It's Complicated

Karaoke and I have a very deep, very lengthy love/hate relationship.

The thing that seems to be the link that flips my feeling from hate to love is alcohol.

Basically, I am generally adverse to going out specifically for Karaoke. I don't consider it "my thing." However, if a ton of people I know are heading out to do some Karaoke, I will give in and just go, and just swear to myself that I will not be singing that night. The whole first hour I am there, I will groan as friends start filling out the song slips, roll my eyes when someone expresses glee that they have such-and-such song, and generally act like I am way too above all this Karaoke nonsense.

Then inevitably I will realize, after about 3 beers and 5 hilarious performances by friends and strangers, that I DO like Karaoke, and I am damn good at it too! My guard drops and my hand reaches for that pen. Suddenly, it's on.

The weird thing is, usually, if I let myself give in, I end up having a BLAST. I am a pretty good singer and a well trained actress. I know what the people want to see. I have a few great performance songs up my sleeve that I can bust out. I will be there till last call, hooting and hollering for every performer, running up to dance along with them, clapping till my hands are raw, and loving every minute of it.

In a week or two, I will forget all about how fun it was that night, and the next time someone's like "Let's go to Karaoke tonight!" I am right back in denial again, rolling my eyes in disgust and looking for a better plan for the evening. It's ridiculous.

Back in my early college years, I hung out with a couple of people who were quite serious about Karaoke. I figure I must have been dragged along to the Karaoke bar almost every weekend for at least a year. (Okay maybe not dragged...but I did not have many friends at that time so it was either watch TV alone on a Friday night or go to the damn singing bar...so guess which I chose, being the social butterfly that I am?)

We would go there and my friends, who were musical theatre majors with dazzling voices, would put in like TEN slips of paper with songs written on them. They would be up there every 4th song, giving it their all. Oh and they were pitch perfect too, but often the songs were kinda boring. Like "The Rose" by Bette Midler. I mean, for someone who wants to show off, its a great way to flaunt your range, I guess. But who feels like hearing that one on a Friday night at a bar? Instant downer.

I would slink in the corner with my vodka tonic, slightly embarrassed to be affiliated with the hard-core singers of the night. Eventually after the vodka kicked in, I stopped caring as much and slipped in a song of my own. Usually something silly that was more of a statement than a song choice. Think "Bust-a-Move" or "Summertime Girls" by LFO. (Yeah, that one was a big hit, I'll tell you what.)

I think during that time I was starting to feel like one of those people (you know, the ones who go to every Karaoke night in the city, the regulars who always sing that same song and look a little too into it?) and that made me feel uncomfortable. When the DJ knew our names by heart, I could not take it anymore. Luckily, I finally started making more friends and I stopped going.

Later, when we would stumble upon Karaoke happening at a bar and it was later in my college career, the new friends I hung out with would get excited--not to sing, but to play a little game my buddy B coined "Scare-aoke." You try to find the worst song in the book, and you sign your friend up to sing it. Then they have no idea that they are singing (or what they are singing) until his or her name is called. It's pretty great. As long as you are fairly intoxicated. And you sort of know the lyrics.

Nowadays, with a fiance who thinks Karaoke is the bees knees (seriously he loves it, and is really good, especially with songs by Ray Charles--we threw him a birthday party at Lincoln Karaoke and it was a night that will go down in history as the best Karaoke night ever), I continue to struggle with my initial "ugh" feeling when Karaoke is mentioned. I still don't want to seek it out as a weekend activity. Yet I know deep down, once I have a drink or two, it will become a fun way to spend the evening for sure. So for now, I am just working on being more open to the suggestion than I used to be. So far, so good. Just ask the good people at Mullen's last Thursday night.