So, you may know by now that I love to sing. I’ve been singing since I was a small child and would not stop listening to Madonna, Paula Abdul, Run DMC, Beastie Boys and all the rap acts from the 1990′s. Not to mention all the R&B acts…they were and are still freaking awesome. Anyway, recently, I went to sing at one of my favorite karaoke spots in K-town with my friends, Liz and Evan.

I also ended up meeting a bunch of cool guys from San Francisco and Vegas who gave me props when I did a rendition of “Business” by Dr. Dre and Eminem. Love this track…it’s so sick, though it’s a bit old.  And… Snoop Dogg will be adding his songs to Rock Band. Nice.  His raps are hard to do though… cause he’s one of a kind…there’s only one Snoop who somehow gets old dudes to say “Fo-Shizzle.”

Anyway here are a few rules that you should abide by when you’re performing at a karaoke bar.  If you do, people will love you. If you don’t, well…people will probably just roll their eyes at you and want you to get off the stage. Word.

Pick a Song that Will Get the Crowd Pumping- Yes, we all want to show off our pipes, but if you end up doing karaoke on a Thursday, Friday, or Saturday night, you want to get the audience on your side. What does this mean? Perform an entertaining, high-energy song that people either know, or perform it with such fervor that people will be like, “DAMN.” (If you perform “Wind Beneath My Wings,” you might get drowned out by the sound of people ordering drinks. Just saying!)

Someone Will Always Do Journey-  Okay, so this is like saying that 1 + 1= 2.  Someone will ALWAYS perform “Don’t Stop Believin,” so if you want to be that person for the night, you better run your booty up in line and put your request in.  ‘Cause someone else will.  Word up.

Be Nice to Your Karaoke Jockey or KJ- This is the dude/gal that is fielding requests from all the drunk people who are requesting to sing their songs for the night.  Their job is to keep things fun and cool for everyone, so be nice to them, tip them, and remember that this is actually a JOB for them, so don’t be a tool. 

Drink Water- I learned this in 4th grade chorus class…always be hydrated. It helps your vocal chords, and you want them to be perfect for your performance.

Debunk a Stereotype or Two- Part of the reason why I love hip hop karaoke so much is that I LOVE all the looks of “WTF,” when people see me go up and rap songs by Dre or Eminem.  People love the unexpected so why not try a song that no one would expect from you?  Recently, I went to one of my fave spots and there was a guy that looked like “Leonidas,” from the movie “300,” and he went up and ROCKED OUT the song “Stronger,” by Kanye West.  I couldn’t stop laughing as I overheard the guy behind me saying,
“Yo, the dude from 300 is up there doing Kanye.” LOVE IT!

HAVE FUN- At the end of the day, people go to these spots to let loose, have a few drinks, sing, and just rock out.  It’s the best place to go hang out with friends or meet karaoke-loving freaks. (This is me)  And here are some pics of a couple of friends when I went to Brass Monkey, a local karaoke spot.

He’s my favorite KJ ever!!

OMG, this is the longest post ever. But I needed to end it with one of my top favorite songs to karaoke to, from the 90′s from Salt N’ Pepa called “Shoop.” My mother used to HATE this song/video when I was a kid, but I couldn’t stop dancing to it. HAHA…