So you’re all decked out and ready for a night of singing:

There are some unspoken rules of etiquette to follow if you want to become a karaoke regular.
These are not written in stone, but they will be helpful to observe.
As with any other creative or performance outlet, 
feelings can be bruised very easily through harsh criticism. 

Remember your first time. 
If a brand-new singer struggles through their first song, 
resist the temptation to ridicule or otherwise disrupt their performance. 
Polite applause is most appropriate, as well as an invitation to join your group.
If you feel comfortable offering advice, 
do it privately and with considerable tact. 
Don't overwhelm a new singer with a hundred nuggets of sage wisdom- 
keep it simple. 
If their volume was a major problem, address that first. 
Suggest ways of positioning the microphone to best suit their singing style. 
Quiet singers may need to hold the microphone closer, 
or increase their singing volume.
Those who threaten to overpower the microphone should be shown the proper way to back off.
Most karaoke hosts will do their best to mix a singer's voice
up or down to match their volume level, but sometimes this just isn't enough. 
Once you've addressed one major difficulty with his or her performance, 
leave any more advice off the table until the next song. 
No one wants to be barraged with a laundry list of perceived faults. 
After a few songs have gone by, 
compliment the singer on whatever improvements have been made and then address any new issues.
Also, practice what you preach and avoid the same performance traps yourself.
As a singer and audience member, 
you have an obligation to support those who may not feel supported. 

A Few Guidelines To Keep The Show Running Smoothly

Attitude: 
Smile and have fun!! 
Whether we want to admit it or not, 
we all dream of being on stage at some point in our lives. 
Now you have the chance to fulfill that dream.

Song Rotation and 'Host Relations:
This is a hobby for you, but a livelihood for the host. 
Respect their efforts by keeping complaints to a minimum. 
Be polite when inquiring about rotations and schedules. 
Singers are called up on a rotation basis, 
based on the order the slips were turned in for the first round. 
The order will remain constant in subsequent rounds,
except for fitting in new singers. 
Please turn in only one request slip at a time. 
When you are called up to sing, 
you may bring up your next request. 
Singing in a duet will count as your turn for that round.

HEY! That's My song!
There have been situations where someone has 
yelled "Hey! That's my song!"
The position I hold is that no one "owns" a song unless you WROTE IT. 
Songs are meant to be sung and karaoke is meant to be fun! 
After all there are so many to choose from within the songbook.
When choosing your song, please keep in mind the songs that have already been sung. 
If everyone seems to be singing slow songs, by all means please pick it up and vice versa!

Leaving Early:
Please do not ask to be moved up in the rotation 
because you “have to leave”,“friends are leaving” etc.
This is not fair to everyone else waiting patiently to sing. 
If you must leave before you are called, 
please let the host know that you are leaving 
so that your slip gets removed from the rotation. 
This helps keep the show moving as time won‘t be
wasted calling for absent singers.

Unruly Behavior: 
Do Not Heckle, Boo or otherwise interfere with any individual or group performance. 
Don't forget your turn is coming.

Uninvited Singers:
Please do not come up and join in on someone else’s song 
while they are singing unless they have invited you to do so. 
If you are invited up and you already have a request in for that round, 
your request will be moved into the next round so that everyone else will get their turn. 
If invited and you already had a turn for that round, please do not come up again.

Proper Mic Technique:
Please hold the microphone close you your mouth. 
Do Not TAP the microphone, 
Do not cover the grill of the mic with your hand, 
this will cause feedback. 
Do not yell or scream into the mic. 
The level will be adjusted by the host so that you will be heard properly. 
Please respect the equipment: and do not swing the mic around by the cable.

Group Singing:
Karaoke is generally for one soloist or a two person duet. 
There are two mics available. 
If you have a special circumstance that would require a larger group to be singing onstage,
please speak to the host about it ahead of time when you hand in your slip. 
Audience sing-along of course is always welcomed.

Duplicate Listings:
A few songs in the book are listed more than once.
This means that there is more than one “version” available, 
due to it being on multiple Karaoke collection CD’s from different Karaoke companies. 
Try the different versions each time you sing that song; 
you may decide you like one particular version better than another. 

