by Michael Ray

Created on: April 23, 2009

I went to karaoke shows for 3 years and never got up to sing. Finally, one day a friend of mine talked me into singing 'Ring Of Fire' by Johnny Cash with him and the singing bug bit. Soon I was hitting every show I could find, waiting for my chance to sing. That was when I realized that there were a lot of bad karaoke Jockeys, (K.J's) in the business. By bad I mean for one reason or another I was not entertained during the show or I could never figure out what kind of rotation he was using to call people up. Face it, no one wants to wait 3 hours for a chance to sing one song.

When I began my own show in 2001 I had grand ideas on how shows should and shouldn't be run. I tried to implement these ideas into my shows and eight years still run a successful show. Keep in mind, what works in my neighborhood may not work well in yours, but the general guidelines are still the same.

We'll keep the first one short and sweet. If we didn't like the sound of our own voice we wouldn't sing. Setup your sound so that your singers can hear themselves. Either use a stage monitor specifically for your singer or turn your main speakers so they can be heard from the stage.

One of the biggest problems for a K.J. is the rotation. Regardless of how you set it up, someone is going to feel like they're been bumped, missed or ignored. This is inevitable! I use a one hour rotation. I call up singers for one hour then I start from the top again. Then I go two hours. Keep adding one hour until the show is over. If I continually add new singers as they wall in the door, the first singer ends up waiting the rest of the night. Reward those who show up early. New singers should understand that in karaoke 'first come first served' is the only fair way.

Be a jockey, not an announcer. It's up to you to liven up the show between singers. Instead of 'Let's get Johnny up here' try 'Johnny's got a great song from the Man In Black. If you've seen the movie 'Walk The Line' you'll remember this song'. Much more entertaining and it cuts down on dead air time. I recommend using sound bites during your show too. A ticking clock, the theme music from jeopardy or a short movie sound bite covers the gap between you calling the singer and them arriving on stage.

Ham It Up! Just like in the music award show, artists are singing but the hosts are telling jokes and clowning around during the breaks. I have a variety of hats and masks I wear during my show and adopt different personalities when calling up various singers.

Do contests. Play a song and offer a free drink to the first person who names the movie it was from. Play let's make a deal with the same offer. "Anybody have a quarter with the state of Virginia on it?

Hand out rewards. I have a number of certificates I hand out to singers. They Love Them! Some of these certificates are "Your Singing Stinks", "I Got Your Cherry Award", (for first time singers), "The Preparation H Award" (For being a pain in the A*) and the "Certificate of Originality" because "We've never heard it sung like that before". You don't need to put a lot of effort in to making these because most of them will end up in the trash. I do know one woman though who has them framed and hanging on a wall in her house.

Finally, keep an eye on your singers. You don't want them in the bathroom or outside having a cigarette when it's their turn to sing. Let people know they'll be up in five minutes or after the next singer. They'll appreciate it.

Remember, your customers keep you in business. There's a better chance that they'll become repeat customers it they feel they've been treated well and entertained.

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