Disco with Karaoke..how do you run it?

[Tony Scott]

I occasionally include Karaoke with Disco if asked but I'm never sure what's the best way to plan the night....mix it up a bit or have a specific time for each bit of the night. What do you you find works best?

Thanks in advance....:)

[DJWilson]

When I roadie for another DJ he opens the karoake all night and leaves one or two songs at the end for a slowie dance.

[djdave01]

i tend to mix it throughout the night, but always have the last karaoke song 45 ins before the end, so i can get everyone up dancing.

have had the odd night though where the majority want to sing all the time, makes it an easy night for me :)

[ppentertainments]

Generally I open up with disco, try and get people up dancing and some requests in. When half a dozen or so requests are in start a bit of karaoke, then alternate disco / karaoke depending on the requests. I also call last karaoke requests about half an hour before finish and try to finish on some upbeat disco.

It is a bit stop / start, but better than stopping for 1 singer every now and then.

Am now 'winding down' the karaoke so maybe not the best advice :D :D

[Ryu]

I thought about this one last week, when I had a Disco/Karaoke. I took the route of setting an amout of time aside for Karaoke. I was concious of losing momentum whilst DJing. It, obviously, depends on your crowd. The two (yes I know, not extensive) I've done have been a bit hit and miss, in that, the Karaoke-ers have been slow to come forward, but once one person sings, there is usually a few that follow. I've also found that there is one person or a small group of friends who are up for it and the rest aren't, which means that you either dedicate a large amount of time to a small section of the crowd (thus risking losing interest from the rest) or lose momentum by continuously having to build the crowd every time someone sings. And setting aside time means you could end not having time to get everyone in...and you may get less Karaoke requests if people feel pressured to come up at a certain time.

So to summarise. I don't know which is best :D Just had an afternoon kip, hence the rambling somewhat incoherent post! :D

Professionally speaking, Ask the client, and stick with it one way or the other. The DJ in me would rather play to the crowd so my personal sway goes towards a set karaoke period leaving me good time, before and after to DJ.

[Danno13]

I've only done this about 3-4 times, but every time I've just gone with the flow really and it's worked out nicely with small sets of each. If karaoke requests are flagging, or you find it's just the same people singing, then go with a bit of dancing. I don't think you can really go into it with any pre-defined plan, same as any normal disco only booking.

[Jays karaoke]

Keep the karaoke going all night, if they have paid for it then why only open it at set times. The best way is to include the karaoke to the disco, just make sure that everyone is aware that it is there and treat it like any other night and if someone wants to sing...let them.
The good thing about running a karaoke alongside a disco is that most of the tracks are set chosen for you, it's just that someone will be singing some of the tracks instead of you just playing them.

What i tend to do is when the backing track gets down to about 45 seconds ish, call the singer up and as the backing track is fading out bring the karaoke track in, then just line your next backing track up to play straight after the singer has finished. But whatever you do...keep the music going and don't have any dead spots, it kills the atmosphere.

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

Keep the karaoke going all night, if they have paid for it then why only open it at set times. The best way is to include the karaoke to the disco, just make sure that everyone is aware that it is there and treat it like any other night and if someone wants to sing...let them.


Ensuring absolutely no continuity on the dance floor whatsoever and lots of moaning people who want to dance and not listen to some halfwit murdering a Robbie Williams song...;)

[Excalibur]

Ensuring absolutely no continuity on the dance floor whatsoever and lots of moaning people who want to dance and not listen to some halfwit murdering a Robbie Williams song...;)

Whatever format/schedule you apply, you'll alienate someone. You can't win.
:( I've not got a magic formula to put forward, so don't ask me for one. I don't think you can specify times beforehand, as each gig is different.

[flatliners]

i would just go with the flow because when you put the karaoke you will get someone come up and say can you put some normal music on and vice versa

[Jays karaoke]

Ensuring absolutely no continuity on the dance floor whatsoever and lots of moaning people who want to dance and not listen to some halfwit murdering a Robbie Williams song...;)


But i'll say it again if they have paid for it , why restrict the times they can use it. I always tell people when they book karaoke that it will restrict my ability to fill the dance floor.
I also give them the option as to wether they want it for a hour or all night and 99% say all night as they don't fancy paying for a service they are only going to get at set times.
In my experience people who book karaoke will come come from a family of people and friends who like it alot so you will have plenty of singers.
If i were to open karaoke only for a hour or so at most of my gigs where they book it there would be alot of unhappy people.

[DJ Jules]

But i'll say it again if they have paid for it , why restrict the times they can use it. I always tell people when they book karaoke that it will restrict my ability to fill the dance floor.
I also give them the option as to wether they want it for a hour or all night and 99% say all night as they don't fancy paying for a service they are only going to get at set times.

When you say "they've paid for it" can you say roughly what kind of premium they've paid over and above a "normal" disco (say, in percentage terms?) Just curious, as I'm just about to start offering Karaoke as a service and have no idea how to charge for it.


In my experience people who book karaoke will come come from a family of people and friends who like it alot so you will have plenty of singers.
If i were to open karaoke only for a hour or so at most of my gigs where they book it there would be alot of unhappy people.

I've seen that happen.

Julian

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

But i'll say it again if they have paid for it , why restrict the times they can use it.

So you bow down to the client for everything do you and not use your professional judgement?

You have a rammed dance floor, playing some 90s dance classics and someone 'tells' you they want to sing "NOW". Do you spoil the flow and enjoyment of the dancers and let them sing?

