Karaoke weekend

Before I explain what happened, let me explain what karaoke is. Karaoke consists of a performer singing the words to a popular song to the accompaniment of prerecorded background music. The background music uses the same instruments as the original recording minus the singing. It gives the average person the ability to stand in front of a crowd and sing just like Sinatra or Britney Spears. However, I doubt that many singers choose any songs by Sinatra. Karaoke songs tend to be fairly current mainstream songs with a bias towards country and western or rock music.

As I sat there listening to the amateurs singing their songs in front of a racous noisy crowd with ear splitting background music, I thought to myself, what could be more American than this? To my surprise, after surfing the net, I found that karaoke acutally originated in Japan in the 1980's. Karaoke is a Japanese abbreviated compound word: "kara" comes from "karappo" meaning empty, and "oke" is the abbreviation of "okesutura," or orchestra. The article said that the use of karaoke started at a snack bar in Kobe City, Japan. It is said that when a strolling guitarist could not come to perform at the bar due to illness or other reasons, the owner of the bar prepared tapes of accompaniment recordings, and vocalists enjoyed singing to the tapes.

Last weekend was the karaoke finals for all the contestants who had performed throughout the year at various bars in Streator. The winner from each week's contest was to compete against each other to determine the champion. Melanie won her contest last March and so was competing against the other winners for the grand prize which was worth $500.

Friday night was the semifinals at Tyke's Bar on Vermillion Street in Streator. The place was packed with enthusiastic fans rooting for their favorite performer. Judy and I, along with Melanie's husband John and her Aunt Gerry showed up to root for Melanie at Friday's semi-finals. Each performer sang 2 songs. Then a panel of 8 judges whittled down the contestants to the top 5. I have to say that most of the performers were very good. I certainly would not have the guts to sing in front of a crowd, even if I could sing, which I can't. Anyhow, Melanie received the highest score which really sent us home in a good mood.

I had just a few drinks and Judy doesn't drink at all but when we got up the next morning we both felt like we had a hangover. We concluded that being in a smoke-filled room for 4 hours was enough to make anyone feel bad the next day.

Saturday night the finals were held and we were joined by two more of Melanie's aunts, Karen and Kathy, for the showdown. Melanie would be competing against the best of the best. Each of the 5 contestant was to sing two songs and then the judges would narrow it down to the last three. Melanie put on a great show and didn't miss a beat. After she sang, her Aunt Kathy whistled so loud it felt like my eardrums would break. Melanie made it to the final 3 with the most points.

Melanie was really nervous before her last song. I didn't tell her that I was nervous also. In any event, she put on her best performance of the night and won the karaoke finals and took home the $500. Melanie broke down crying afterward for joy and a sense of relief from the tension that had been building for this final event.

There are those who will say, big deal, who cares about karaoke? My answer is that this isn't about karaoke. Its a story about a committment to excellence. A story about one person's drive to succeed. Most of are not willing to put ourselves on the line to pursue a goal because of the fear of rejection or failure. Melanie overcame her fears and pursued a dream. I am happy for her and I hope she continues to pursue her dream of being a singer someday.