hi welcome back to eat your crust podcast I'm Crystal I'm Jisoo and I'm Jessica so you probably recognize a familiar voice today joining us on the pod Jessica has been a multi -time guest on her podcast also fun fact for anyone doesn't know already, Jessica, Crystal, and I lived together for multiple years in college.
Our trio is kind of reuniting today.
Jessica is actually, I think, the perfect guest that we thought of for this episode topic because she is an avid fan of what we're gonna dive into.
And this is karaoke and the world of etiquette that comes with karaoke.
So let's kick this off by discussing, how often do karaoke?
I mean it comes in waves, but probably every other month, sometimes more frequently, sometimes it'll be every two months, but I feel like I go at least once a quarter.
Actually that sounds really little, I swear I'd probably go more, but I feel like in general it's just always something that is an option, especially at the end of the night, or converting some kind of dinner into eventually going karaoke.
I feel like when I do go it might be back to back weekends or something.
So in general, I feel like I do go quite a bit.
I don't actually know how often the average person goes, so I'm assuming I go a lot.
How about you, Crystal?
Dude, I don't know.
I think it's similar to what Jessica said.
Sometimes it comes in waves.
So there's sometimes a dry spell, or sometimes you're karaoking every week.
But I think it also depends where you are.
I live in the suburbs right now so I feel like karaoke is a little less common because there's a whole like you know you got to drive to the place and you have to like gather the troops and everyone has to converge but I think living in a city area or a more dense area usually results in higher possibility of karaoke -ing or in a college town.
I feel like we karaokied a lot in college but lately I think not super often.
Yeah probably like once a quarter but I feel like Jessica you're probably more than once a quarter.
Yeah, I was gonna say earlier when Jessica was talking about oh maybe once every other month I'm like she definitely goes like monthly at the very least. Well I guess I should also talk about how often I go because it's not like I go infrequently I think I probably actually go every other month On average, maybe six to eight times a year.
But I think, like you guys both said, it does come in waves.
There's times where I'll go and then I'll be like, damn, I didn't get to sing any of these other songs.
And then it'll make me want to go again in like two weeks or something.
Or sometimes it's like, oh, the karaoke machine at this one place didn't have it.
We should go to this other place.
So there's always like a reason to go when you've just been.
True. And I do feel like there's been a game changer lately because you have karaoke machine at your place now.
I do. It's not like a really sophisticated, you know like those really intense ones that are like a podium.
It's just like a speaker and then we like hook it up to YouTube and I feel like that does already a really good job so sometimes when we all hang out the night turns into karaoke.
True. It is portable so I'm able to like bring it around to other people's places if it's not at our house.
Oh, I didn't know it's portable.
Yeah. That's cool. I don't remember, does it come with a mic and everything?
It comes with one mic, and then we bought an extra mic, so now we have two.
That is a pretty good machine to have. I feel like if I ever bought a house like you, that would be one of the top five things that I would buy.
You're like couchless, like fridge -less, and you just have a karaoke machine.
Just like a coffee table and the karaoke machine.
Dude, I think about that a lot too.
I'm like, wow, if I buy a home, one of the rooms has to be like the karaoke room.
True, movie and karaoke room.
Yeah, how would your karaoke room look though?
I feel like even with different karaoke places they always have a different setup, so would yours have a little stage or would it just be like a big couch?
I think a disco ball is necessary.
Oh, I do feel like the mood lighting makes a big difference.
Yeah, it definitely sets the tone.
And I think I'll definitely put probably couches just so that everyone can, like, lounge and have a good time.
Stages like, kind of pressure.
I agree. Actually, I had a big, not necessarily epiphany.
I feel like I knew this subconsciously before.
But I consciously recognize it.
After the karaoke that I went to this last Saturday, I feel like the size of the room has to be proportionate to the number of people you have going.
So what happened on Saturday, and what's happened to me in the past before, was that sometimes they'll give you a room that's too big compared to the number of people that you have, and I do feel like there can be too many people at karaoke.
So maybe it's just that the big rooms are not it, period, and you just need a smaller, more controlled group.
