Karaoke at your next party!

Check out all of the funfilled FAQs about using Karaoke at your next party. Simply choose the type of party from the list below and you and your guests will be singing the night away!!!

Index of Karaoke Topics
-What Is- -Mitzvah- -Corporate- -Kids Parties- -Formats- -Miscellaneous- KJ Lani

What Is Karaoke?

Karaoke is an excellent compliment to DJ Entertainment or Band Breaks or as stand alone entertainment. Karaoke is simply you and your guest singing along with your favorite songs. What makes Karaoke unique is that the music has the original vocals deleted or masked and the lyrics appear on a TV monitor to help guide the singer(s). And in some cases, the vocals can be turned up so the singer(s) can either sing along or lip sync to the music. Either way... Karaoke makes for an entertaining evening and is addictingly fun!!!

Karaoke can be used at a variety of events: Company Receptions, Talent Contests, Bar/Bat Mitzvahs, All Night Graduation Parties, Sales Promotions, Teen Parties, Elementary School Functions and Fun Fairs, to name just a few. The possibilities are endless.

Karaoke/DJ Combo: This is the most common offering from a DJ service. By coupling DJing with Karaoke, your party is filled with dancing and singing all night long. A great advantage of the DJ/Karaoke Combo is that if your guests are not ready to sing, the DJ can either play background music or start them dancing. As the party moves on, the guests may feel less inhibited to sing and the DJ can take Karaoke breaks to accomodate these "stars in the making". One minor drawback is that sometimes the guests are so into dancing that they don't want to break for a Karaoke singer. If this happens, the DJ will simply encourage otheres to dance to the singer's song.

Band Breaks: Karaoke can be alot of fun during band breaks as the guests are primed to become a star. Many bands simply put on pre-recorded music during their break and could dampen the party. By interjecting Karaoke in between, the party keeps moving until the next band set. Your guest will love to be the focus and the others can sing along or dance to the singer(s) selection. The only disadvantage may come from a 'space' limitation of having two seperate sound system.

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Karaoke at Mitzvahs

Karaoke is a great addition to a Bar/Bat Mitzvahs and the kids go nuts over it!!! Coupled with your favorite DJ or band and everyone will be talking about how much fun they had. Some drawbacks to having Karaoke is that it does pull away from the amount of games or music the DJ or band will play. Depending on the size of your party, this may be a problem. If you have a large group of kids, over 50, who are keyed up, Karaoke many only entertain a handful of the children.

One idea for really large groups of children is to have Karaoke in a separate room and allow the kids to go back and forth when it is their turn to sing. Another idea is to have Karaoke during the cocktail time to keep the children occupied. Typically, the Karaoke service will perform for a two hour period, which allows an extra hour for any overflow of singers. Cocktail Karaoke serves as a dual purpose, entertaining both the kids and the adults during this hour.

Nevertheless, Karaoke is a great addition to any Mitzvah. The adults can participate or watch the kids sing. A contest can be created to include both the children and the adults.Or you can work in the theme of the Mitzvah with the songs that are sung. And in most cases, the Karaoke/DJ can probally entertain the guests when others are not singing, similiarly to a band.

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Karaoke at Corporate Functions

Karaoke and Corporate Functions can be tricky, but great fun if done right. Depending on the type of party will help you decide how to best utilize karaoke. First, lets look at some basic limitations of Karaoke in the corporate world and then we'll discuss some options to overcome these limitations.

The Corporate Environment: At any corporate party where management is watching, employees could definitely feel inhibited. This is especially true when it comes to singing in front of everybody. One great idea to help get the singing going is to pre-assign different departments to do a group song. Have your Karaoke company send a list of songs with their packet of information and pass the list around to the different departments. (see section Miscellaneous to link to a variety of Karaoke songlists) This will create some excitement for the party, encourage team work and allow your employees to get really creative with the songs and costumes. Another idea to break the ice is to have the managers sing a couple of songs. It is always nice for the employees to view their managers in a "different" light and could promote a relaxed atmosphere for more singing.

