Karaoke Forums

I'm going to try to respond without contributing too much to the "should the host sing or not sing?" argument.

There is a huge learning curve in this business. To experience a busy night on only your second karaoke show is overwhelming. Trust me: if you stick with it, you will get it. Make your rotation mechanical, like clockwork. There are so many rotation options: pick the one that works for you and stick to it. If that's place your slips/requests in a straight line, do that and stick to it. If that's line up requests up to, say, 8 or 10 singers and pepper newcomers in-between people who have already sung, do that and stick to it. Whatever tactic seems to flow best in your environment, do it and be clear about how you do it. This way people will understand that you're being fair.

As far as you singing? After a certain point, don't do it. I think we can all agree that if you have, say, 10 people in rotation, your songs aren't needed. That said, I see nothing wrong in participating in duets -- in fact, I think that's part of your duty as KJ. Sometimes the KJ is the best singer in the room and people want to enlist them to help them sound better; I see nothing wrong with this. I also see nothing wrong with singing the first song to set the tone and levels, or with keeping yourself in a 2-3 person rotation so your other singers can have a breather, but once the rotation is stable and sustainable, you should back away. Don't tank your show just because you like to sing, y'know?

There will always be drunks. Sometimes they'll be belligerent, other times they'll be dense, sometimes they'll be a blast. Roll with it; they're not going anywhere, y'know, so you might as well embrace 'em. Be firm but not rude.

And RELAX. At the end of the day, if you're keeping the place packed, anyone who doesn't get their song in can double down next week.

Good for you. If the venue serves food. I too show up an hour early, I just choose to eat while I am still a customer rather than set up and then eat. From the time that I set up until the time that I tear down I am at work period. No time to eat. A lot of times I don't even have time to drink a soda while working much less eat. And if I am eating, the bar patrons know that pestering me isn't going to get the show started early because they see that I am not set up yet.

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The Line Array Experiment is over. Nothing to see here. Move along.

A few tips that I have picked up in 12+ years:

1) I always sing the first song. This is not only because I want to sing, it is to make sure everything is in working order before I get to the patrons. If your hosting software doesn't work when you push play for the first time for yourself, you just fix it and no one cares. If the same happens and a singer is the first song of the night, well, take a while to recover the mood of the show while that poor singer stands on the stage feeling naked because nothing is going on.

2) Once there are 5-6 people in the rotation, I take myself out. I agree that there is nothing I hate more than a karaoke host that sings all night. There was one show I went to a few times where the hosts were a husband wife combo. I went to the show twice, then stopped going, even though I love the bar. Why? Every rotation, the husband sings, the wife sings, then every so often, they bust in with an additional duet, usually "by request." When you are a singer waiting to sing your song, nothing worse than the "employees" putting themselves first. What if your food took 45 minutes because the waiter sat down to eat himself instead of waiting on you first?

3) The "hardcore singers/regulars" ALWAYS know exactly where they are in the rotation, and they know when you are messing around with it in the background. Have a logical rotation system and STICK TO IT. It doesn't really matter as much what the logic is, as long as you are consistent with it. That singer wants to do your formula in their head and know that they are 6 singers away, etc. That's what they all do.

4) If you do accidentally skip someone, or even if you take a $100 bill to bump someone to the top, just own it, and the singers are usually understanding. Get on the mic and say "Sorry guys, I accidentally skipped Jenny, so let's get her up next, then we will return to our regular rotation." Or "This rich MFer right here just gave me $100 just to sing a karaoke song. Sorry, but it was a offer I could not refuse. We're going to get him up next, then will return to our normal rotation." Obviously, you better not be taking $5-10 even $20 to bump someone up, or the regulars will hate you right up until they stop coming, but if it's $50+, well at some level, they just go, "yeah, that makes sense."

5) I saw a HUGE decline, and almost elimination of complaining about the rotation as soon as I took down my scrolling marquee that listed the next 3-4 singers. If you have that, and have a problem with rotation complaints, I'd highly recommend it. It keeps the singers from noticing if you have to make any warranted adjustments, i.e., you realize 3 songs before her turn that you forgot to put Jenny in. You slide her into her fairly-due spot, but now everyone sees on the marquee that you changed the rotation. No amount of explaining that she was actually there all along, and you just forgot to put her in, fixes that with those that notice. Everyone gets angry. Without the marquee, no one is any the wiser.

Good luck!

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C Mc
KJ, FL

#5 would screw up having the next singer ready to sing and would end up causing dead air if I took down the Marquee. And at my shows, everyone pretty much knows who they are following so if Jenny pops up on the Marquee where her original spot would have been, it's no big deal. The only time a singer's name would drop off the Marquee for me is if they didn't have a song in. 3 songs before her turn is plenty of time to get a song from her.

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The Line Array Experiment is over. Nothing to see here. Move along.

A simple we haven't left the rotation since you last sang pretty much explains to them that they have not been skipped.

