party. My fourth!
Stop in. I will be at Joe's K Ranch in Cudahy.
I am pleased to say that I have taken on a partner for my KJ services. Anthony (AKA "Sven") is co-hosting the Bootleggers gig every Monday night. He and I have a group on Facebook. Bringing in Sven was a fabulous decision. Yes, I get less money, but he totally rocks. I can't keep from patting myself on the back.
As for numbers, I had 69 gigs all together. My songbook went over 8,000 songs. My website got 1,408 hits.
So... that was the year in karaoke.
I was quoted in the March issue of Milwaukee Magazine. I was excited to see the article, but I was a bit disappointed when I read it. Aside from the two paragraphs in the middle that I contributed to, the article does not portray karaoke as a very positive activity. I sent a letter to the editor.
In March, I went to New Orleans on a trip for my regular job. I presented at the conference and gave a tutorial (which were both fun). Actually, I got a little good PR on my tutorial!
The biggest part for me, though, was New Orleans. I have always wanted to see New Orleans, and was worried that my expectations were so high that I would be disappointed.But I was definitely not disappointed at all. Live music was everywhere. The food was fabulous. Bourbon Street is one solid 24/7 party. And yes, I tried the Hurricanes. At many establishments. And the people? Nowhere else can you find people more accommodating and friendly.
Here are two very memorable things from my trip. The first was running into a Doo Wop quartet that just happened to be singing as a trio because the bass was gone. Naturally, I jumped right in for him.
But that experience was soon trumped. I went to Preservation Hall, which is kind of ground zero for New Orleans jazz. It is a small place with very little seating, but the jazz group was great. They did a few songs and then moved into What A Wonderful World. They led the audience and I sang right out with my Louis Armstrong impression. The band leader heard me and had me do a verse by myself.
I can die happy. I can say that I sang a solo at Preservation Hall.
In May, I was honored to be asked to sing at a wedding. That is something I hadn't done in four years. Always a pleasure. I didn't do Louis Armstrong, though. I did learn another country song, though: Amazed by Lonestar.
There was a string of five weeks starting in mid-July where I hosted seven karaoke gigs in addition to my normal weekly gig. For me, that's a lot. Several of those weeks, I had three gigs.
I should explain here... I have a full time job. KJ-ing is a hobby job for me. When I first started this, I was thinking that I would do a gig a few weekends a month. Then the Bootleggers gig came along, and I had fun. I kept doing it. Tuesday mornings, it's hard to get up and keep moving, but I love it. So... Three gigs is perhaps another 20 hours of work on top of a full time job.Those were five long, but exciting weeks.
One of those summer gigs was at State Fair! Yes... I hosted karaoke at State Fair!! Well. It's actually not as impressive as it sounds. It was for a company party. They rented a tent. I ran karaoke in their tent.
In 2008, I had a karaoke party for my 50th birthday. In 2009, I had two more 50th birthday karaoke parties. No, I didn't turn 50 for the third time. They weren't my birthdays, I just hosted karaoke for them. And this coming Tuesday (January 19)? I will be hosting karaoke for yet another 50th birthday party. My fourth!
Stop in. I will be at Joe's K Ranch in Cudahy.
I am pleased to say that I have taken on a partner for my KJ services. Anthony (AKA "Sven") is co-hosting the Bootleggers gig every Monday night. He and I have a group on Facebook. Bringing in Sven was a fabulous decision. Yes, I get less money, but he totally rocks. I can't keep from patting myself on the back.
As for numbers, I had 69 gigs all together. My songbook went over 8,000 songs. My website got 1,408 hits.
So... that was the year in karaoke.
Saturday, January 9, 2010
Top slow dance songs of all time
I have polled about 20 people, asking them for a short list of the best slow dance songs of all time. The18 songs that got at least 3 votes are below (number of votes, followed by the song title and artist):
8 Unchained Melody Righteous Brothers
7 Wonderful Tonight Eric Clapton
5 Color My World Chicago
5 Lady In Red Chris DeBurgh
5 Unforgettable Natalie And Nat King Cole
4 I Swear All 4 One
4 Everything I Do (I Do It For You) Bryan Adams
4 Can't Help Falling In Love Elvis Presley
4 You Are So Beautiful Joe Cocker
4 When A Man Loves A Woman Percy Sledge
4 In Your Eyes Peter Gabriel
3 Take My Breath Away Berlin
3 Just The Way You Are Billy Joel
3 Always And Forever Heatwave
3 Stairway To Heaven Led Zeppelin
3 What A Wonderful World Louis Armstrong
3 Here And Now Luther Vandross
3 Nights In White Satin Moody Blues
I was a bit surprised to find that the top songs got so many votes. Not that they aren't all great songs. I have sung 4 of the top five in karaoke. The surprising thing is that so many people - without prompting or suggesting any particular song - picked "Unchained Melody" and "Wonderful Tonight".
Anyone want to add their own favorites?
Related blog posts ....
What is the worst karaoke song?
Karaoke goes to Hollywood
What is the longest karaoke song?
8 Unchained Melody Righteous Brothers
7 Wonderful Tonight Eric Clapton
5 Color My World Chicago
5 Lady In Red Chris DeBurgh
5 Unforgettable Natalie And Nat King Cole
4 I Swear All 4 One
4 Everything I Do (I Do It For You) Bryan Adams
4 Can't Help Falling In Love Elvis Presley
4 You Are So Beautiful Joe Cocker
4 When A Man Loves A Woman Percy Sledge
4 In Your Eyes Peter Gabriel
3 Take My Breath Away Berlin
3 Just The Way You Are Billy Joel
3 Always And Forever Heatwave
3 Stairway To Heaven Led Zeppelin
3 What A Wonderful World Louis Armstrong
3 Here And Now Luther Vandross
3 Nights In White Satin Moody Blues
I was a bit surprised to find that the top songs got so many votes. Not that they aren't all great songs. I have sung 4 of the top five in karaoke. The surprising thing is that so many people - without prompting or suggesting any particular song - picked "Unchained Melody" and "Wonderful Tonight".
Anyone want to add their own favorites?
Related blog posts ....
What is the worst karaoke song?
Karaoke goes to Hollywood
What is the longest karaoke song?