Karaoke Krazy

Nairobi’s Karaoke nights have become celebrity events as well known personalities pick up the microphone to sing or host, writes CRYSTAL OKUSA

"Sweet lady, would you be my sweet lover for a life time, I’ll be there when you need me just call and receive me…" the chorus from Tyrese’s song Sweet Lady welcome us into KP’s Lounge on Wednesday as David Ogola, TPF 2 finalist holds a mic, and sings along to the words on the screen. The Karaoke night is hosted by Hottie Muchai, a recording artiste who got her break while hosting Karaoke nights at Ibiza Bar and Restaurant.

As the lounge fills up, more song requests are made and columnist James Murua who never lags behind, quickly joins the queue to sing. We are eager to see him embarrass himself but he disappoints us by giving a good performance. He seems to have rehearsed his set as he sings and moonwalks to Michael Jackson’s Thriller. He later explains that he has perfected his performance after attending a couple of Karaoke shows that helped sharpen the singing skills.

Hottie attributes the improved singing and performance skill exhibited on her upcoming album to Karaoke.

"My music has really improved since I started hosting these shows, practicing every week. By singing a couple of songs during the week puts me a step forward which is a plus for my music," explains Hottie.

But Karaoke still remains a ground for bathroom singing as the rest of the performances are not exactly appealing to the ear.

It has become quite popular locally with celebrity faces being sought to host the nights in hopes of boosting the attendance of clientele to various clubs.

"I think the field is being exploited by random people and clubs who are copying ideas and instead of getting serious people who take karaoke hosting as a job. They end up getting amateurs who just agree to be under paid in bad working conditions," asserts Nice Githinji a local actress and a long time karaoke host.

"Karaoke hosting is dominated by ladies and this may expose many of us to uncomfortable situations at night. You have to be cautious and patient because it is a late night job. So paying people under Sh6,000 is nothing but exploitation and is spoiling opportunities for the more talented individuals," adds Nice, who took a break from hosting to concentrate on her acting career.

Tatuu singer Debbie says: "When the Secrets lounge started, I brought in a lot of business because of my name. People wanted to attend because they knew Debbie was hosting, so there was more business. My group of people would come to the club and buy quite a lot, which was good but since the show was once a week, the club couldn’t make as much over the week and couldn’t afford to pay me Sh10,000 anymore so I had to quit," explains Debbie who has in the past hosted Karaoke at Pizza Garden in Westlands.Karaoke is widely popular unlike a few years ago, when weekly karaoke nights were a low key affair. Karaoke nights attracted a mature crowd willing to try their hand on the microphone as a way to unwind after a stressful day at work.

Intercontinental Hotel was once the place to be on Tuesday evenings for Karaoke hosted by radio presenter Angela Angwenyi before she left to judge M-Net Idols competition. Angela who now hosts Karaoke at Black Diamond, Westlands on Tuesdays and has a big following although there are complaints by patrons that she sings a lot and does not gives the audience a chance. Angela defends herself saying that it’s a strategy to keep the show more interesting.

Clubs owners

"We cannot have bad singing after bad singing. At times I interject so people don’t get too bored," she explains.

Hottie however begs to differ, saying that this is exactly what kills Karaoke shows when — hosts make the show about them and not the crowd.

"For a host to be delivering well to the clients, you need to let the people sing without limits. This will encourage people to come back again. That’s what puts me ahead of the rest,"

Angela, however, says she has to limit the songs to two per person because other people also want to sing. "If I attend to all requests, we will stay till late and the club closes by 1am," she says.

Clubs owners have become desperate to entice crowds and increase sales that they are willing to have anyone host regardless of skill or personality.

Unfortunately fame and personality are sometimes not enough, recently BBA housemate Sheila Kwamboka and M-Net Idol contestant Samantha Tirivacho both joined the long list of Karaoke hosts when they begun hosting at Zanze Bar and Safari Park respectively. Sheila’s presence garnered negative reactions from people who claimed her hosting was lackluster.

"Zanze Bar is a place we come to relax with a couple of drinks after a long day at work and catch up with friends. If we have to have live performance, then the live bands are just what we need because they remind you of the old days," commented a customer.

Although not a well adapted culture in Kenya, Karaoke sometimes backed by a live band is so far the most entertaining. The open mic Karaoke at Rezorous hosted by Angela ‘Shinde’ Mwandanda and the Calabash Band, for example, does not drag along as people try to keep up with the words on the screen or lose their tune along the way.

"When I moved back to Kenya, I looked around for a place I could hang out once a week after work. There were a couple of Karaoke shows going on around town across the week, and I made a friend of mine take me to all of them. I eventually settled for the Wednesday one at Rezorous hosted by Shinde. It is the best, not too much singing that bores you to death. I cannot stand listening to myself sing so it is worse when I have to listen to others for hours. The band blends in with both bad and good singing and that makes me want to come again," said 27-year-old Linda Atieno, a die-hard karaoke fan.

"Although I am also a Karaoke host and I have never used a band but I admire how the Rezorous show is coordinated with the Calabash band. It keeps the show alive, we should have more of such but problem is, very few bands are as good as them. But others should adapt that style without copying blindly," says Nice

Most Karaoke hosts do it as a part time job and manys are either radio personalities or musicians, spreading themselves across different clubs hosting on alternate days of the week.