Posts Tagged ‘karaoke songs’
Karaoke Revolution Console Games
Karaoke Revolution is a fun karaoke video game to play on PS2, PS3, Xbox, Xbox 360, Wii, and Nintendo GameCube. In addition to the original game, several other versions have been released, including Volume 2, Volume 3, Karaoke Revolution Party, Country, American Idol and most recently, American Idol Encore. The first microphone was a Logitech headset compatible with the PlayStations, Wii and Xbox 360. Future versions of the game came with a standardized microphone that can be used in Rock Band, Boogie and High School Musical: Sing It as well. The Karaoke Revolution for Xbox has a microphone that plugs right into the memory card port on the controller and the GameCube has a special microphone that plugs into its memory card port, although it can be used with Mario Party 6 too. If you have a SingStar microphone, then you can probably use it for the PS3 version.
If you like Rock Band or Guitar Hero, then you will have a ball with Karaoke Revolution, in which you play an on-screen character who is performing a live concert. As with any video game character, you can customize the outfits, hair color and other features to your liking. The song lyrics will scroll right-to-left at the bottom of the screen in traditional karaoke format, while a pitch arrow shows whether you are in the correct range or not. If you are singing your karaoke hits well, then the audience will cheer for you and the crowd meter will be through-the-roof! But watch out because if you are bombing, you just might get booed right off stage!
The first Karaoke Revolution game promised to have a song for everyone, and it did, from pop rock like Simple Plan’s “Addicted” and Sugar Ray’s “Every Morning” to classics like Percy Sledge’s “When A Man Loves A Woman” and “You’re The One That I Want” from the movie Grease. Classic eighties songs like Pat Benatar’s “Hit Me With Your Best Shot,” Cyndi Lauper’s “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” and nineties favorites like Hoobastank’s “Crawling In the Dark” and The Black Crowe’s “She Talks to Angels” also made an appearance. Volume 2 brought 35 more songs from artists like The Police, Garth Brooks, Christina Aguilera, Three Days Grace, Elvis, No Doubt, KISS, Otis Redding and Lynyrd Skynyrd. With Volume 3, Michael Jackson, George Michael, the B52’s, Hillary Duff, The Beatles, Liz Phair and David Bowie offer up karaoke songs.
Karaoke Revolution Party, one of the top-selling games, has some of the best karaoke songs that will get your whole house rocking. Who doesn’t laugh when someone sings “Brick House” by the Commodores or Wild Cherry’s “Play That Funky Music?” On a more serious note, lovers can croon over “I Had the Time of my Life” from the movie Dirty Dancing or Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You.” Rockers will be happy to see some Joan Jett “I Love Rock N’ Roll,” The Rolling Stones’ “Start Me Up” and Incubus’s “Drive.” Let us not forget a little dash of cheesiness either, because you know someone will choose Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline” (bah, bah, bah) or Culture Club’s “Do You Really Want To Hurt Me.” Why buy karaoke CDs when you can step it up a notch with the entire game that can be enjoyed by your whole family and your friends?
Pointers About Karaoke Music Worth Taking A Look
When discussing karaoke music, we have to look at two different aspects. On one hand, you’ll need to choose the right karaoke hits for your collection to ensure everyone’s satisfied and your karaoke party doesn’t turn into an awkward “So, who is going next” scenario. On the other hand, you will need to consider where and how to buy these songs, either on CD, DVD, CD G or mp3. Perhaps you may not even want to buy them at all, instead opting for getting your fix of karaoke online.
Girls and guys have their favorite karaoke hits that have withstood the test of time, so be sure to add the following favorites to your karaoke song collection. Girls like empowering songs of survival, enduring sexuality and sass. To appease these spunky vixens include such tunes as “These Boots Were Made For Walkin’” (Nancy Sinatra), “I Will Survive” (Gloria Gaynor) “Hit Me With Your Best Shot” (Pat Benatar), “Venus” (Bananarama), “I Love Rock N Roll” (Joan Jett), “I’m Just A Girl” (No Doubt/Gwen Stefani), “Like A Virgin” (Madonna), “Girls Just Wanna Have Fun” (Cyndi Lauper), “Feel Like A Woman” (Shania Twain), “You’re So Vain” (Carly Simon), “She Works Hard For The Money” (Donna Summer), “Respect” (Aretha Franklin), “Sweet Dreams” (Eurythmics), “I Wanna Dance With Somebody” (Whitney Houston), “Listen To Your Heart” (Roxette) and “Black Velvet” (Alannah Myles).