[Shakermaker Promotions]

If they know that it's a Karaoke/Disco and not just a Disco then they should be aware that people will be murdering some songs at some point.
I generally do what PP does and that's wait for a fair amount of requests to come in before I kick it off. I will announce regularly that the Karaoke is there and encourage people to browse through the books as that's what I am there to do. If people don't want to sing then fair enough. If people want to dance all night then good luck to them but generally (in my experience), people who book parties that have Karaoke added usually know that their guests will be up for it more than I do.

If the dancefloor is busy then keep it busy. If someone is shouting "NOW!" at you then be polite and tell them they'll have to wait.

[Elite Entertain]

I've done this a few times, including last Friday - you really have to go with the flow on the night, make people aware that karaoke is available and see what happens! Ultimately though, this should all be discussed with the client, if they want the last hour to be disco only, then that is what they get.

Problem with that is, once people start to sing, then you get loads of requests... especially when the alcohol starts to kick in! As a result, I ended up doing the last hour of mainly karaoke last week...

[StarZSoundS]

I find the magic mix is....


One Karaoke followed by two for dancing!!

This is a rule of thumb........before everyone starts leaping on me!!


Keeps everybody happy and allows you time to search for the trax!!



It starts when you get the first request and never finishes on a Karaoke.Stood me in good stead over the years.Of course it helps if you play quality music between the singers to keep the dance floor active.

[Ryu]

So you bow down to the client for everything do you and not use your professional judgement?

You have a rammed dance floor, playing some 90s dance classics and someone 'tells' you they want to sing "NOW". Do you spoil the flow and enjoyment of the dancers and let them sing?

Nope, I'd carry on pleasing the masses until a natural lull in proceedings allowed for the Karaoke person to have their moment.

Like they say in Hot Fuzz..."The Greater Good"

[Excalibur]

So you bow down to the client for everything do you and not use your professional judgement?

You have a rammed dance floor, playing some 90s dance classics and someone 'tells' you they want to sing "NOW". Do you spoil the flow and enjoyment of the dancers and let them sing?

He who pays the piper calls the tune. :sofa:











Darren, put that stick down! :D :D :D I'd say you have to walk the tightrope. It's surely wrong to ban punters from singing, when it's billed as Karaoke? :confused: If there were a magic formula, we'd all be happy.

[Musicman]

As I posted in another thread we`re just testing the water with regards to karaoke but we find the best time to start the karaoke is late in the evening when most people will have drunk enough to lose their inhibitions and get up and sing.:p

[Vectis]

Because I only have a limited amount of karaoke songs, and because I'm rarely asked for it in any case, I tend to offer it mostly for teens and older kids more than adults.

When I do get an adult party with karaoke I'll agree a sensible number of 'slots' with the host, and once the slots are used up there's no more karaoke :)

Usually for a 4-hour party we'll suggest no more than 12 slots and once folks realise there's a ration on the karaoke they're usually quick to get their orders in. We can then deal with them in a way that's conducive to keeping the party moving at a reasonable pace.

[Sarahjovi]

I only do Karaoke, but I do play music in between singers. If people ask for disco (when booking) I tell them I'm not a dj, but will play music in between singers and before the singing starts.

Normally when the evenings in full swing, and people are dancing I will let a track play on before getting the next singer up, however, Karaoke takes priority and when we have more singers waiting the music plays for less than 20 seconds!

Sarah:D

[Jays karaoke]

[QUOTE=Solitaire Entertainments Ltd;382702]So you bow down to the client for everything do you and not use your professional judgement?

Yes, seems they have paid for the event and if they want to murder karaoke songs all night, if that is their idea of fun, then so be it. Who am I to judge. After all i just do what I am paid to do.

You wouldn't pay you window cleaner to clean your windows and then find he had only cleaned half of them because he used his "proffessional judgement" as he didn't think they needed doing. Why should our job be any different

[Solitaire Events Ltd]

[QUOTE=Solitaire Entertainments Ltd;382702]So you bow down to the client for everything do you and not use your professional judgement?

Yes, seems they have paid for the event and if they want to murder karaoke songs all night, if that is their idea of fun, then so be it. Who am I to judge. After all i just do what I am paid to do.

You wouldn't pay you window cleaner to clean your windows and then find he had only cleaned half of them because he used his "proffessional judgement" as he didn't think they needed doing. Why should our job be any different

What complete nonsense. If you're going to use an analogy, then at least use one that makes sense.

I was talking about letting them murder karaoke songs all night. I was talking about continuity on the dance floor.

[StarZSoundS]

[quote=Jays karaoke;384848]

What complete nonsense. If you're going to use an analogy, then at least use one that makes sense.

I was talking about letting them murder karaoke songs all night. I was talking about continuity on the dance floor.

It is the single thing that causes most arguments at my functions.Surely the best policy is to head for ensuring that everyone who wants to sing should sing at least once...working on the assumption that they want to show off to their relatives and friends....although listening to most of them I can't see why;) .

This must be the reason cos the other option is to stay at:Censored: home and sing what they :Censored: like when they:Censored: like as often as they:Censored: like:bang:

[bangbang]

I do karaoke every week and it is a pain in the backside,especially the last hour where everyone is drunk and wanting to sing.Its billed as a karaoke night and disco but i would prefer it to be just disco less hassle.And i try and get everyone up who have put there names down to sing.:beer1: