What’s New Jun 2004
Wow…what a day! KaraokeFest 2004 is now “in the books” as they say. This was, by far, the biggest “Fest” ever. Karaoke Scene would like to thank the fine folks at Knott’s Berry Farm for all their help and cooperation in making this event happen. We are strongly considering Knott’s for next year’s KaraokeFest 2005 so let us know what you think and we’ll keep you updated in that regard.
A special thank you goes to our Gold Sponsors, the fine folks at VocoPro and Priddis Music. We could not have done it without them. Thanks also to our Silver Sponsors, Music Maestro, Ace Karaoke and Party Tyme for their support. It is greatly appreciated.
There are so many people to thank that someone could easily be missed. So let me say thank you to all of our staff and associates who each played such an important part in the success of this year’s KaraokeFest. We do feel it is important to individually recognize the hosts of the 7 singing stages located throughout the park. Calico Stage: VocoPro; Bumper Car Stage: Martini Blues; Coaster Drive In Stage: Star Light Karaoke; Boardwalk Ballroom Stage: Cherry Sound; Ghost Town Stage: D & D Entertainment; Fiesta Village Stage: Phil Farmer and Tim Cable; and the Camp Snoopy Children’s Stage: Art and Lori Johnson. Thanks to you all.
Congratulations to all of the Golden Achievement Award winners and finalists. You are all special people and deserve the recognition of the Karaoke community. And kudos to our Karaoke Vocalists of the Year, Melissa Roeder and Rod Guico. Melissa and Rod performed live on the nationally syndicated Mark & Brian Radio Show (heard locally in Southern California on KLOS 95.5FM). They will also be appearing in the National Finals of the Party Tyme Karaoke Television Show that airs Saturday nights on E! The show will be filmed in Las Vegas on October 2nd on Fremont St. in front of thousands of spectators. We’ll be watching (and we might even be there to cover the event).
Now here’s some really big news! KCAL, channel 9 in Los Angeles, is about to launch a new Karaoke TV competition called “9 ON THE TOWN’s Karaoke Challenge” which will begin airing on Tuesday nights at 6:30 beginning on June 15th (a special preview episode will air at 6:30pm on Monday, June 14th). There will be “open auditions” to start the search. The first “audition” will be held at “Dimples” in Burbank on Saturday, June 12th at 9am. There will be a second “open audition” at a location to be determined on or about June 26th. At the first audition there will be 20 “quarter finalists” selected by the judges. They will then be broken down into 4 groups of 5. Every proceeding Tuesday night from 6:30 to 7:00pm the 5 “quarter finalists” will have their performance aired on special editions of 9 ON THE TOWN. Television viewers will be instructed to listen to “Archer” on K-BIG 104.3FM at 7:35pm. He will give them a special number to call in order to vote. The 2 “quarter finalists” with the highest number of votes from each episode will move on to the semi-finals.
There will be 5 episodes of the “quarter finalists.” A total of 10 “semi-finalists” will be chosen by the viewing and listening audience of KCAL channel 9 and K-BIG 104.3FM. The 10 “semi-finalists” will then come together and compete “head to head” in the following weeks with the viewers and listeners in the Southern California area making the decision as to who will move on and who is eliminated. In the end there will be one person selected as “Southern California’s Best Karaoke Singer.”
For the “open auditions” singers can perform any song they wish (it has to be able to air on television at 6:30pm so certain lyrics have to be approved by broadcast standards and practices). “Open auditions” will be limited to 30 seconds of performance and one minute of interview with the judges. Once the 10 “semi-finalists” are selected they will be required to perform songs that fall into the following specific themes:
- Disco Songs
- Songs of the 80’s
- Songs of the 90’s through today
- Madonna Songs
- Prince Songs
The 10 “semi-finalists” will also be required to perform on specific dates and times based on the television production schedule. The producers reserve the right to have one or all of the “semi-finals” performed on live television. Some of these details may be subject to change so please watch 9 ON THE TOWN which airs Monday – Friday at 6:30pm or check online at www.KCAL9.com (click on 9 ON THE TOWN) or www.dimpleshowcase.com. Sounds like a lot of fun to us and we hope to see you at the “open auditions.”
And last, but certainly not least, we would like you to know about the latest updates to our world class website, www.KaraokeScene.com. Our all powerful webmaster and omnipotent cyber guru, Phill Cross, has been at it again and has come up with a totally revamped “Club Directory” section. This new architecture is vast improvement over the previous version and will greatly improve the ease of finding and listing your venues. Additionally, by popular demand, Phill has just launched a brand new feature, the “KJ Directory” where KJs from anywhere and everywhere can list themselves and their services for all to see and utilize. Folks have been asking for this for quite a while and now it’s a reality. The cost is only $5 per month ($60 per year). Best of all, Phill talked us into running a special…any KJ signing up during the next 2 months will pay only $50 for the first full year. What a bargain! Sign up now and find out what being listed on one of the world’s most popular Karaoke websites can do for you. Be sure to check out both of these new services at www.KaraokeScene.com