Karaoke music for guys should be fun, macho and hilarious. Fun karaoke songs for them might include “Sweet Child O’ Mine” (Guns N’ Roses), “Sharp-Dressed Man” (ZZ Top), “Werewolves of London” (Warren Zevon), “Sultans of Swing,” (Dire Straits), “Bohemian Rhapsody” (Queen) and “Celebrate” (Kool & The Gang). “Man’s man” karaoke songs might be “Girls, Girls, Girls” (Motley Crue), “You Shook Me All Night Long” (AC/DC), “You Give Love A Bad Name” (Bon Jovi), “Macho Man” (The Village People), “Baby Got Back” (Sir Mix-a-lot), “I’m Too Sexy” (Right Said Fred), “Hurt So Good” (John Mellencamp) and “Born To Be Wild” (Steppenwolf). Funny songs include “Because I Got High” (Afroman), “Billie Jean” (Michael Jackson) or “Friends In Low Places” (Garth Brooks), although the funniest karaoke songs usually aren’t intentional.
Some people like to make their own karaoke music. You can do this if you have an mp3/mp4 compatible karaoke system or if your karaoke activities are mainly online. You can transform any CD into a karaoke CD by purchasing karaoke software. Or you may buy karaoke songs at www.eztracks.com, www.buykaraokedownloads.com or www.karaoke-version.com. If you don’t care about keeping the songs but simply want to sing for free, then there are a number of karaoke communities, which can be found at www.kariokebar.com, www.redkaraoke.com, www.singsnap.com and www.ksolo.myspace.com.
Where Can I Locate Karaoke MP3?
We are still far from having the perfect karaoke MP3 solution. Little by little, with the popularity of “American Idol” and video games like “Karaoke Revolution,” companies are beginning to sell devices that work with iPods to facilitate the downloading-singing process. However, for serious songbirds, an all-in-one karaoke system like The Singing Station is well worth the $149 and it plays every format imaginable.
There are several things to look for when downloading karaoke MP3 files. Some files feature recordings from the original band members, with the vocals removed. Others have professional recording artists performing the tracks, with the vocals removed. Other tracks come with the vocals and allow you to cancel out the vocals on your karaoke system, if your system comes with that feature. It is important to understand the features and the limitations of your karaoke equipment before you start browsing for music.
Another factor to consider is its extension. Most downloads will come as “.mp3″ files, although some may say “midi,”"mp3+g” or “mp4.” Midi sometimes sounds like keyboard music and is often a very different version, so you will want to avoid those. The MP3+G are good because they have the lyrics included that can be output to video. MP4 format may be a music file and an accompanying music video file, which is fine if you want the videos more than the lyrics.
It is a natural assumption that where there is the internet, there is free everything. Unfortunately, the market selling karaoke downloads is still pretty hot and you are not likely to find any sites offering free karaoke MP3 files. You may be able to find some downloads on peer-to-peer applications like LimeWire or BearShare; however, these sites are growing increasingly more unreliable and havens for computer viruses. Newsgroups like www.usenet-replayer.com/cgi/content/archive may have online karaoke files for download, although these sites are fairly limited in their offerings. IRC file sharing channels like www.searchirc.com or www.irc.netsplit.de are popular ways of getting downloads because of the vast amount of accessible content, although it is technically illegal to share content this way, it may leave your computer vulnerable to hackers and it isn’t user friendly.
One of the most popular sources for karaoke MP3 files is www.ez-tracks.com, which offers thousands of karaoke songs for low prices. As a bonus, new members can download 101 songs for free, including artists like Haste The Day, Norma Jean, The Beatles, Rihanna, Britney Spears, Kanye West and Kid Rock. However, be sure you set up a separate email account to start using the site, as they do sell your email address to their advertisers. You will also see a lot of advertisements on the site, but since “free” is hard to find in the world of karaoke songs, most people say it is worthwhile.
Karaoke Machine Guide
Karaoke started in the 1970s in Japan, where business professionals would drop into a karaoke club on their way home from work to de-stress. For club owners, it was a great way to entertain patrons, without paying for strolling musicians. By the nineties, karaoke had become a staple in American culture as well, with tens of thousands of bars, restaurants and clubs offering weekly karaoke nights. Karaoke equipment includes such things as a karaoke machine, which plays CDs, DVDs, mp3s and/or CD Gs, has built-in or plug-in speakers, one or more plug-in microphones and either video cables or a built-in lyrics screen.
