Step right up

Local contests and American Idol keep karaoke tunes a-coming

By Erin Roop

Philly EDGE Correspondent

There aren’t many things a drunken guy or girl can get cheered for in public, but karaoke is an exception. Fueled in part by the popularity of the Fox TV/reality contest show American Idol,  bar room William Hungs of the world can, and often do, sing their hearts out to appreciative audiences in pubs just about everywhere in the Delaware Valley.

According to Web site Karaoke.com, the tradition of karaoke began in Japan. Like many other wacky pop culture trends that off-beat Japanese audiences have developed first – think Godzilla, compact cars and Pokemon – the bar room singing eventually found another home across the Pacific.

While, karaoke has now been popular stateside for years, Idol and home versions of the bar room bellowing have increased its popularity exponentially. This infectious karaoke bug has even made immune to stage fright those off-key singers whose voices don’t even sound better to an audience regardless of how much alcohol it is consuming.

To entertain regional bar crowds, the Broad Street Pub in Palmyra, NJ and local entertainment company Kircher Entertainment have devised their own similar karaoke competitons – Broad Street Idol and Bucks County Idol, respectively.

Paul Kircher of Kircher Entertainment founded Bucks County Idol based on his belief that “deep down inside, everyone wants to be a singer.”

“I wanted to start a karaoke contest that was local…(and) could still give the contestants a taste of fame by being heard all over the internet,” Kircher said.

On the qualifying nights for Bucks County Idol, folks turn out in masses (sometimes more than two hundred people, Kircher says) to hear the contestants and participate in the live judging; contestants are judged based on the votes from the bar audience, as well as online votes cast on their downloadable recordings, which are made each session by Kircher. Bucks County Idol fans and participants can then download contestants’ songs online (www.buckscountyidol.com) and share them with friends and family.

Each week, thousands of local, and some not-so-local, fans log on to the site to download some of their favorite tracks.

“We have people listen to the recordings in excess of 100 times in a week,”  Kircher said. “‘Amy’ from Week 2 of the competition has had her performance downloaded 153 times as of March 15.  Some are more than others but we have had over 1000 total downloads this week.”

Karaoke isn’t just being performed in dark bars though.

An iTunes and OnStar hybrid of sorts, G Book Alpha lets Tokyo drivers purchase sing-a-long tunes for their car, while America-based AceKaraoke.com sells a car adapter for your Magic Singalong karaoke microphone that “enables you to enjoy fun while in your car or RV. All you need to do is turn on your FM radio and plug the car adapter; you can enjoy the karaoke fun with your friends or family.”

For those Schuylkill or I-95 commuters who would rather not hold a microphone (and cell phone and cup of Wawa coffee) while driving, both Xbox and Playstation 2 have Karaoke Revolution games that judge singers on pitch and accuracy of their songs. Singers can even buy upgrades to include current popular songs.

Still, judging by the many karaoke nights held at bars across the area, it seems that most amateur Kelly Clarksons and Clay Aikens prefer to showcase their voices under glowing neon beer signs. Thursdays seem to be the most popular karaoke day, according to Web site Phillykaraoke.com, which lists a round-up of places to hear and sing karaoke.

Many participants say they choose their karaoke songs to suggest their personality.

“My husband’s sister likes to sing ‘Bitch’ by Meredith Brooks. If you knew her, you would know that her song choice was an obvious one,” commented a karaoke singer who asked to remain anonymous.

Despite the popularity of karaoke, others are intimidated by the thought of singing in front of hundreds, or even outside of their car or shower.

“It gives people the chance to have center stage.  It’s so fun to watch the people that sing really well,” Lindsey, a bar patron from Blue Bell, says. “But it is even more fun to watch someone who’s had a bit too much (to drink) get up there and make a fool of themselves. You have to give them credit though, I could never do that!”

Some hot karaoke spots:

Bonner's Irish Pub 

120 South 23rd St., Philadelphia

215.567.5748

Thursdays starting at 9:30 p.m. 

Broad St. Pub

5 West Broad St., Palmyra, NJ

856.303.8701

Tuesday-Karaoke with DJ Jerry Luv (9 p.m.-2 a.m.)

Broad Street Pub Idol Contest

City Limits, Morrisville 

1 E. Philadelphia Ave., Morrisville

215.295.2207

Bucks County Idol contest Wednesdays from 9 p.m. – 1 a.m. 

Finnigan’s Wake

3rd & Spring Garden St., Philadelphia 

215.574.9317

McGillin's Old Ale House

1310 Drury St., Philadelphia

215.735.5562

Thursdays 9:30 p.m. – 10 p.m. 

North Wales Pub

146 S. Main St., North Wales

215.699.2153

Thursdays 

Sister's (LGBT friendly)

13th & Juniper Sts., Philadelphia

215.735.0735

Thursdays 10 p.m ‘til about 1 a.m.

SIDEBAR

Idol’s Philly-area connection…

Karaoke not cutting it for ya’?

If you harbor dreams of serenading Idol judges Randy Jackson, Paula Abdul and Simon Cowell with your best rendition of  Tina Turner’s “What’s Love Got to Do with It?,” Beholder Productions, a suburban Philadelphia video and multimedia company, has recently completed production on the DVD The Ultimate Voice Coach. Featuring American Idol judges Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson, The Ultimate Voice Coach was designed to help any individual become a better singer or public speaker in the comfort of his or her own home.

“The purpose for UVC was quite succinct -- give the general public access to the top two voice coaches the stars use,” Emilia Andrews, Vice President and Senior Producer of Beholder Productions, explained. Andrews said that the increase in popularity of American Idol has created a feeding-frenzy of wannabe singers that have little to no training at all.

 “UVC was made as a workout program for your voice.  It's not pretty...it is what it is; a hardcore workout program to build a better voice. And it even has different levels.  So, you can gradually build the intensity of your vocal training,” Andrews said.

Perhaps if Philly-area locals gone idol Justin Guarini, who graduated from Central Bucks East High School and attended the University of Arts in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania and

AI 2005 contestant Anthony Federov of Trevose had used The Ultimate Voice Coach, one of them would be enjoying the mass appeal of Kelly Clarkson or Carrie Underwood.

Containing an instructional DVD, audio CD, a booklet and a karaoke CD, The Ultimate Voice Coach, which is available at www.ultimatevoicecoach.com, claims to be a boot-camp for your voice.

The DVD recently made its way back around to its celebrity stars in the form of a contestant at an Idol audition.

“There was one boy from North or South Carolina that brought in the UVC program (to a show audition).  Problem was this...he didn't actually use the karaoke part of the program.  He literally sang the song as if it was a lesson, “Andrews said.

“It's like a professional athlete...basketball players still lift weights, etc.  They use that to strengthen their skills when on the court,” she explained. “That boy, by comparison, merely was lifting the weights while on the court.  That doesn't help the purpose of what you're trying to do...which is to sing better.  When at the audition, in front of Paula, Randy and Simon...he should have applied what he learned into the song...not just sing the lessons with the song.”