What karaoke songs does an opera diva sing?

Do opera and karaoke go together?  Maybe.  Here are song karaoke favorites from opera singers.

Australian soprano Rachelle Durkin
" I was always in love with Whitney Houston and Maria Carey, so I like to sing like that every now and then."
http://www.mcv.gaynewsnetwork.com.au/features/marriage-the-mozart-way-008194.html

"I'm a classically trained singer, and while I don't generally do opera at karaoke bars, I do sing a lot of show tunes, standards, and pop songs that I have carefully picked out because I can sing them in my lower range and have them sound like pop songs."
BirdGirl
http://au.answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20101105090024AAqT46w

Barbara Pasqa, a semi-pro opera singer from Uniontown PA entered a karaoke contest back in April of this year. Her songs? You Raise Me Up and I Could Have Danced All Night.
http://www.allbusiness.com/humanities-social-science/visual-performing-arts-theater/14263707-1.html

Carla Thensen Hanson, an American soprano, was asked if she sang opera:
"Only when drunk. The last time I went I was with my sisters and we were all quite intoxicated because it was for another sister’s wedding. We sang We Are Family. Naturally."
http://www.rochestermagazine.com/10/or/so/questions/with/carla/thelenhanson/opera/singer/story-714.html

Just in case you actually want to sing an aria next time you are out for karaoke, you can download your favorite track: http://www.opera-karaoke.com/index.html

Karaoke Man - the movie

I am always excited when I hear of another movie that features karaoke. Even more excited when I hear of a movie that is about karaoke. And being a goofy romance? I can hardly contain myself!

Max, a comic book illustrator, is told that he should wear a superhero costume in order to have the courage to sing karaoke. Max asks if that is cheating. The answer? "Not if you get laid out of the deal!"



Karaoke Man. Coming to a theater near you. Maybe.

New strange places to sing karaoke

I have had a few posts about odd places to sing karaoke. My last post on the subject was about the karaoke cabbie. Before that, I listed a few places in Texas, including the Houston airport.

I just found out that Houston airport will once again be providing karaoke for their travelers. Here is news coverage from last year's karaoke.



Another airport karaoke opportunity popped up just before I published this. According to StuckAtTheAirport.com (what a great URL name!) You can also sing karaoke at the Detroit Airport this holiday season.

More on karaoke for your health

No doubt you have already read my blog on all the wonderful health benefits of karaoke. It would appear that fitness guru Billy Banks, Jr. read my blog as well!  Have a look at Cardioke!

Sing karaoke with Lionel Richie!

While I am in a Motown mood, I should mention that Lionel Richie will be going on tour in Australia and New Zealand in March of 2011. I caught an interview of him. Richie had this to say about his show:

"Just tell them it will be the best karaoke night you could go to. Because that's a fact. We are going to have a big ole' karaoke jam with lots of funk and lots of ballads and there'll be romance and laughs and some great music."

If you want to warm up your Motown karaoke before you head to the land down under, stop in at MJ Cafe and Martini Bar on Sunday nights. Revelator Karaoke will be serving up the best Motown karaoke in the area. Singing starts at 7:30.


MJ Cafe and Martini Bar
A relaxed eatery and martini bar
6901 W. Brown Deer Rd
Milwaukee
(414) 377-2524

Save the Last Dance

I was in high school when I first heard the song Save the Last Dance for Me. I thought it was a dumb song. "But don't forget who's taking you home, and in whose arms your gonna be"? I mean really. It sounds like the guy is getting all possessive of the woman who took to a dance. But there is a whole lot more to the story.

The lyrics of Save the Last Dance for Me were written by Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman. Doc had polio at a young age and needed crutches just to walk. His wife Willi was a beautiful actress and dancer who loved the nightlife.

Not only couldn't he dance with his lovely wife, but he felt out of place with the Broadway crowd that she attracted.  He had this to say:
"I had a house, a swimming pool, all that shit, and we had nothing but these Broadway characters hanging around. None of them paid any attention to me and if they asked what kind of songs I wrote I felt embarrassed. If I had written a fifth-rate Broadway song, my God, they would have been proud."

Willi and Doc were married in 1957.
"Save the Last Dance" was first recorded in 1960.
Willi divorced Doc in 1965.

All of a sudden the song has become rather poignant. Doc, I take back what I said about your song when I was a teenager.

References
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Save_the_Last_Dance_for_Me
 http://www.elvis.com.au/presley/elvis_presley_doc_pomus_mort_shuman.shtml
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Doc_Pomus
http://www.felderpomus.com/docpomus1.html
http://launch.dir.groups.yahoo.com/group/billybeartrivia/message/141417?unwrap=1&var=1
http://wfmu.org/LCD/23/docpomus.html
http://www.nydailynews.com/archives/news/2005/06/30/2005-06-30_nobody_s_cripple__doc_pomus_.html

The most maligned karaoke song

 I saw something online that really shook me. There is a KJ in San Francisco who is charging folks $5 to sing Don't Stop Believin'!

To me, this is sacrilege. My loyal readers will remember a blog of mine ("What should I sing?") where I combined the lists of best karaoke songs from 41 websites. Don't Stop Believin' came out on top. Of the 41 "best of" lists, 14 of them included Don't Stop Believin'. The next song in line (Total Eclipse of the Heart) was mentioned only 11 times. DSB is clearly the winner. This is not my opinion. This is the consensus of the experts on the web! 

I might add that Don't Stop Believin' did not make it on my list of worst karaoke songs. I searched for lists of worst karaoke songs, and combined the results from 19 websites.

I am sorry Mr. SF KJ. People like the song.