So which systems are getting the most buzz? The $60 doPi Karaoke “Party in a Pod” system can turn a video iPod into a karaoke machine. Consumers will also get a microphone, a mixer box with two inputs, echo effect, video in/out ports and all cables needed to connect an iPod to the box, which plugs into the wall. A song card comes with three free downloads and many karaoke songs come with video too. This system, which has been featured by InStyle, People, Seventeen, WIRED, Mac Life, iLounge, FHM and Entertainment Magazine, as well as Good Morning America and The Early Show, can be purchased at www.dopikaraoke.com.
Over a million people have purchased the “Rock Band” game for PlayStation, Wii and Xbox, which turns their video game consoles into a karaoke machine and musical instrument tutorial. Like the karaoke game “Karaoke Revolution,” the lyrics appear at the top of the screen for vocalists to follow, while a bar provides feedback on how well the pitch and note duration match the original. Other friends or family members can try their hand at guitar, the bass guitar and drum pads. This game is really fun for parties, rainy days and cultivating an interest in music.
The $199 Singing Machine Pedestal CDG Karaoke system offers a more professional singing and recording experience than the average karaoke machine. In addition to having two microphones, the system also comes with a built-in camera so singers can watch themselves on the video monitor. Additionally, the RCA output allows singers the ability to tape themselves on a VCR or DVD recorder as well. Unlike other systems that are all-vocals or no-vocals, this unit comes with Auto Voice Control so the vocals are eliminated when the singer starts to sing and returns when the singer stops singing. This function is ideal for practicing a new song. Additional features for this CD/CD G player include key, echo, balance and pitch control. Ipod-compatible systems also exist for $249. Consumers can purchase this product at www.singingmachine.com.
Consumers are not the only demographic for the karaoke machine. Some business owners see karaoke as a great opportunity to add entertainment or set themselves apart from the competition. Obviously, the karaoke club is nothing new, but what about the karaoke cab? In cities like Dallas, New York City, Chicago and San Francisco, there are cabs with built-in karaoke machines to start off a pre-party or occupy riders for long rides. Some videos of karaoke singers are posted at www.mykaraokecab.com. Karaoke Yellow Cab out of Dallas, Texas says that the karaoke hits up his tips and that the most common songs requested are Van Morrison’s “Brown Eyed Girl,” Madonna’s “Like A Virgin” and Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline.”
Buying A Karaoke DVD
To perform all your favorite karaoke hits at home, you will need a microphone, a player and a song collection. One of the cheapest ways to accomplish this is to buy a karaoke DVD player for as little as $30. Although some would argue that setting yourself to perform on your computer is the least expensive way because you need only a $20 microphone and 79-cent karaoke downloads. If you are computer savvy and are willing to spend $49 for karaoke software, then you can create your own custom DVDs using your current mp3 collection.
Rather than buy a karaoke system, multi-functional karaoke DVD players range from $30 to $200 and play regular DVD movies too. The best karaoke DVD players will accept CD G (CD Graphic) format, which is the kind that plays songs and scrolls the lyrics on the bottom. Karaoke DVDs scroll lyrics too, but there are many more CD G karaoke songs available to buy. The VocoPro DVG399K ($110) has 5.1 Dolby Digital output to get the most from your speakers, two microphone inputs, digital key control to alter your voice and accepts CDs, CD-Rs/mp3s, DVDs and CD+Gs to give you maximum versatility.
According to online retailer Amazon, the kid karaoke DVD offerings tend to sell best. Disney’s “High School Musical” 1 & 2, “Hannah Montana,” “Disney Radio Hits” 1 & 2, as well as “Jump & Jive with Hi-5″ and Sesame Street’s “Sesame Sings Karaoke” are all karaoke hits. For older teens and adults, Billboard released a “Top 10 Karaoke Box Set” that includes 40 songs including John Lennon, Neil Diamond, Dolly Parton and Sting, to name a few artists. Also, Party Tyme offers a multitude of karaoke songs on DVD for $13.99, with themes including: Broadway, Country, Old Country, Greatest Hits, Oldies, Pop, Rock and Love Songs. Startrax offers fun genre DVDs too, including 80s movies, 80s pop, alternative anthems, another top 20 hits, at the movies, back to school, boogie nights, classic R&B, country classics, dancing in the streets, disco classics, girls night and kids, to name a few.