I feel like on Saturday what happened was We had a fair amount of people going.
So we had reserved and booked a bigger room.
But then a bunch of people bailed sadly.
Or, you know, whatever reasons.
I feel like half of them were hung over from Friday night.
But anyway, so we ended up with a lesser amount of people, but a really big room.
In the beginning, I feel like it's a little hard to navigate that.
I guess it also depends on the group of people, like if they already know each other or not, basically, but I feel like two -thirds of the way in, everybody's kind of in a corner, and so you just kind of dominate one corner and it makes the room feel smaller, which is good, but I do feel like if the room is too big, it'll kind of disperse the energy and make it not as fun, basically.
Dude, you're so right.
I think another aspect to like having too many people, which you kind of mentioned, is that it gets really hectic, because Jisoo and I actually recently went to one of our friends' birthday parties and it was really fun, but it was a lot of people in one really big karaoke room and so, like, song queue requests kept getting accidentally cancelled or skipped, but it was like one person really wanted to sing a song or something and you had to like fight for the little pad or whatever to input your songs and you're like oh shoot mine got cancelled let me go like put it back in there's just like more
chaos yeah i feel like there's definitely a sweet spot to how many people are in like the ideal group for karaoke i think it's probably if i had to define it somewhere between like eight to twelve and anything below or beyond that is very variable like i think eight to twelve you're like pretty much likely to have fun but sub eight or over 12 it depends on the personalities karaokes, like how you guys are feeling, and weigh more factors.
I don't know, I have a specific idea of what karaoke should look like, you know?
And if I don't think that's achievable, I don't push the issue.
I'm not like, we still have to go karaoke.
What do you feel like is the idea of karaoke in your head?
I guess I feel like if every single person is not having fun at karaoke, it's not worth going.
That's fair. You know, because sometimes it's like, you do something because someone really wants to do it.
But I feel like with karaoke, if you're not really having fun, you could just be sitting there for four hours.
So then I feel like that's true, hopefully, most people just take an Uber.
So people don't have to be like really sober in a corner or something.
Like another thing is, if you're going to mix friend groups, you have to mix the right people, you can't just try to get a head count, because I've only done that before.
And it just ends up kind of bad.
You're right. I've also done that once before and it was not the best, I would say.
But what if you have a ton of people, maybe the people who aren't as into singing, go into their own corner and hang out basically?
Because I think that's what happened at the birthday party we were at.
Right. I guess I just feel like karaoke isn't cheap.
Right? I guess it depends on where you're at.
But an hourly for karaoke, even if you're splitting it in a big group, it's not really going to be that cheap.
So if you're not going to be able to sing because there's too many people, then it's like kind of not worth it.
I kind of agree with you, Jisoo.
At least for me, I feel like the ideal karaoke environment is one where everyone or like pretty much everyone is like really into it.
And obviously that'll come in like phases and there's like waves of certain genres of songs.
And I also have thoughts about that which we can talk about later.
But like, you know, there's in general, pretty much everyone is like really into it, people will naturally feel comfortable to like step up and take the mic at some point or like contribute, even if they don't want to fully sing a song by themselves or with one other person.
Like if they just want to like, yell the lyrics in the background, like that's fine, too.
But I feel like one where some people are not as into it as others are just like kind of talking to corner.
I feel the pressure to be like, this is not fun for you.
So like why are you here?
Or like, not why are you here, but like But like, is there something that I - that we could have done to make it better?
I don't know. So I agree with not like the curation of people, but I feel like there are some people who just don't enjoy karaoke as much and that's fine.
But I do agree that the ideal scenario is that everyone's like, really into it and you're in like a a properly sized room for your group where it's like almost just not enough space.
Just not enough space, slightly dim, and the only light is from like the disco ball in the middle.
Have a table in the middle of everyone.
Everyone's kind of in a half circle.
I feel like that really facilitates the ultimate karaoke vibe, if that makes sense.
Okay, I have a question for y 'all because I had to come to this understanding recently.
We are talking about Asian karaoke.