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The Line Array Experiment is over. Nothing to see here. Move along.

If you have any clue what you're doing you shouldn't have to sound check a place you do every week. What would change in your equipment since the previous week you played there? Plus, not sure how Mic checking your vocals helps you with the next singer's vocals. Just say you like to sing and you want to sing instead of your singers. Don't make up BS reasons.

Exactly!!! They're just using the "sound check" bullsh*t as an excuse to sing. If you're show starts at 8 PM, you're sound check should have been done at 7:30. I don't need to sing the first song to make sure that everything is sounding alright.

rickgood, you said it perfectly! I'll open up any show knowing that my first singer is going to sound great and that's without me doing the first song. There are professionals and then there are karaoke hosts.

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Electro-Voice Evolve 50... Taking Sound To The Next Level.

While it is true that the room or your equipment doesn't change that much from week to week, that is not the only gig you do in a week is it? You are playing different venues with different rooms of different sizes with the same equipment basically. Not to mention private parties, weddings etc.etc.etc. All of this needs adjusting, not to mention that equipment does go out on you from time to time and it might be nice to know ahead of time it needs replacing or fixing, before show time. As far as adjusting the machine goes it's easier for me to do it while the first singer is singing than if I am. You absolutely know your first singer is going to sound great, period. That must be a magical karaoke machine indeed or you are some sort of magician. It depends on the ability of the singer also and they aren't as uniform in quality, as your machine. Not everyone is Elvis or Julie London even.

P.S. A more accurate description of what you are trying to do is make every singer sound as good as they possibly can.

My point is: Why are some hosts waiting until the show starts to sing the first song, claiming to make sure everything sounds right before their singers? Why aren't they making sure that everything is sounding right a half hour before show time?

At a couple of my venues, I actually set up in the morning when it's not busy and I'm back an hour before my show starts at night. But you can bet, before I leave in the morning, I already checked everything out to make sure everything is working and sounding correctly.

So, someone please answer me...

Why are you waiting until your show starts? You know it's just an excuse to sing. And again, your sound check should be done way before showtime, not when the show starts. The singing the first song to make sure everything is OK is bullcrap.

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Electro-Voice Evolve 50... Taking Sound To The Next Level.

Not every host does their show the same way, as I have pointed out many times there really is no right or wrong way to do the job, if you are really making a mess of things you won't last long at a venue. I say that then again there are hosts that seem to do everything wrong and are successful, just like there are hosts that do in my opinion everything right except draw a crowd. The God of Karaoke is fickle. I to like to get to a venue early sometimes in the morning to setup equipment and check it out. I have also had situations even with all of that advance planning something goes wrong just before show time, it does happen. I don't know who you are referring to as you, but as far as I'm concerned I would be very happy just to run the machine during a show and not sing. It is better to stay silent and let it be thought you can't sing, than to sing and remove all doubt. When I started in the business I couldn't carry a tune in a bucket, but I practiced and got fair at it, and even found some songs I could nail. It is my belief that no matter how bad a singer is they have at least one song they can nail, that is why there are so many one hit wonders. Hosts get into this business for different reasons not all want to control the mike. Too much of that can ruin a show, then again the host is the captain of the ship and if he wants it to be the Titanic that's his or her choice.

P.S. One of the reasons I got into karaoke hosting many years ago was my wife who I'm still with today, became ill she has bi polar disorder with severe manic tendencies. I used karaoke as a form of therapy for her, she spent hours practicing songs on the little machine I bought her for home use. She went with me on my gigs eventually she got better, I to this day believe karaoke in a way kept her from going over the edge completely. I was very lucky to bring her back from the dark place she was.

At a lot of the bars around me, shows have a hard start time because there are other things going on at the bar prior to it--either the dinner hour, or a trivia event, or a sporting event on the television, or a pool league. There's not really an option to do anything involving sound output before the start of a show.

As a karaoke-goer, not a host, I don't mind if a host sings the first song, or uses me or someone else as a guinea pig. I don't even mind if a host is in every rotation. I think the only time I ever see people complain is when a host is singing two to three songs more than everyone else which, sadly, does happen some places.

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Co-host of The Greatest Song Ever Sung (Poorly), a karaoke-themed podcast

If I sing, I take the same amount of songs that everyone else does in the rotation. I don't sing more than once a rotation and I pull myself out if I get 8 other singers in the rotation. And even if it drops down below 8 singers after I pull myself out, I stay out of the rotation.

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The Line Array Experiment is over. Nothing to see here. Move along.

But Danny, it is not your job to sing. It's your job to host. No host should include themselves into the rotation. It's in very poor taste.

What if you went to McDonalds to eat and the server went to sit down and eat something after every 8th person served. And everyone else on line had to wait to order until she got done. Would you have a problem with that?

