Singers Rotation
As a karaoke singer, I find that most kjs do a good job of doing their rotation properly. What I always found and still find are the places where they advertise karaoke and then do a round of singers and then a half dozen dance songs. I have been told that it is to make everyone happy. I contend that it does not make everyone happy this way. The people who come to sing karaoke, do not want to sit through 12 other people singing only to find out when it gets close to their turn that the kj says, Now we are going to take a break and do a little dance music. Then I hear well you will lose the crowd that wants to dance. to which my response is always if you are doing karaoke why are people there wanting to dance. My greatest response to date has always been, when you have dance night, do you stop in between 10 dance songs, and do half a dozen karaoke songs? There is one place that I used to go where the kj said he did not know if I would get to sing that particular round because he had 8 people that wanted to sing and he had to get the dance songs in. As a kj myself now, I may play some variety of music if there are only a few singers, but only then after they each get to sing 2 or 3 songs. I also add people to my rotation as they come in. If I have a large # of singers you will know where you are going to sing by who you sang after last time. I also do not penalize someone for singing with someone else. My favorite way is to place new singers at the very end of the rotation, and then open the next round myself. This works unless there is a large # of singers in which I do not sing unless requested. One problem that I run into with this system is that if you have 20-30 in rotation, you really need to work the new singers in sooner. By the way folks really great site here. I hope I get to know you all better soon.
"Come Sing with the Wolf!!"
If the entertainment is going to both karaoke and DJ music then it should be advertised as "Karaoke & DJ". If it is advertised as simply karaoke then no DJ music should be played. Sounds good in theory, but what about a scenario where at the beginning of your show you have a decent crowd but absolutely no singers have arrived yet. Are you going to sing one song after another, after another? No matter how good of a singer you are, I guarantee you that the crowd would rather be listening to the jukebox. It may also happen that you will run out of singers at some point of the evening.
What it boils down to is that there are times when it is necessary to play some standard music. Any KJ's who thinks they are entertaining the crowd by singing 10 songs in a row are just fooling themselves.
What it boils down to is that there are times when it is necessary to play some standard music. Any KJ's who thinks they are entertaining the crowd by singing 10 songs in a row are just fooling themselves.
I will agree with that wiseguy. But I am talking about in general. We play a variety of music when there are no singers, and that wasn't what i am referring to. I just mean that when you have a bunch of singers it is very irritating to them to have to sit through a dance set to cater to a dance crowd. I have even seen a guy play 6 dance songs while having 15 people waiting and had no one dance. Everything should be taken in consideration when playing I think, but if it is advertising karaoke, most people hate to have to wait more than they think they should. Ya see what I meant?
"Come Sing with the Wolf!!"
To answer the original question, yes the KJ needs to shut up and sit down. KJ's in my opinion, should only sing to open and close the show and fill time when there is a short rotation. If there is a backlog, unless the KJ is requested to sing something, they need to get singers through. Even if they are requested to sing something, they should be very careful to fit it in only if time and rotation permits.
With regard to house music, it should be handled much the same way. For us, house music is used to fill the time it takes to get the next singer up there. If the crowd gets into it while it's on, AND WE HAVE THE TIME BASED ON THE ROTATION, we will let it play out. As wiseguy pointed out, we do have some shows where the night gets started slow and there we will let the music run. I'm curious what KJ's that don't bring house music do in this situation. Do you sing non-stop? Do you sit on dead air? I'm seriously curious.
I agree if you're going to do a mixed DJ/KJ show it should be advertised as such. I don't look at what we do as that since the Karaoke always takes priority. I'd never run a 15 minute block of DJ music, if we had no rotation at all we'd still get up and sing or do a group sing along.
I've only see this done once. We were at a Karaoke night where prior to Karaoke they play music videos. Well as it got later into the night the roatation thinned out and the KJ decided to play more videos even though there were singers in the queue. He ended up dropping a bunch of songs people had in because he wanted to play the videos. We haven't been back there since.
