How to celebrate National Karaoke Week

As most of our regular readers probably already know, the fourth week of April is National Karaoke Week, an observance marked by contests and special events across the USA and abroad.

To help out those who may not be as plugged into the karaoke scene as we are, we offer you these tips on how to properly celebrate this venerated holiday.

Monday: Since the work week just kicked off, you’re going to have a tough time getting the gang together for a hedonistic night out. No worries. You’re going to use the evening to polish your chops.

Pick a few songs you’ve always wanted to karaoke (but see this post for some warning tips) and look them up on your favorite online karaoke site (Karaoke Cloud is awesome, as is KaraokeOnVEVO).

Now, sing your heart out. Whether you ever karaoke one of these tunes in public isn’t as important as cutting loose and letting it all hang out.

Here’s the important part – remember that feeling, the feeling of abandoning all thought of “who is watching” and “what they’ll think.” That’s the kind of thought that kills your confidence and keeps you from bringing 100% of your personality to the front.

Next time you’re up on stage, try letting a little bit of that person peek out.

Tuesday: Start the day with a salt-water gargle. You probably need it after last night’s histrionics. Next, invite two of your closest friends over tonight for a game of Kamikaze Karaoke (at home or in the club, it works either way – you may know it as Karaoke Roulette).

Each person must only sing songs chosen by the other two. Just to mix things up, if you’ve just taken your turn to sing, throw a curve to the other two by picking a duet and making them sing it together. This is especially fun in public.

Wednesday: Today is a good day to increase your singing skill level. “Wait a minute,” you say, “How am I going to improve as a singer in just one day?” Well, while singing lessons can definitely improve your voice, they can be pricey, it’s something that usually happens over time, and you generally start with at least a bit of vocal talent in order to justify the expense.

However, everyone, no matter how well they sing, can benefit from learning to breathe properly while singing. It’s easy, and unlike those voice lessons, it’s free. Try here if you prefer text instructions, or here if you’re more of a video learner.

Thursday: Now you’re getting stronger and better at karaoke in just a short amount of time (you can star in our montage). You’ve worked on both your mental, physical and spiritual aspects, so let’s go out and put some of that hard work to use!

Pick a karaoke place where you don’t usually go, or have never been. Take along some friends for support, and get ready to strut your stuff.

If you’re brave, you may even want to pull out one of those Monday night gems you worked so hard on. Remember, this isn’t your usual karaoke haunt, so if you crash and burn, no one will ever be the wiser. Because that sort of thing never shows up on the internet.

Friday: Weekend’s here! When you go out tonight, remember to keep the most important person at karaoke night in your thoughts – your friendly KJ. He or she toils all night long (while you’re having fun) to make sure the karaoke party never stops.

Why not do something nice for your favorite KJ tonight? You can spare a few extra bucks in the tip jar for the guy or gal who keeps your songs running smoothly, adjusts the pitch for you when you get in over your head, and keeps the squealing feedback from deafening everyone in the place when you forget and grip the mike screen instead of the stalk.

Even better, get them a gift card to Karaoke Cloud. They can download that song they’ve been craving there, and it shows you put a bit of thought into it.

Saturday: As National Karaoke Week draws to a close, why not host your own karaoke party? Any good online karaoke service will work – there’s even one on your cable or Roku box if you need them.

You can introduce a theme with matching karaoke, like 80’s Mania, with dayglo leg-warmer synth-pop and poofy hair-band power ballads. Dress up, decorate, have fun!

And until it rolls around again next year, have a fantastic National Karaoke Week!