Karaoke: How to Win Friends and Deafen People

Karaoke. A friend and I ventured out tonight to grab some curry cuisine and as we strolled down the road together, she pointed to our right and said, "Karaoke! Do you want to try it?" We walked into this open park area (about the size of a small football field) where tons of Chinese were spread out. In one area, people were dancing to the music of salsa, ballroom, and other genres. In another two areas, groups of 20 to 30 people were gathered around TV sets, listening to someone sing Karaoke. Only the street lights above and the TV's light allowed people to comb through the song book in search of a popular tune to carry for the crowd.

My friend spoke Chinese, so she helped me find the book with English songs. One by one, my number came up the wait list, and I finally had the microphone in hand. The beers I had recently consumed did help to quell some nerves, but my hands still shook and my voice still trembled as I serenaded my date with "Night and Day." The song quickly ended, I turned off the mic, and then the crowd cheered and started yelling something to me. "What are they saying?" I asked my friend, "they want you to sing again." Talk about rubbing salt in the wound. I lost enough dignity with the first tune, and now they want a second?

Quickly, I grabbed the song book and eventually came across a song that I knew well, "Joy to the World"...yeah, the one from Forest Gump. With a little more power in the belly, I was actually not nervous this time and I got into it. Near the end of the song, I put my arms around some lady and I got some people in the crowd to join me in the fun. I retired the mic, then promptly exited stage-left to the sound of applause--probably the kind you give a little kid when they try something and fail miserably.

We left the Karaoke area and went the dancing area to join the older folks as we salsa-danced the night away.

Key Takeaway: It's okay to karaoke, just make sure to drink more prior to doing so.