With regard to house music, it should be handled much the same way. For us, house music is used to fill the time it takes to get the next singer up there. If the crowd gets into it while it's on, AND WE HAVE THE TIME BASED ON THE ROTATION, we will let it play out. As wiseguy pointed out, we do have some shows where the night gets started slow and there we will let the music run. I'm curious what KJ's that don't bring house music do in this situation. Do you sing non-stop? Do you sit on dead air? I'm seriously curious.
I agree if you're going to do a mixed DJ/KJ show it should be advertised as such. I don't look at what we do as that since the Karaoke always takes priority. I'd never run a 15 minute block of DJ music, if we had no rotation at all we'd still get up and sing or do a group sing along.
I've only see this done once. We were at a Karaoke night where prior to Karaoke they play music videos. Well as it got later into the night the roatation thinned out and the KJ decided to play more videos even though there were singers in the queue. He ended up dropping a bunch of songs people had in because he wanted to play the videos. We haven't been back there since.
I stated this in another thread...
If it's time to start karaoke. I start.
With or without singers. I can sing well over 500 songs. And sing them like the original artist. I have been told many times, they thought the jukebox was playing. It was me. If I have to sing the entire 4 hours, I can. I never play anything but karaoke music. No filler music. There is never dead air. And it is one song right after another, continuosly all night. No breaks. How hard is that?
I sing, when it is my turn in the rotation, to change the mood. I do not sing whatever I want. I sing what I feel is neccessary to keep the non singers happy and interested. If too many songs are boring I sing upbeat rock. If too many country songs come up I sing upbeat rock.
If I only have 3 singers all night, then they will sing till they it kills them. NO dance music will be played. Guaranteed. This is a very, very rare occasion.
They pay me for karaoke, and that's exactly what I give everyone there. Take it or leave it, like it or not.
I do not think the singers have a right to tell me, or any other KJ, I can not or should not sing during the night. I take myself out if the rotation is handling itself. Meaning people are not getting bored and leaving. And the tempo of the music is mixed well. I don't care what songs are in the rotation. I play them as they come. If it's one slow, one fast, then that's what it is. If it's 3 slow and 3 fast, that's what it is. If it's 6 slow songs in a row, that's what it is. But if I'm coming up soon, it's going to be an upbeat rock song, for sure.
I constantly look at the non singers to see if they are bored or are putting on their coats. The singers are singing the songs they want to hear. They are keeping themselves entertained. I entertain all the other people. I tell singers to sing whatever they want. I'll entertain the crowd....
I do not penalize duet singers. But it's coming off of somebody's pile of slips. One or the other.
Every singer will sing one song during each rotation. No exceptions. No favoritism.
If it's time to start karaoke. I start.
With or without singers. I can sing well over 500 songs. And sing them like the original artist. I have been told many times, they thought the jukebox was playing. It was me. If I have to sing the entire 4 hours, I can. I never play anything but karaoke music. No filler music. There is never dead air. And it is one song right after another, continuosly all night. No breaks. How hard is that?
I sing, when it is my turn in the rotation, to change the mood. I do not sing whatever I want. I sing what I feel is neccessary to keep the non singers happy and interested. If too many songs are boring I sing upbeat rock. If too many country songs come up I sing upbeat rock.
If I only have 3 singers all night, then they will sing till they it kills them. NO dance music will be played. Guaranteed. This is a very, very rare occasion.
They pay me for karaoke, and that's exactly what I give everyone there. Take it or leave it, like it or not.
I do not think the singers have a right to tell me, or any other KJ, I can not or should not sing during the night. I take myself out if the rotation is handling itself. Meaning people are not getting bored and leaving. And the tempo of the music is mixed well. I don't care what songs are in the rotation. I play them as they come. If it's one slow, one fast, then that's what it is. If it's 3 slow and 3 fast, that's what it is. If it's 6 slow songs in a row, that's what it is. But if I'm coming up soon, it's going to be an upbeat rock song, for sure.
