Chicago Karaoke Tips: Dance… Or Else

Mason Johnson is a judge at Chicago's only Karaoke Idol. He knows a thing or two. You should probably listen to him. Read his tips below.

Karaoke Spot of the Week
Sidekicks
4424 West Montrose Avenue
Chicago, IL 60641
(773) 545-6212
sidekicks-chicago.com‎

It's Okay To Dance (Really)

What? You can't dance?

Me neither.

That doesn't stop me from horribly contorting my body in visually painful ways, hoping the miserable souls around me realize I'm having fun.

Listen: Karaoke isn't about doing things well. If you were a talented singer and performer, it's doubtful you'd be drunkenly singing Garth Brooks with a beer-covered mic at a bar.

Karaoke is about having fun. By extension, the karaoke performers who are able to take that fun -- their fun! -- and share it with the crowd, are usually the most successful. And part of having fun includes dancing.

Even some good singers will screw up their performance by standing as still as a statue (but not one a those hot nude statues people label as "art" -- like a scary gargoyle statue). Great, you sing well, but who cares? A drunk, chatty karaoke audience will happily ignore you, good voice or not, if you're not animated enough.

Just go up there and let your body do whatever it wants to do to the music, but multiply that by ten. If you can't keep a beat, if you're a total spaz on the dance floor, just exaggerate your movements until it (and you, I guess) become a joke (people like jokes!).

There's nothing wrong with being a joke.

We spend so much time being serious and worrying about what we look like throughout our day! Why bring those worries and inhibitions to karaoke with us? It makes no sense.

So do whatever you gotta do, thrash around, jump up and down, throw your fist in the air, clap to the beat -- do absolutely whatever you gotta do -- to get the audience on your side.

If you prove you're not afraid to make an awesome idiot of yourself on stage, the audience will follow suit, and soon the whole bar will be filled with awesome idiots having fun.

Can you think of anything better?

Read more Chicago Karaoke Tips here.

Mason Johnson is a karaoke expert. He's also a judge at Karaoke Idol! Chicago, which takes place once a month at Beauty Bar. Feel free to compete... if you dare.