Karaoke Scene – What's New

“IT’S CONTEST TIME!” That means it’s time for the “BIG 3” KaraokeFest singing competitions to begin. The hugely popular and highly prestigious Crème de la Crème singing competition will be held at 25 venues throughout Southern California beginning on July 2nd and continuing through the month of August. This is the huge one, the most prestigious of all Karaoke contests everywhere, so don’t miss your chance to compete for thousands in cash and prizes, your opportunity to perform on the main stage at KaraokeFest 2011 and be named “Male or Female Karaoke Vocalist of the Year.”

Remember, 2009 Male Karaoke Vocalist of the Year, Abraham McDonald, was “discovered” at KaraokeFest and went on to appear on national television and win $250,000 at Oprah’s Karaoke Challenge; and 2010 Male Karaoke Vocalist of the Year, Clint Gamboa made it to the “top 24″ on the recently concluded American Idol. You could be next!

We are very proud to welcome back radio & television personality (and now author), Manny Pacheco, who will be coordinating the event again this year. And remember, you may qualify at as many venues as you wish in order to increase your chances for making the “Finals” at KaraokeFest 2011. All of the Crème de la Crème venues are listed on page 13.

Then there are the “Crème de la Kids” singing competition for juniors 17 and under, and the “Crème de la King” singing competition for Elvis singers/impersonators. ???? will be coordinating the “Crème de la Kids” contest and we’re so happy that Tony Christina will again be handling the “Creme de la King” competition. Please see page 11 for all of the exciting details.

Note: Be sure to check out the special late dates for qualifying for all three contests at the Orange County Market Place.

All three contest “Finals” at KaraokeFest (“Crème,” “Kids” and “King”) will again be streamed live to our website, KaraokeScene.com so that anyone, anywhere in the world, can enjoy the program. This is a terrific way for the families and friends of contestants who cannot make it to KaraokeFest to be able to watch the show as it happens. Live streaming will start at noon on Sunday, September 12th.

KaraokeFest would not be possible without the generous support of our sponsors. I would like to take a moment to personally thank the Major Sponsors for KaraokeFest 2011, Ace Karaoke, Priddis Music, VocoPro and KaraokeKruise.com. We sincerely appreciate their support in making this the biggest and best “Fest” ever! We strongly encourage you to show your appreciation to these fine companies and their products.

Here’s some more big news! Our world class website, KaraokeScene.com, has been completely redesigned from the ground up and is chocked full of brand new and redesigned special features such as: Karaoke Forums, Singer’s Showcase, world’s largest Karaoke Club Directory, KJ Directory and much, much more! We would like to thank Phill Cross with Cross Web Tech for doing (as always) such a spectacular job. Please, take a moment and visit the entire brand new KaraokeScene.com. You’ll be very glad you did.

PLEASE BE SURE TO VOTE! It’s that time of year for everyone (now including San Diego County) to support their favorite Karaoke hosts for KJ of the Year from their respective area. The KJ of the Year voting has already begun (May 15th) and you may cast your votes through June 30th at KaraokeScene.com. In the interest of fairness, only one vote per valid email address and two votes per IP address will be accepted.

For all you KJs out there, our “KJ Directory” at KaraokeScene.com is the perfect way to promote your business. People from all over check it out to find Karaoke hosts when they need one. And now you can join for only $25 for a whole year. What a bargain! Don’t miss out on this great opportunity!

Don’t forget, our newest innovation, apps for your iPhone and iPad are now available at the App Store. Now you can have instant access to Karaoke Scene Magazine 24-7 right in the palm of your hand. Want to know who offers Karaoke shows on a given night? Want to review an article or check out an ad for a product or service? Grab your iPhone or iPad and check it out. What could be cooler than that?

And if you haven’t already done so, be sure to subscribe to the extremely popular “Digital Edition” of Karaoke Scene Magazine. The “DE” offers everything that appears in our print edition plus much more! And it is always available to you online 24-7. Visit KaraokeScene.com to subscribe now…and best of all, it’s FREE!

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.

There will be thousands in cash and prizes with $2,500 cash for first place awarded at the finals which will be held on Monday, April 4th. Not only that, but there will be more prizes raffled off during the competitions for which all in attendance (competitors and audience alike) will be eligible.