I constantly look at the non singers to see if they are bored or are putting on their coats. The singers are singing the songs they want to hear. They are keeping themselves entertained. I entertain all the other people. I tell singers to sing whatever they want. I'll entertain the crowd....
I do not penalize duet singers. But it's coming off of somebody's pile of slips. One or the other.
Every singer will sing one song during each rotation. No exceptions. No favoritism.
The flow of the show is my responsibility.
Keeping as many people (singers or non) in the bar is my resposibility.
Let's face it. Not all singers have a lot of talent. I will not let a bunch of bad singers chase away paying customers without trying to inject some talent.
A lot of so-so, to down right bad singers can chase away non singers. I have seen it many times.
I let the singers sing whatever they want. I don't care if they sing slow songs or fast ones. But if the flow of the show is boring the nonsingers, yes I will sing to change the flow. I'm not singing any song just to sing one. I'm singing to keep the nons happy and there. I only sing on my turn. And it's usually an upbeat rock song. Too much country or slow songs kill the non singers.
If the rotation is flowing nicely then I'll stay out, if there are enough singers in the rotation. My turn in the rotation is an essential part of the over all flow of the show. It doesn't matter if the singers like it or not. I am the one getting paid to keep the majority of the people there. I am not just there for the singers. Many of them don't understand they can not entertain people. They are too busy worring about their own entertainment. They are not sitting there thinking...My sucky singing or my selection of really boring slow songs is chasing everyone away. They are having fun singing whatever they want. Who is left to make sure people don't leave? I pick me...
I'm not the star, but I won't let the singers choice of songs and/or their lack of talent chase people away if I can help it. It's my responsibility to try to salvage the show.
Another thing to remember......I can guarantee that I play more songs in a typical night than any other KJs around. Because of the way I do it. I use 2 machines. One is always playing while one is loading. The microphones are already in the hands of the next singer. I don't have to waste any time waiting for people to come up after I call their name. Oh wait he's in the restroom. Oh wait she's outside. Oh wait I just ordered a drink. Oh wait, wait, wait, wait....I don't play dance music. So I am a singers dream KJ.
The singers sing more at my show, than at any of the competition. So what is there to complain about? The owner is not going to complain about me entertaining the entire crowd.
Something else I wanted to bring up.
If I start a song and the singer misses the first line or someone accidentally shut off the microphone, or something else happens that the song needs to be started over, people start to scream and hollar to turn it back on. They act like they are going to kill me because I turned it off. So what is the reaction from your crowd whenever you turn off the filler music that they were just starting to get in to????
Do they act all nuts???? I have to do it maybe a few times a week. It still drives them crazy.
You are doing it all night long.
Keeping as many people (singers or non) in the bar is my resposibility.
Let's face it. Not all singers have a lot of talent. I will not let a bunch of bad singers chase away paying customers without trying to inject some talent.
A lot of so-so, to down right bad singers can chase away non singers. I have seen it many times.
I let the singers sing whatever they want. I don't care if they sing slow songs or fast ones. But if the flow of the show is boring the nonsingers, yes I will sing to change the flow. I'm not singing any song just to sing one. I'm singing to keep the nons happy and there. I only sing on my turn. And it's usually an upbeat rock song. Too much country or slow songs kill the non singers.
If the rotation is flowing nicely then I'll stay out, if there are enough singers in the rotation. My turn in the rotation is an essential part of the over all flow of the show. It doesn't matter if the singers like it or not. I am the one getting paid to keep the majority of the people there. I am not just there for the singers. Many of them don't understand they can not entertain people. They are too busy worring about their own entertainment. They are not sitting there thinking...My sucky singing or my selection of really boring slow songs is chasing everyone away. They are having fun singing whatever they want. Who is left to make sure people don't leave? I pick me...
I'm not the star, but I won't let the singers choice of songs and/or their lack of talent chase people away if I can help it. It's my responsibility to try to salvage the show.