Signature Songs:
"I brought my entire family to hear you do that song."
For many regular singers, the audience determines hits and misses. 
Certain songs become synonymous with certain performers, 
and the audience looks forward to hearing those songs every week. 
While that may appear flattering, 
the accompanying peer pressure might be a difficult situation for the singer. 
Karaoke singers like to be experimental at times, 
and the temptation to try a new song or two is always there. 
But the audience may have other ideas, and are more than willing to share these ideas with you. 
It can be very difficult to reject a heartfelt request for a song, 
but you may have no other choice. 
Try to be as tactful as possible when handling audience requests, 
but don't allow pressure tactics to affect your song selections. 
Sometimes the karaoke host will understand your dilemma,
and allow you to sing two songs in order to accommodate the audience. 
If this is not possible, you should thank the audience members for their support,
and explain that sometimes a singer enjoys performing new material.
Hopefully, the audience will understand and support your new efforts. 
Sometimes new performers will select one of these songs, 
which may bother the regular performer in the extreme.
This situation becomes especially troublesome if the regular singer 
was scheduled to perform that song next. 
If you are in that situation as a regular, 
you could have an alternative song ready to replace the first one. 
Be courteous. You can always do the original song later. In the same vein, 
it is never a good idea to deliberately perform someone else's signature song
just for the sake of causing strife. 
Some singers, especially those with limited repertoires, 
can be hurt very badly by such poor sportsmanship.

A-P-P-L-A-U-S-E  (Clap Your Hands!) Whistle, etc.
for every vocalist!  
Please always applaud when a singer approaches and exits the stage. 
This is especially important if this is the singer's first time singing karaoke in public.
Audience support helps us all – including your Karaoke Host.
It’s hard to get up and sing in front of a bunch of people,
and everyone deserves a BIG hand for trying!Booing is unacceptable.
Karaoke is not about being a superstar, 
it’s about everyone having a good time and supporting one another. 
HAVE FUN and above all,

Participation: 
We encourage all patrons to give it a try regardless
of how good or bad you may think your singing is. 
We the audience will be the judge of that. 
Feel free to sing along from your seats "of course" as the words appear across the TV monitor. 
The words will change color prompting you when it is time to sing.

Patience: I ask everyone to be patient as they await their turn to sing.
Please do not "WHINE" or count the number of times others sing. 
In other words, Please Do Not Become a "LIST WATCHER".
We make every attempt to allow all participants to sing as many times as possible.
No, you cannot cut ahead of the next singer because you “have to leave right now!”

Language: Please refrain from using foul language over the microphone. 
Although permissible in some venues, 
I find it Unacceptable and would appreciate your cooperation.

1. Song Request Slips: Once you pick your song, 
fill out the request slip carefully. 
It’s easy to write down the wrong song number
(especially after a few beers), 
and this helps the host keep things moving
if they don’t have to look the song up again in their book.

2. Always use your real name. 
If you have a common name or know that someone else has the same or similar name, 
put down both first and last names. 
When people start using different names or aliases in a crowded club, 
it is hard to keep the rotation fair, 
especially if the KJ doesn’t know all the faces well.

3. When the KJ calls your name, 
try to get up and to the mic as soon as possible. 
You would not believe how many times 
someone has to take another hit or two off their cigarette,
and down a beer AFTER their name has been called.
When the club is crowded and this happens a few times,
that takes up enough time that one or two people won’t
get their song requests called.

4. Keep it appropriate, especially if you are at a restaurant. 
There may be kids present, even if it is late, 
or there may be adults who take offense at bad 
language (maybe even the KJ).

5. Do not hold on to the mic and make a speech after you are done singing. 
Everyone knows that AC/DC rocks, Xxxxxxxx State sucks, etc. 
and taking several minutes of someone else’s singing time to remind us all.
is not fair to the person or persons who won’t get to sing their song.

6. If the KJ is using corded microphones, 
DON’T swing the mic by the cords. 
Yeah, this may make you look cool, but it damages the cord, 
and replacing them every month gets kind of expensive for the KJ.

7. Every karaoke host I know! 
takes offense to someone spilling drinks on or near their equipment and CDs. 
If you want to hold your drink while you sing, that’s fine,
but don’t sit it by the equipment or spill it on the mic, system, TV or cords.
Most professional systems start out around $3,000 and go up from there, 
and a good music collection is worth at least twice that much.
 
8. Tips are greatly appreciated
They have a hard job up there keeping everyone and everything adjusted 
as well as keeping all the song requests in order. 
AND trying to keep everyone happy.... 
Show them you appreciate their efforts, 
but most KJs would rather not accept a tip 
if given with the intent of having your name moved up in the rotation. 
Every KJ has their own system for keeping things fair,
and it makes us feel bad to accept a tip if we know that is the only reason. 
Don't forget Your Bartenders, and Servers who work hard to make your evening enjoyable. 

9. It really will help to keep these tips in mind, 
but most important of all is to relax and have a good time. 
That’s what singing karaoke is all about, 
whether you are a great singer or just here to unwind.

“SING IT LIKE YOU MEAN IT!!”