SongBurst at Soboba!!! Look out! It’s SongBurst time again! Karaoke Scene is very proud to be presenting this year’s SongBurst singing competition at the Soboba Casino, “Where winning is just the beginning.” We are excited to have 2 fabulous radio stations on board for this event as well, X103.9, KCXX (The X)…an alternative rock radio station based out of San Bernardino and 101.3 KATY (The Mix)…an adult contemporary radio station based out of the Temecula Valley. These are great folks to work with and will help make “SongBurst at Soboba” a really terrific event.

The excitement begins on Monday, March 7th and continues every Monday for 4 weeks (March 14th, 21st and 28th.) This will be an adults only competition (all contestants must be 21 years of age by March 7th, 2011). Sign-ups will be from 6:30pm to 8pm. The competition will begin shortly after the sign-ups are closed. Due to time restrictions, we can only allow the first 30 contestants to arrive to sign-up and compete in that night’s competition. Sign up rules (and times) will be strictly enforced so please leave yourself plenty of time to get there.

Karaoke is truly exploding into a brand new decade. As the Karaoke industry continues to grow with new hardware and software choices galore, it faces some new challenges as well. And Karaoke, as an entertainment medium, reigns as the number one form of live entertainment as it can be found at hundreds of venues throughout Southern California. And Karaoke Scene Magazine is available in all of them to be enjoyed by everyone.

The “Digital Edition” of Karaoke Scene Magazine is proving to be hugely popular among Karaoke enthusiasts around the world. For those of you who haven’t tried it yet, it is a really new experience. All of the features of the printed edition plus live links to advertisers, products and special videos, etc. It is a terrific way to explore the world of Karaoke any time you wish from your computer, right from the comfort of your own home or wherever you happen to be. Try it…it’s a treat…and it’s free!

Here’s some BIG NEWS! Apps for Karaoke Scene Magazine are now available for your IPhones and IPads. Now you can have all of the features and information in Karaoke Scene Magazine right at your fingertips, wherever you go, 24-7. I already use it on my IPhone and it’s fantastic! The apps are FREE so visit the App Store today and get yours now!

KaraokeFest 2010 is now in the books…what a day! With our new stage location at the L.A. County Fair, the crowds were huge and the singing performances superb making this the biggest and best KaraokeFest ever.

First of all, we would like to thank our major sponsors, Ace Karaoke, Priddis Music and VocoPro for their generous support and enthusiasm for this event. These fine companies make it possible to have this day-long celebration of Karaoke every year for all of us to enjoy. Please show your support for them for all they do for Karaoke.

The excitement for KaraokeFest 2010 is spreading all over Southern California. By popular demand, his year’s “Fest” will again take place at the L.A. County Fair in Pomona on Sunday, September 12th.

First of all, Karaoke Scene would like to express our sincere gratitude and appreciation to our major sponsors, Ace Karaoke and Priddis Music Resource Co. KaraokeFest would not be possible without the generous support of these fine companies so please show them your support. A big thank you to our prize sponsors as well, Ace Karaoke, Priddis Music Resource Co., Sound Choice and KaraokeWH.com featuring All Star Karaoke.

The Crème de la Kids Singing Competition Finals will start the excitement at 12 noon. Julie Woodcock is the “Kids” contest coordinator. She and her staff have done a remarkable job of looking after the youngsters and providing them with this opportunity to show off their talents…and there are some extraordinarily talented kids competing this year. This show should really be a WOW! (There are still some additional opportunities to qualify for the Crème de la Kids Finals. Please see page 16 for dates and times.)

KaraokeFest, the event that changed the face of Karaoke, is coming on Sunday, September 12^th at the fabulous L.A. County Fair in Pomona. This year’s event promises to be the best ever with all of the exciting events that have made KaraokeFest famous as well as some new wrinkles that are sure to please. All of the exciting details for KaraokeFest 2010 will be available at KaraokeScene.com and in our coming June/July issue.

As KaraokeFest 2010 approaches, we are nearing the time for the “Oscars” of Karaoke, the “KJ of the Year Awards.” These awards are so important because they provide a way to honor the KJs whose special contributions deserve to be recognized. These awards are actually rewards for those hardworking special people that rise above the norm and make a significant, positive difference to Southern California Karaoke. Whether it is great song selection, outstanding sound system, fairest rotation, entertaining personality or just overall a provider of a most special Karaoke experience, the “extras” provided by the nominees in their prospective areas make Karaoke better for all of us. So please be sure to vote for your favorite KJ…they deserve it.

We have received many call and emails regarding the SongBurst Singing Competition. Unfortunately, due to many loose ends left by the auction sale of the Orange County Fairgrounds, we are unable to obtain sure dates for the event. So, there will be no Songburst in the immediate future. However, we are exploring different avenues to continue this very popular event and some of the options are really exciting. There will be more in future issues regarding SongBurst so please be patient and know that we are working very hard on this.

This time of year, unfortunately, also brings the flu season. It is important for KJs to do their best to keep their microphones as germ free as possible. It is also important for singers to be considerate and not sing into microphones when they are sick. Please take good care not to spread flu germs to others especially this year when flu shots are so scarce. A little extra effort and some common sense will help to make this much less of a concern.

On the lighter side, Karaoke continues to spread into all segments of our musical culture. There are many new Karaoke related products and services springing up all over the place and Karaoke continues its firm hold on being the number one form of live entertainment in Southern California and many, if not most, of the major markets across the country.