Another thing to remember......I can guarantee that I play more songs in a typical night than any other KJs around. Because of the way I do it. I use 2 machines. One is always playing while one is loading. The microphones are already in the hands of the next singer. I don't have to waste any time waiting for people to come up after I call their name. Oh wait he's in the restroom. Oh wait she's outside. Oh wait I just ordered a drink. Oh wait, wait, wait, wait....I don't play dance music. So I am a singers dream KJ.
The singers sing more at my show, than at any of the competition. So what is there to complain about? The owner is not going to complain about me entertaining the entire crowd.
Something else I wanted to bring up.
If I start a song and the singer misses the first line or someone accidentally shut off the microphone, or something else happens that the song needs to be started over, people start to scream and hollar to turn it back on. They act like they are going to kill me because I turned it off. So what is the reaction from your crowd whenever you turn off the filler music that they were just starting to get in to????
Do they act all nuts???? I have to do it maybe a few times a week. It still drives them crazy.
You are doing it all night long.
Our show is pretty laid back bigdog, so we just restart the song for them and ask them to try again. And we joke about how it was all our fault. I see from all of your posts that you are pretty tight with what you do. We arent. But we don't play to crowds of hundreds either. While we have had as many as 30 singers in any one rotation, we always make it fun and fair. We try not to be real rigid and feel like the kjs personality help make the show. In that respect yes I guess you could say we are the stars, if that means we are someone they expect to hear from, joke with and get to know. We would never keep someone from singing no matter how bad or most of the time how late. Once in a while we have extended the show because we had so many singers and the owners loved it.
One thing you said a couple of times kind of made me think though. You said you could carry the entire 4 hours if you had to. I am sure we could too, but it there are no singers, the ones there probably don't want to hear us all night either. We do all the requests we can as long as it doesn't cut into the singer's time.
I also understand the concept of changing the music when you get up it needed. As far as the background music goes, we will let it play if the floor is packed and everyone is into it.
One thing you said a couple of times kind of made me think though. You said you could carry the entire 4 hours if you had to. I am sure we could too, but it there are no singers, the ones there probably don't want to hear us all night either. We do all the requests we can as long as it doesn't cut into the singer's time.
I also understand the concept of changing the music when you get up it needed. As far as the background music goes, we will let it play if the floor is packed and everyone is into it.
"Come Sing with the Wolf!!"
IDK Bigdog, you and I seem to have very different clientele. See, the folks we end up with at our shows are much like us. Yes they want to sing and sing plenty but they also want to have fun with it. Personally, I don't think I'd have much fun at a show like yours. It's like hurry up and sing, cuz I'm on a mission to cram as many songs into this show as possible. Your singers seem to like that, I can tell you ours would not. We joke with our singers have a good time with things that happen on stage and everything else. Some of the biggest compliments we've been paid have to do with the dynamics we bring to the shows.
Could we run a show like yours? Sure, we're computerized so I can setup the playlist and just let it chug. We've got all wireless microphones so we could run them out to each singer and tell them to get ready cuz their song is next. But I can tell you, I know our guests very well and that type of high pressure KJ'ing wouldn't go far and we'd be booted.
I think the key here is you've gotta know your crowd.
Could we run a show like yours? Sure, we're computerized so I can setup the playlist and just let it chug. We've got all wireless microphones so we could run them out to each singer and tell them to get ready cuz their song is next. But I can tell you, I know our guests very well and that type of high pressure KJ'ing wouldn't go far and we'd be booted.
I think the key here is you've gotta know your crowd.
I believe it would be more accurate to say the we "create our crowd" as opposed to "knowing our crowd". The way we run our shows dictates the type of people that attend them. For instance, those people who's highest priority is to sing as many songs as possible during a night will follow someone like Bigdog. Those that are more into the party scene, and sing primarily for the fun of it, will go see the Kings of Karaoke. Whatever your style is, it's how good you are at it that matters.I think the key here is you've gotta know your crowd.