The Basic Fear of Singing: Sure, when someone is singing in front of their peers and management, it is a little scary. Most adults need a few drinks to build their confidence. Several ways to help get things started is to have the karaoke host/hostess sing a few songs and encourage others to come join the host. This doesn't always work, so you may want to save the karaoke for the end of the party. Many times, upper management will have left and the employees are generally more at ease. Another idea is to have a separate room with the bar and karaoke. This adds dimension to the party, having one room for dancing and another for the people who like to hang out by the bar and talk shop. This gives the karaoke singers an opportunity to sing in front of a smaller group and is cozier than a big stage.

Karaoke is great for the singer, what about everyone else? It is true that Karaoke can't get everyone involved at the same time like a DJ can with the Electric Slide. But encouraging others to dance while the singers are crooning out that love song, can help reduce the boredom of the non-singers. Another idea is to have the Karaoke host/hostess sing common songs like Joy to the World, Takin' Care of Business or American Pie and try to get different tables to particapate using a wireless microphone. Or, having a small contest and having the audience vote for the best singer. Lastly, always try to have "regular" dance music or group dances played in between sets of singers to keep everyone active on the dance floor.

Is it right for my party? Hmmmm, good question. If this doesn't answer that question and you're not sure about what your Karaoke company says... write us with the details and we'll let you know!!! Picnics and Karaoke go very well with each other, primarily because there are kids to break the ice and everybody isn't gathered in one spot. Karaoke and band breaks also work well, because individuals want a shot at the limelight.The sucess of Karaoke at your Holiday party will depend on the number of people and group dynamics. Smaller groups of people who work close together seem to have more fun with Karaoke as the main focus. We had one small company record the whole night of singers, then played selected cuts the next Monday over the company intercom system! The employees ended up talking about the X-mas party for months. Larger groups should follow the suggestions in the above sections to guarantee more success. Lastly, if you don't get a good response about Karaoke during the planning phase, don't do it. Though Karaoke is still novel and fun, it does take participation and if your employees are not willing to participate... Karaoke will just be an extra cost.

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Karaoke at Kids Parties

Kids love Karaoke!!! You cannot go wrong with having a kids party with Karaoke. Be it a school Fun Fair or an All Night Graduation Party or a Birthday Party... kids love to sing and are not shy to strut their stuff. Combine that with a DJ who plays fun music, games and group dances and you'll have a party that your kids will never forget.

The following are Frequently Asked Questions about certain types of kids parties that could utilize Karaoke the most. If you have any questions, please write us and we may add your question for others to read. Our Email address is listed below, just click write and send!!!

School Fun Fairs: Karaoke and school fun fairs or carnivals go very well together. Karaoke can be used as part of the fund raiser or as separate entertainment, but either way, the kids will love it. Though Karaoke may not generate huge returns, you should be able to cover your cost. The best way to generate revenue with Karaoke during the fun fair is to have the children pay with their tickets to sing. On an average, you can get 16 songs sung per hour. Depending on the price of each ticket, a normal cost schedule would be; 4 tickets for one singer, 3 tickets per person for two singers and 2 tickets per person for three or more singers. You can also charge extra tickets for recording the singer(s) on cassette tape. Lastly, assign some chaperones to help with the sign up amd taking tickets, this will increase the amount of kids able to sing.

All Night Graduation Parties: Karaoke at All Night Graduation or Prom parties is one the most popular attractions. Typically, Karaoke is set up on its own, away from any other musical entertainment, unless coupled as a DJ/Karaoke combo. If Karaoke is separate, set up the Karaoke near the rest of the games. This will add music to the area and will get more use. If you get a DJ/Karaoke combo, you may want to set up the system in the food area for the teens to participate while relaxing and eating. Where ever Karaoke is, your teens will find it and sing all night long.