You are not doing anyone any favors by including yourself and taking a spot in the rotation. You are not hired to sing, you are hired by the bar to provide a service to it's patrons so that the bar can make money. It's not about you or your singing, it's about the customers.

I run a class act and have a great reputation in the area. I have gained a great following and many new customers that have come from other shows where the host sang. They don't like it or want it or will tolerate it. So they now travel a further distance to come to my shows.

I have no problem with karaoke hosts singing, just do it at someone elses show or find a new line of work since obviously you have no idea of what karaoke is really about.

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Electro-Voice Evolve 50... Taking Sound To The Next Level.

I guess that I am still a hold over from the days that the hosts didn't have filler music and had to sing if nobody else did. While it wasn't exactly what they were supposed to be paid for, it kept some form of entertainment going. It took a friend of mine to add playing regular non karaoke music to my show and also one show where the bartender came up and told me that there actually were some people thinking about submitting some songs but after listening to me sing they chose to just listen to me sing. Even after that I wasn't singing to hear myself sing. Part of me is wanting to go back to pure karaoke but after that night, I knew that I had a limit on how much I could sing in a night and have yet to even come close. If I was really trying to sing just to sing, guess what, it would not be karaoke night but me in concert because if I was really intent on singing at my shows, I doubt that I would even let anyone else sing. So this bullshit that a host should never sing at his show is just that, bullshit. Even though karaoke has been around for years, there are still people who don't know what it's all about. I not only take my first song to do a sound check, I still have a dialogue that I say before I start about how easy it is to sing karaoke and that you don't have to be Steve Perry to get up and sing. Sometimes I follow what I said with a Journey song, sometimes not, it all depends on the mood that I am in - sometimes I am in a classic rock mood, sometimes a country mood and once in a while I like to sing some John Legend or Sam Smith. But the newbies to karaoke get the idea of how it works.

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The Line Array Experiment is over. Nothing to see here. Move along.

I have to respectfully disagree with this. None of us are infallible, and what can go wrong varies in different venues.

For example, two times in the last six weeks at my Friday venue, I forgot to power on the (powered) floor monitors -- duh. All I hear from the sound booth is the mains because it's a long way to the stage (at this) venue, so the only way I found out was because I sang the first song. Sure I have a couple customers who would come up and tell me they couldn't hear the monitors, but I could be 10 songs into the show before one of them came along to tell me. And it's MY job. not there's, to be sure the sound is right from the first song.

Maybe the climate in your area is steady, but if you're somewhere where the temperature and humidity vary widely from day to day, the same settings that worked one week will not be perfect for the next.

And if you use any part of the house PA in your setup, it's not uncommon to find knobs, sliders and EQ all changed since your last show.

So the technical reasons to sing the first song really do exist, perhaps minor in some settings, but absolutely mandatory in others.

I sing first simply because most people do not like to be first. I hear that nightly from different people, "please don't make me first singer".
I will sing each round until I get 5 singers (which is not unusual to have within the first couple songs) then pull myself out. People do like to sing a lot but they also do not like doing songs too close to their last turn. And yes this is common complaint on dead nights that they are coming up too quick. I do not sing because I want to (I don't), it helps balance out when needed.
I personally do not like shows that the host feels the need to sing every round, I worked for those kj companies, made it even worse was when the host would sing after a good singer (out of turn) because they felt intimidated or something.

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LIKE Lonman on Facebook - Lonman Productions Karaoke & my main site via my profile!

I'm sorry I have to disagree I don't see there is a problem with the host singing during a round as long as its not more then anyone else.
People are always going to complaining about not singing enough or they got skipped when they didn't

What if you've got no singers? Do you just play music? How will customers know that the Karaoke is on and it's not just a disco / party in progress? I sing my head off when it's quiet, but as soon as I've got a few up then I shut up and let them enjoy themselves. At the weekend it was a cracking do and they were in full voice but was running out of requests so I chucked on Amarillo for myself. A couple of Na-Na-Na's in and I had a crowd round me and hand the mike to one grabbed the other mike handed it to another and off they went, and got a rush of similar requests in to get to the end of the night!!!! I was shattered at the end. This is what you're supposed to do! (IMO)

Just FYI, I don't do a sound check as the reason I sing the first song. You're right, I know my sound is fine.

The reason I do the first song is that CompuHost has two bugs that seem to have something to do with my concurrent use of Virtual DJ sharing the video card. The first time I push play on CompuHost, about 1/4 times it will either crash or it seems to be working fine and does not display the lyrics, just the lyric screen.

I'd rather that happen on my turn than on the first singer's turn.

And you can say, "well why don't you just test that before you start." And that is because I am playing DJ videos while I set up, and I am aiming for a "seemless" show where it goes right from my 15-20 minutes of preshow videos into the karaoke, without slowing down to test. I could pre-test it, but in my OCD head, it would break up the professionalism of the show.

Anyway, that's my deal. Not doing soundchecks. That is definitely unnecessary.

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C Mc
KJ, FL