Part 2: Living the Dream

First of all, apologies for my long absence from posting, but I have been at my parents' house in Florida on a (probably healthy) break from the Internet. Now to continue from where I left off.

I'll save you the suspense...yes, my singing partner and I were the runners-up in the groups and duos category of the karaoke contest. Maybe one of the coolest things I've ever been a part of. We each won a $100 gift card to any restuarant in Manhattan, which I plan to use every last bit of, if such a thing is possible at a vegetarian restaurant. Victory!

Let's back up a little.

The venue, as I mentioned before, was The Spotlight Live in Times Square. I have mixed feelings about this place, which I will detail below.

Keep in mind that I have only patronized this bar as part of a corporate event, and I may be a little biased by my glorious post-performance high. Caveats aside...

The place does not really attempt to hide the fact that it is mostly a giant, tourist-y merchandising ploy. You are filmed while singing, so that they can attempt to sell you a souvenir DVD afterward. Nothing wrong with this at all, but it is the reason for the small song list - they need to own the rights to every song in order to produce the DVDs. I'll give the song list a little credit, as it did include two of my favorite karaoke songs ever - Journey's "Don't Stop Believing" and "I've Had the Time of My Life", my chosen duet for the night.

The technology factor is quite cool. Rather than hunt through a book, straining your eyes to read the small type and write down the song number, there is a touch screen at each table that allows you to search for songs and add yours to the queue. In addition, the audience can vote for their favorite performances - what becomes of these results on an average night, I'm not quite sure.

The backup singers are certainly a fun draw. Honestly, when else in my life will I get the opportunity to perform with 4 enthusiastic, choreographed men and women singing behind me? However, I would suggest that the backup singers either needed their mics turned down or needed to sing less often - i.e. sing backup. Again, this may have been special to a corporate party, when they might assume that we need a little extra drowning out. I actually couldn't hear myself at all, which gave me a fuller understanding of the need for stage performers to wear those earpieces. Still, the backup singers were very nice folk.

Almost forgot about the private karaoke booths. I didn't experience these myself because I was frantically running around waiting to get on stage. I know that they are sound-proof, each has a screen with the list of songs, and that they looked like something from The Fly. I only saw 3 booths, one of which was being used for storage of extra chairs. These pods were certainly not a main attraction that night, but a nice option I suppose.

Overall, The Spotlight Live is more of a karaoke club, bigger (3 stories) and more fancily decorated than any of the little hole in the wall bars I'm used to. Although I can't imagine what else I expected from Times Square. It's certainly not a place to go if you have a specific song in mind (the only Madonna on the list was "Holiday" - what??), or if you don't want 3 floors of people paying attention while you attempt to sing with backup. I would recommend trying it at least once for the novelty (sorry I can't quote prices!), and I would probably like to go back and try again. Without a doubt, it's a unique experience and a lot of fun once you're up on stage with the spotlights obscuring much of the crowd from your view. I certainly feel more ready to try live band karaoke... next on my list.

Below is a screenshot of my singing partner and I on stage doing our damndest to evoke the full Dirty Dancing atmosphere. I think we did pretty well, with about 4 couples dancing in front of the stage and my partner doing the crazy Patrick Swayze jump from the stage and subsequent cheesey dancing and strutting. (No we did not do "the lift" - let's get real.) I could only stand on stage and swish my skirt like a dork, a la Jennifer Grey. But my insane polka-dot dress did earn the appreciation of the emcee, which may have settled the vote-by-applause in our favor, so I'd say I did my part. First place went to a group of four guys who created a stunning rendition of "Total Eclipse of the Heart", complete with dreamy spinning in their choreography. I was honored to lose to them. Maybe if we had mastered a few dance moves ahead of time... sigh, we'll never know.

Just for fun, I'll leave you with a scene we all stop and watch every time it's on. Admit it, you know this one by heart.

The Spotlight Live
1604 Broadway, New York, NY

The Karaoke Contest of My Dreams/ Nightmares

My office Holiday party is tomorrow night, and of all things, this year my company has chosen a massive karaoke bar in Times Square. And there was joy. The venue is The Spotlight Live at 49th and Broadway. We were informed a couple weeks ago that there would be a karaoke contest, and I felt ready to potentially embarrass myself in front of hundreds of coworkers, just to know I had the guts to enter.

Soon after, we received further details on the contest in the form of a very colorful email announcement, designed to look like an ad for American Idol tryouts or some such nonsense. The email informed us that:

-All performers will be accompanied by professional backup singers. And...

-In addition to a selection of great prizes for the top teams, the winning team will have their performance simulcast on the Jumbo Tron in Times Square for all the world to see!

Um, is it just me, or does that last part sound more like a threat than a prize? Still, I decided to persevere. I no longer had the courage to go up on stage alone, but with a coworker to duet with, I felt I could go through with it.

For me, that's the crux of what karaoke is about. Even if you don't have a particularly great voice, as long as you commit to the song, and you're out there really trying to give the people a show, then I commend you. Now I'll admit, it's always nicer to hear someone with a minimally decent voice than some tone deaf drunk on the mic tearing up "All By Myself", but this goes without saying. And there will certainly be many future posts about which songs I think fail miserably and succeed best in the karaoke environment (and why). But for now, back to the contest.

Here's a link to the song list for tomorrow night (Excel spreadsheet). I guess because the backup singers have to be prepared, they had to limit the selection. A little heavy on High School Musical for my taste. But they just happened to have my song of choice - "(I've Had) The Time of My Life" by Bill Medley and Jennifer Warnes - so I felt strongly that it was meant to be.

...Until I signed up and received a response from the organizers that all the spots had filled up and a lottery would determine who actually got to compete. Rats. Who knew there were so many brave souls in my office? Good for them, I suppose. Not so good for my blog.

Whether or not I perform, I shall report on the event and review my first experience at this new karaoke venue. Sneak preview, folks: I'm certainly not in it to win it. I know my voice is nothing too special, passable for well-chosen songs, sure. I also don't delude myself to think that amongst hundreds of people in my office - some who are rumored to have choreography prepared - there won't be several who can belt a song out for real. Mostly, I want to prove to myself that I will actually get on that stage, if the lottery gods allow it. What is it they say, break a leg? Yeah, wish me that.

Listening to: The Postal Service - "Natural Anthem"