For those of you who may not know, Soboba Casino is nestled in the foothills of the San Jacinto Mountains and is your one-stop headquarters for California gaming and entertainment. Soboba features 2,000 slot machines, over 20 table games, two restaurants, a 12,000 seat entertainment pavilion and one huge sports lounge. Guest services stations are easily located at each entrance and exit throughout the casino. Casino employees are happy to provide any assistance or information you might need.

For more “SongBurst at Soboba” information please call (714) 826-2212, or visit KaraokeScene.com.

These competition Mondays should be great fun for everybody, both singers and their friends and families. There is plenty to do at Soboba Casino so drive down, relax and have a great time!

Directions: The Soboba Casino is located at 23333 Soboba Rd. in San Jacinto (866) 4-SOBOBA (476-2622). Take Highway #215 south to the Ramona Expressway east to Soboba Casino; or take Highway #10 east to Highway #79 and go south to the Ramona Expressway then left to Soboba Casino.

Karaoke Scene would like to thank the Karaoke community for all the photos you are sending to us for publication. We sincerely appreciate your efforts. Please continue to send us your photos so we can publish them in future issues. Attention KJs…it’s a great public relations idea to take photos of your customers while they are singing at your shows and send them to us for publication. Karaoke folks love to see their pictures in the magazine. When sending photos please remember:

Photos must be in a digital format (jpeg files); no prints.
Your photos should be about singing.
Make sure your photos are as sharp and clear as possible (please don’t reduce their size).

Please send your photos by email to photos@KaraokeScene.com or, if you have a bunch of them, please put them on a CD and mail them to:

Karaoke Scene
PO Box 2633
Cypress, CA 90630

Be sure to check out the article from Tish Jones, our KaraokeFest 2011 Female Vocalist of the Year, about her trip to Utah for her own personal recording session, courtesy of Priddis Music and ProSound in our February/March 2011 issue (you can subscribe to the “Digital Edition” of Karaoke Scene Magazine for free…just click on this link, http://karaokescenemagazine.com/). She had an absolute ball! Thanks again to Priddis Music and Ace Karaoke for their sponsorship of KaraokeFest. We sincerely appreciate the support and generosity of fine companies like these in helping us present these major Karaoke events.

Another update, we are in the process of having Phill Cross with Cross Web Tech creating a complete “re-do” of our immensely popular website, KaraokeScene.com. We hope to have it completed by soon. We hope you will enjoy all the exciting new features that will be available for you

See you at “SongBurst at Soboba”…and best of luck to all!

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.

And then there are our prize sponsors, Ace Karaoke, Priddis Music, VocoPro, Sound Choice, Chartbuster, KaraokeWH.com and MadBoy Audio. The generosity of these companies obviously speaks for itself and they are also certainly deserving of everyone’s support.

82 singers competed in the finals for the Crème de la Kids, Crème de la King and Crème de la Crème Singing Competitions. The overflow crowd enjoyed a huge day of fantastic singing! The children in the Crème de la Kids contest touched everyone’s heart as they performed just about every genre of song from Country to Pop to Show Tunes. The Crème de la King competitors truly honored the memory of Elvis and really lit up the stage with their colorful costumes and exciting renditions of some of the King’s most beloved tunes. And, of course, the Crème de la Creme Finalists scored about a 8.5 on the Richter Scale as they rocked the Plaza de las Americas Stage for nearly 5 hours putting forth sensational, professional quality performances.

Special thanks go to the phenomenally talented Marshall Thomas of KFROG 95.1 FM for a first class job of hosting the Crème de la Crème Finals Competition again this year. We sincerely appreciate his talent and the extra boost he gives the show. Thanks also to our good friend, Manny Pacheco, the best emcee for an important event like this that anyone could ask for. And making his debut at KaraokeFest was the popular host of “What’s Up Orange County,” Scott Stewart, hosting the Crème de la Kids and Crème de la King Final Competition. Thank you, Scott for a job well done!

A special Karaoke Scene thank you goes to Crème de la Kids coordinator, Julie Woodcock (and her husband, Roger) and to Crème de la King Coordinator, Tony Christina (whom we were very pleased to have back this year), for their tireless efforts in making the dream come true for all of their talented contestants.

