by Jen Hudson

Created on: April 20, 2008   Last Updated: October 31, 2008

"Karaoke Addiction Helps Overcome Shyness"

I grab the cold, hard microphone in my hand. My knuckles clench around the stem. In an instant, I know I will no longer be Jen, the shy alto who got cut from the chorus and settled for high school band. I will be Cyndi Lauper singing of my "True Colors" or Blondie's Deborah Harry exposing my "Heart of Glass".

Growing up, I was the bookworm. I had a few close friends, and most of my classmates rarely heard me speak. In the future predictions section of my eighth grade yearbook, it said, "Imagine this: Jen as a pop star." Taking center stage at a karaoke bar was not something anyone from my junior high years could have predicted.

Ironically, karaoke is not only for the extroverted person who has always craved the stage. Singing in front of a crowded bar is the perfect escape for someone who has always felt like a wallflower, too shy to be stand out in the crowd.

In the past ten years, I have sang more karaoke songs and frequented more bars just to sing than I could count. I have never entered a contest, but I find myself addicted to the spotlight. It is less about the music and more about putting on a show and escaping that reserved, lost girl from eighth grade.

Stepping into a character and imitating a voice of a distinctive vocal icon can be fun and exhilarating for those of us who would never make the American Idol cut.

Nothing gets my heart racing like hearing, "Jen, you're up next," from the DJ. I suddenly transform from that coy girl I once was, to a free-flying vixen, who will dance and sing anything for audience applause and satisfaction. Laughter fuels my emotions as I take on the persona of the latest blonde pop princess complete with pouty lips and whiny voice. If only the yearbook editor could see me now!

Karaoke has allowed me to become a verbally expressive woman. Today, my co-workers and friends would hardly describe me as shy. However, whenever the timid girl threatens to bring me back into my shell, I take a trip to my latest karaoke bar, strike a pose, and sing a little Madonna.

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