Motivations for singing karaoke
I received many different answers when I asked this question. Below are some of the answers:
(Excerpt from interview with Ed Boyer)
Melaena: So what first got you interested in karaoke?
Ed: hmmm...
Melaena: Do you remember?
Ed: Uh… From a customer point of view… I think, just cause it’s the easiest way for me to sing, without having to deal with a bunch of band members. Which I didn’t really know before, until I got into karaoke, into the singing scene. It’s always there, the band’s on time… and it’s pretty cheap entertainment.
(Excerpt from interview with Tie Conn)
Melaena: So, what do you like about karaoke that keeps you coming back to it?
Tie: The fact that I’m good at it.
Melaena: Okay.
Tie: And that people tell me I’m good at it and they want me to do it. That makes it enjoyable to me that other people enjoy it. And I have fun simply because it feels good. I stop listening to myself cause I hate the sound of my own voice, and I realize: It feels good. That’s all I do it for.
(Excerpt from interview with Eva Pang)
Melaena: Okay. And then, why did you get interested in karaoke? Was it because of those friends, or how did you start?
Eva: Ummm… it was mostly for the social aspect. So, you know, she had some friends that came with her, that I’d never met before, and they were really fun to hang around with, and it’s just kind of a fun atmosphere, so… it’s less about the singing, more about the hanging out with people once a week, thing.
Melaena: So is it different than just hanging out in a bar? Do you find that?
Eva: It’s a lot different. Cause, hanging out in a bar, you talk and stuff like that, but it’s not as interactive, whereas here you’re kind of egging each other on to pick a song and go onstage and sing it, and there’s a lot of encouragement. And then when you’re done singing, everyone tells you you did a great job, and they start talking about it, and they egg you on to pick out a next song.
Melaena: Okay.
Eva: It’s just a lot more active than, you know, talking about your day, kind of thing.
(Excerpt from Interview with Paul Dottler)
Melaena: So what keeps you returning to karaoke? What do you like about karaoke?
Paul: It’s a blast. I really enjoy the singing. It’s an opportunity for me to develop the skills, and like I said, without the exposure to a church group, I never really had the opportunity to learn how to sing, and karaoke I’ve been using to learn how to sing. So that I can do things like sing when I’m camping, so that I can do things like sing at gatherings with my family and whatnot, because there is a little bit of that going on as well. I’ve just never had an opportunity to develop it before coming here.
Melaena: Why don’t you get that at home?
Paul: Well, I could sing along with recordings, I guess. But even then there’s that overlay. Right? When you’re singing karaoke, it’s all you. So you can hear when you’re flat, you can hear when you’re sharp. I look at it as training, for me.
Coming to karaoke isn’t about singing at karaoke. Coming to karaoke is about coming here to learn how to sing at other places.