And HUGE thanks go to every single one of the gracious volunteers who gave so much of their time and energy to make KaraokeFest such a special event for everyone. We are all so appreciative of your efforts.

Don’t forget that, for a limited time, you can purchase your own professionally produced DVD of any or all of the exciting singing competitions at KaraokeFest this year…a perfect memento of all the fabulous performances that made KaraokeFest 2010 such an entertainment extravaganza. The Crème de la Kids and Crème de la King DVDs are only $19.95 each and the Crème de la Crème DVDs are only $29.95, or you can order all 3 for only $59.95 (all prices are +S&H). Order yours today at www.KaraokeScene.com or by calling (714) 826-2212.

Our gratitude also extends to our fabulous Karaoke Stage hosts at KaraokeFest this year, Ace Karaoke, Helen Scheuplein and PR Entertainment. These special people make KaraokeFest so much fun for everybody all day long and we really want them to know how much they are appreciated.

By the way, Manny Pacheco’s book, “Forgotten Hollywood – Forgotten History,” (an amazing study of some of the most important character actors and actresses from Hollywood’s Golden Years and their relationship to American historical events) continues to sell across the country at locations such as Costco, Borders, Barnes & Noble and Amazon.com (as well as many other locations). We highly recommend this book to everyone, either for yourself or as a perfect gift for a friend or loved one (Christmas is coming). You can check it all out at www.ForgottenHollywood.com.

Here’s a heads up…we are in the process of having Phill Cross with Cross Web Tech creating a complete “re-do” of our immensely popular website, KaraokeScene.com. We hope to have it completed by soon. We hope you will enjoy all the exciting new features that will be available for you.

That’s it for now. All of us at Karaoke Scene Magazine would like to wish all of you and your families a happy Halloween and a wonderful Thanksgiving!

Over the past few months we have been diligently working with Phill Cross with Cross Web Tech to re-design and re-build our website, KaraokeScene.com. This was to be the issue that would launch the new site, which included the cover being devoted to our new home page. In lieu of the tragic events of September 11th, we have decided to postpone our original plans and, instead, devote the October/November 2001 issue cover to “Karaoke Cares”, a fundraising effort where we, as a Karaoke community, can do our part to provide assistance to the victims, their families and the rescue/recovery efforts that continue in New York City, Washington D.C and Pennsylvania.

“Karaoke Cares” nights will be held at clubs and venues throughout Southern California and perhaps across the country between October 21st and November 4th. On these designated nights, all singers will be asked to make a donation for each song they sing throughout that evening’s show. The recommended donation is $5.00, but any size donation will certainly be most appreciated. Singers may also collect money from sponsors, either in advance or during the show, to make an even larger contribution. We are, after all, trying to raise as much money as possible for the people so in need of help. For those wishing to write checks, they must be made out to “Karaoke Cares”. Please do not make any checks out to Karaoke Scene, or any club, or any individual. If you cannot attend one of the Karaoke Cares nights, you may send donations directly to:

Karaoke Cares c/o Karaoke Scene
5470 Orange Ave. Suite B
Cypress, CA 90630

A full 100% of the money raised will go to one of the major charitable organizations taking part in this effort, the Salvation Army Disaster Relief. Karaoke Scene Magazine and KaraokeScene.com will underwrite any incidental expenses incurred so that every penny raised will be donated to the cause

At press time, we were still receiving numerous requests from clubs and KJs who wish to participate. If you wish to host a “Karaoke Cares” night, please call (714) 826-2212 or (714) 373-8959 for details. Time is of the essence. Please call immediately so there will be adequate time for you to promote your event.

This is an opportunity for the Karaoke community to come together for the worthiest of causes and sing out to extend a helping hand to our fellow Americans so devastated by this tragedy. Please help if you can.

I would like to personally thank all of the clubs and KJs who are, and will be, participating in this effort. The unselfish donation of their time and talents is greatly appreciated. We encourage you, your families and your friends to join in this humanitarian effort where we, as a Karaoke community, can make our contribution to this extremely urgent and important cause.