Of course not every genre is easy to find on DVD, although it can be done. For instance, fans of Hip Hop/R&B can check out R&B Classics by Startrax, which includes cover artists doing “In Da Club” (50-cent), “Hot In Here” (Nelly), “S.O.S” (Rihanna) and “Shut Up” (Black-Eyed Peas). Punk rockers will love the newly released Punk Rock Karaoke DVD that features stars from the bands NOFX, Bad Religion, Social Distortion and The Adolescents, as well as performances/sing-a-longs for “Gimme Gimme Gimme” (Black Flag), “California Über Allies” (Dead Kennedys), “Minor Threat” (Minor Threat) and “What Do I Get” (The Buzzcocks), to name a few.
Karaoke CD Suggestions You Cannot Be Without
Karaoke CD software will help people who are serious about their singing to take any song and subdue the vocals, while ramping up the accompaniment. They can then infuse their own vocals and save the new version. They can take advantage of pitch correctors, echo effects, mix the sound or create a CD+G with lyrics to sing on a karaoke system. Win CDG Pro 3 is a popular program that does just that. However, not everyone is so computer savvy or dedicated. Others may wish to just peruse the online offerings to get their karaoke fix.
When regard to karaoke CDs, few compilations got people as excited about karaoke music as the DKKaraoke collection that came out in the nineties, featuring 25 discs of karaoke hits, spanning several decades of music. For instance, you could get Frank Sinatra’s “New York New York” and Dolly Parton’s “9 to 5″ on the same CD as Bon Jovi’s “Bad Medicine” and U2’s “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For.” From slow ballads and lounge tracks to crooning love songs and shout-it-out rock karaoke, there is something for everyone on these CDs. This is the ultimate collection for anyone who is serious about karaoke music and wants to have all the best karaoke songs at their disposal.
Entertainment Weekly recently published their list of “top karaoke songs” to help you make your own karaoke CD. Not surprisingly, the B52’s rowdy “Love Shack” made the list, as did Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ On a Prayer,” which features the chorus that every drunk loves to shout out, whether they were born in the eighties or not. Other eighties classics like Madonna’s “Like a Virgin,” The Eurythmic’s “Sweet Dreams (Are Made of These),” Cyndi Lauper’s “Time After Time,” Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believin,” Bonnie Tyler’s “Total Eclipse of the Heart,” Guns N’ Roses’ “Sweet Child O’ Mine,” Bananarama’s “Venus,” Joan Jett’s “I Love Rock N Roll,” Whitney Houston’s “I Wanna Dance With Somebody,” Blondie’s “Call Me” and “Every Breath You Take” by the Police also made the list. Representing the seventies, The Pretender’s “Brass In Pocket” (1979), Carly Simon’s “You’re So Vain” (1973) and Gloria Gaynor’s “I Will Survive” (1978) are some of the oldest surviving karaoke hits. The only newcomer is Kelly Clarkson, with “Since U Been Gone.”
Over at www.karaokewh.com, there are a number of top-selling karaoke CDs to choose from. The Sound Choice Star Series offers a karaoke CD specializing in Journey tracks, as well as one for Kid Rock, Steve Miller, Dr. Hook and AC/DC. If you don’t feel so passionately about any of the aforementioned artists, then you can try their top-selling Hard Rock Hits Volume 4 instead, which features nineties rock like Korn, Slipknot, Coal Chamber, NIN, Tool, Godsmack, Rage Against the Machine, Spineshank and White Zombie. Backstage Karaoke has a karaoke CD with “today’s classic rock” like Pearl Jam, U2, The Eagles, The Knack, Joe Cocker, Melissa Etheridge, Boyz II Men and Hootie and the Blowfish.
How Did Karaoke Come About?
Karaoke first echoed from regular bars in the bustling port of Kobe City, Japan, where international guests mingled with businessmen and women. After the popularity of accompaniment tapes was realized, more innovations were soon to follow. The karaoke video disk and CD graphics ensured that karaoke systems were front and center in the entertainment industry. Not everyone loved karaoke singers though; due to increased pressure from neighbors to “keep quiet at night,” the Karaoke Box, a roadside facility built from an old freight car and containing heavily insulated singing rooms, appeared in 1984 just west of Kansai.
