Local finalists will battle it out with international participants at this world event on October 25
Youngsters at a karaoke event in the city
From being the soul of The Muppets and a leisurely party pursuit to becoming Bengalureans’ favourite pastime, karaoke has come a long way. Now, we are all set to host a city finale for the world’s biggest karaoke event that brings together crooners from across the world – The Karaoke World Championships on October 25 at the Indigo Live Music Bar.
The turn of the decade saw a karaoke boom with amateur singers and pros alike crowding around a single microphone and a system with limited songs. “With more venues across the city hosting karaoke evenings on different days of the week, it’s not just karaoke anymore, it’s a party with music that spans genres and comes with good variety,” says Bengaluru’s beloved karaoke host Martin D’Souza, who is the official karaoke jockey for the Championships in the city. According to him, it’s more than just a regular party, it’s an interactive forum with no one thinking big about how they sound, but only focused on unwinding and having a good time.
Out of hundreds of songbirds, the city finale will see a face off between 14 of them, for a chance to represent India on the big stages in Sentosa, Singapore — all expenses paid. Having hosted the trial rounds at Indigo Live Music Bar, its artiste manager, Prasheel Cheruvari says those who come in aren’t just seeking a platform to better their skill but want to have fun with mic in hand. “It’s now becoming a community of sorts with regulars wanting to sing together,” he adds.
Earlier, one of Bengaluru-based singer, Megha Girish even represented India in Ireland at the 2011 World Karaoke Championships that was founded in 2003. Now, with a variety of genres at their disposal, crackling stage presence and a lyrical platter rich with everything from Adele and Michael Bublé to AC/DC, karaoke stars from the city are set to sound off. “It’s wonderful to actually know that there are so many people out there who aren’t pros but are still too good,” says GR Govardhan aka DJ Goapu, one of the finalists at the Championships from the city. Wanting to take it all back to the earlier days of music, he’s all set to croon a jazz number. “Although its composition and scale changes are quite complicated to pull off from a competition perspective, I’m warming up my vocal chords to sing Bobby Darin’s Mack the Knife only for its entertainment value,” says Goapu, who admits that he’s nervous but the edge is what will make this challenge that much more exciting.
( Source : deccan chronicle )
Next Story
