Karaoke has a brutal way of letting you (or at least everybody else) know whether you can or cannot sing. It is the great leveller that reveals whether you have a natural talent or you sound like a wailing cat. Many of us believe we can sing and are confident that we can own the karaoke mic once we step on stage. Within seconds, others will be able to tell you otherwise.
Unfortunately, you are not going to know which side of the coin you fall on until you try karaoke for the first time. While there is no way to guarantee that you will rock the stage, there are some tips that you can take on board to give yourself a better chance.
Pick Something You Know
A karaoke bar is never a good place to practice something new. Just because you know the chorus of a popular song, this is not a good reason to choose it. You stand a big chance of being left embarrassed. Furthermore, avoid songs that might have long gaps without any singing. There is not much worse than being left looking awkward on the stage as a long guitar solo is being played out.
Pick something you truly know the words to and you have had the experience of singing before.
Don’t Sing Something Nobody Knows
Further on the tip above, you have to remember that you are singing in an attempt to entertain a crowd. While it can be boring to sing songs that everybody else is currently singing, you should not go too far the other way either. You want a song that people know and can sing along to.
We suggest going for something well-known but a little dated. Let everybody else sing the current number one which has been sung 5 times already. You will be surprised at how your song choice will resonate better if it is something people have not heard in a while.
Enjoy Yourself
If you go up looking nervous and not really into what you are doing, this will resonate with the audience. You need to put your all into it and give a performance that shows effort and enjoyment. By doing so, even if your voice is not the best, the audience will love your enthusiasm.
Take a deep breath and an even deeper swig of your beer, climb on stage, smile, dance and look like you are having a great time.
Practice at Home
To stand the best chance of impressing when singing karaoke in front of a live audience, why not practice at home? Of course, you will first need a good quality karaoke microphone and set up a system. We suggest beginners simply plug a speaker into a pc/laptop/mobile device and find karaoke songs on Youtube to sing along to.
As for the karaoke mic, read the BestStudioMics Karaoke Round Up to establish which are the best on the market right now.
Sing into the Karaoke Mic
This might seem obvious but first-timers are often caught out about how they should hold the microphone. You need to keep it as close to your mouth as possible and keep it there the whole time. If you do not, there is a very good chance that the audience is not going to be able to hear your voice at all.
Conclusion
Singing in a karaoke bar is great fun when it goes well but highly embarrassing when it doesn’t. Well, depending on how many drinks you have consumed that is. By following the above tips you will at least give yourself a better chance of entertaining the crowd and having a good night out.