When karaoke came to America, it wasn’t quite as popular as in Asian countries, like Japan, China, Korea and the Philippines, where karaoke songs blared seven nights a week across multiple venues. However, historians argue that karaoke style programming existed as early as the 1950s on Disney’s “Mickey Mouse Club,” where kids would sing along to the TV, as the words bounced across the bottom of the screen. Although it wasn’t until the 1980s, when pop icons flourished, shows like “Star Search” promoted the idea that anyone could be a hit and a wave of Japanese admiration boosted the popularity of anime and Japanese video game technology like Nintendo.
At the turn of the millennium, karaoke took on a more serious note in American culture. With the advent of shows like “American Idol,” aspiring talent saw the opportunity to sing karaoke as pop star or rock star practice. In the past, the best singers would occasionally receive a standing ovation, a free drink at the bar or a small pot of prize money. Today, however, singers can get recruited by agents hidden in the audience and awarded with lucrative multi-million-dollar contracts. Everyone enjoys a good sing-a-long these days and Numark was quick to revolutionize karaoke equipment with the KMX01, KMX02 and CDN25+G, which make performances even more professional-sounding.
The popularity of karaoke bars has greatly increased. “For people who don’t sing but like to watch, the show has given them a reason to have a drink and stick around for a few hours,” says Grant Tucker, a veteran karaoke host in Glendale, California. Although, the crowd is also more discerning with many more “Simons” than “Paulas,” which may send the trend from the public sphere into private living rooms with the advent of Playstation’s Karaoke Revolution.
How To Plan A Christmas Karaoke Party
Who knew Aunt Judy had a voice like Olivia Newton-John? Wasn’t it funny when the little ones refused to sing the word “Grandma” in the “Grandma Got Ran Over By a Reindeer” song, for fear of making Granny feel bad? Who is the worst singer in your family? Will Uncle John belt out a melodramatic rendition of Elvis’s “Blue Christmas” after a few glasses of eggnog? Christmas karaoke can be a hilarious pre-dinner or post-dinner activity to liven up this year’s Christmas gathering.
To host a karaoke party at Christmas, you will need a karaoke system to play the songs, videos and scrolling words. Aim for an all-in-one that comes with all necessary cables and microphones. You may want to wrap it up and give it as a gift or you might want to have this item set up as guests arrive and keep it at your house to entertain guests year after year. Set it up after dinner to stave off the food comas and keep the party going. For $100, you could buy the SDAT Professional Karaoke Machine with MP4 Playback and it plays karaoke songs on CD, mp3, DVD and CD G. Or for $117, you can get the Emerson GM955, which includes a 7-inch monitor and speakers, but also connects to separate units as well.
This all-in-one karaoke system also includes a special tone-control microphone and comes with features like echo and auto voice control. The Singing Machine STVG-718 CD+G Karaoke System is a very similar system for $150 that includes a camera too. Lastly, The Song Station, recommended by People and Rolling Stone magazines, is one of the more impressive units to look at, boasting a tall stand which scrolls lyrics and equally tall detached speakers for superior sound quality. Ranging between $200 and $250, this machine comes with a number of special features, as well as 53,000 built-in songs, and is a must for anyone looking to host a karaoke party a few times a year.
Next, you will need music for your Christmas karaoke, merrymaking party. The general rule of thumb is to get a good selection, and the more the merrier! There are a number of bundled CDs to meet your needs. Chartbuster has been a classic creator of karaoke music CDs for decades so it stands to reason that their “Christmas Hits Volume 1″ is a must-have to kick off your collection. For $40 you’ll get three discs of traditional Christmas songs spanning oldies like Bing Crosby’s “White Christmas” to country favorites like Alabama’s “Santa Claus I Still Believe In You” to traditional versions of “Nuttin’ For Christmas.” There are two other multi-disc volumes you can add as well. Chartbuster also offers an R&B Christmas album, seven volumes of Country Christmas, a Hip Christmas album, Redneck Christmas songs and two volumes of Easy Listening Christmas. You can buy these karaoke discs at www.karaokewh.com.
In addition to including Christmas karaoke at your family gathering, this activity is also perfect for holiday office parties too. You can organize the karaoke party into a contest as well. Start by passing around the song list and asking everyone to sign up. Then, make a ballot with all the names for people to anonymously fill out later. At the bottom of the ballot, have a section for “#1 Performance,” “#2 Performance,” “#3 Performance” and, if you’d like to give out a humorous consolation prize, “Worst Performance.” You may even want to give the winners something music-related, such as a karaoke system of their very own or tickets to a musical, for instance. While it may be embarrassing for some, it will undoubtedly be amusing for all.