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.

Calabash band

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.

Collo cheers on

"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.