Birthday Parties: As with any kids party, Karaoke at Birthday parties is always successful. You'll probally want to have a DJ/Karaoke combo at your party so the DJ/Karaoke host has more flexibility to entertain the children. Most children parties need other activities to involve everybody. By allowing a couple of kids to sing, then have a group dance, will help keep everyones attention. Elementary aged kids should have a two hour maximum time frame and older kids about three hours. It is better to leave them wishing their was more, rather than wishing there was less. Alot of fun can happen in that time period and the memories will always continue longer.

Tour Groups: Karaoke coupled with a DJ entertainment is a great alternative for entertaining traveling teens. Typically, when tour groups return from sightseeing, the kids are wound up and ready to continue. By having a pizza party with a DJ/Karaoke combo may help contain the kids to one area of the hotel and tire them out for the night. Have the DJ/Karaoke combo on their last night and build it up during the week. Though the dancing and singing may be the most talked about activity of the tour it will definitely spark enthusiasm for the next year's trip.

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Karaoke Formats

There are three types of Karaoke formats. The first is just the basic cassette style that you can purchase at any record store. This format allows the person to sing along with a recored version of the music and the lyrics are normally printed on paper. The cassette format is ideal for the individual consumer to use at home or can be used for professional singers who need music to sing with during a wedding ceremony. Most Karaoke companies do not use this format any longer with the advent of laser discs. The following information will cover the pros and cons of the two laser disc formats. Most companies will have a mix of both formats, but it is important to understand the difference between the two.

CD+G Format: The CD+G format of Karaoke is a Compact Disc with Graphics. The notable difference is that there are simply words on the tv monitor to sing from and fun graphics pop up during the song. There is no moving video behind the words, like the Laser Disc format. The advantage of the CD+G format is that there is more newer music titles than on the Laser Disc format. Generally, the current music is preferred among children and serious Karaoke singers who like more variety. Another advantage of the CD+G is that there is no questionable video scenes, which make this format ideal for church groups and elementary aged children. The disadvantage of this format is that it is less entertaining for the others to watch a blue screen with words as compared to the full videos with the Laser Disc format.

Laser Disc Format: The Laser Disc format offers an exciting video in the background that typically goes along with the story line of the song. The words appear on the bottom of the tv monitor and change color as the singer follows along. Though the Laser Disc companies, such as Pioneer, are slow in producing the newer music, most of the songs are standard sing along songs with thousands of titles. It is amazing to hear children sing the classics like the Beatles and by no means does the lack of new songs take anything away from the party. The video in the background has its own entertainment value for onlookers, when an extra tv monitor is set up facing the audience. But, in some cases, the videos may seem a little riskee for some. None of these videos are any worse than a perfume advertisement, but everybody has their own tolerence level. Discuss the options with your Karaoke company if this is a concern.

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Miscellaneous

Looking for a Karaoke songlist? Here are a few links to some good lists. Be sure to check with your Karaoke company on what type of format they use and what discs they have, if they don't have the ability to purchase any new discs before your party

If you want a great self expanding, databased list of karaoke songs, for FREE!!! Click on the rainbow ball to access our friends at Doowop. They've made looking up karaoke songs easier than it is to sing them... and let 'em know that Sound Center says "hello!"

This is a link to the Pioneer Video Disc library where you can check out all of their Laser Karaoke Discs and more. This site is heavy on graphics and may take awhile to download, but the list is great and very comprehensive. Click on the rainbow ball to visit Pioneer Karaoke.

Where do I get Karaoke? If you are searching for a Karaoke company, the best place to look is in the Yellow Pages. If your Yellow Pages do not have a Karaoke listing, try either "Entertainment" or "Disc Jockey". When choosing a Karaoke company: the sound system, the personality of the host/hostess and type of music selection are the most important factors to consider. Also, some companies offer extra TV monitors, recording the singers and stage props, at no extra charge.Nevertheless, give a few companies a call and choose the one you are most comfortable.

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Last update: 07/01/96

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