Yes. But, like, not everyone grew up with this style of karaoke.
So what I've noticed is one time I was in - actually I was in Asia and we went to karaoke, the people I was with did not grow up with this, like, Asian, like, you know, room style karaoke.
So when people were given the mics, they all just like, shut up.
Everyone else who didn't have the mic.
They had just like zipped their mouths.
This is your time. You have the mic.
This is your show. Yeah.
And I was like, Oh my God, this is just different.
You know? And I tried to explain.
I was like, Oh, usually it's totally okay to sing along.
It's actually encouraged.
Blah, blah, blah. And they're like, yeah we understand that, but I guess we're just like really used to the type where you just like go to a bar and like someone goes up on stage cause they queued a song and it's their performance.
Actually. That's a really good point.
I wonder if it's also kind of a karaoke philosophy thing where I've been to Asia and done karaoke with people who grew up in Asia and then they did the same thing.
They were like, oh, you can sing your favorite song.
And then I was like, okay.
I punched in some song and I was like, oh, we're all going to sing along.
And then they didn't say anything and they were just like waiting for me to slay.
And I was like, I cannot work this song.
Like you want me to work the song.
You're like, I need backup singers.
yeah like I need everyone to also be yelling so that you can't hear my voice the mic is just a token you're like oops the mic stopped working actually that one was kind of interesting too because this specifically happened in Korea and Korea also has a huge karaoke culture in itself when I'm assuming a lot of sub cultures and like different ideas of karaoke but the people that I was with I was kind of stumbling on some of the lyrics, it was like a rap song, right.
And I was kind of like, oh shit, I'm like losing the beat.
And then they were like, do you want me to just skip it?
Like, we'll just go onto the next song.
And then I was like, oh, okay, that's fine.
And then we just skipped it and immediately went to the next song.
And for a second, I was like, damn, I knew I was bad, but I was like, that's a little harsh.
Right. And then we get to the next song and the next person is singing, they sing like the first verse and then like the chorus.
Right. And then they're like, okay, just skip it, go to the next song.
Oh. and I was like, oh my god, we're just fucking speedrunning karaoke here.
And I realized that's like another thing that people do because they don't want to like waste time or like spend too long on one of those songs with like a 52nd of bridge or something.
Or they're like, oh, should I only know the chorus?
They're like, okay, skip it.
I feel like when I was in Japan, I would go karaoke at least once a week, probably because Because I live really close to this karaoke place, I would normally just go with one or two other friends, it's like me and another person, or like me and like two other people.
And so actually, what we did very often was we would have like shared songs that we would both sing along to.
But we would also kind of like take turns to like, sing our songs ourselves.
And then eventually I started to know the songs that my friends would cue.
That would be their solo songs, and then they would start to know the songs that I would like to cue, and so it kind of morphed into that.
But there was a period where, yeah, it was a lot more kind of like solos trading off.
But I will say that the one time that I did go with a bigger group, it was so interesting because the friends that I had that I would go with most often, they were also foreigners Like from Australia or like Canada or whatever, but the one time that I went with a larger group With a larger actually Japanese group of people They like took off their shoes and started like jumping on the like couches and stuff I was like, whoa, I've never done this like ever in my life But it was like a group thing and it was really fun yeah, they would just put on songs and every took off their shoes jumping on the couches
and We were just like all yelling and it was like very chaotic But yeah I've never had that kind of experience before.
Wait that's so funny.
Try doing that next time.
The thing about the taking off the shoes part is so crazy to me.
I feel like it's so crazy too because Japanese people are known to be very polite and like they even clap softly and to imagine them just take their shoes off.
I was very confused.
I was the only non -Japanese person there And this was with actually my little group because I was in an acapella group there.
So it was like with my I guess like group mates or whatever.
So we were already like used to hearing each other sing and stuff like that, but we've never gone to karaoke together before so that that was our first time going.
But I mean, they all just took off their shoes and started jumping very naturally on the couch. So I'm guessing this is what Japanese people normally do as well.
So that's what the couches are for.
Yeah, I think we've just been sitting on them this whole time.
Although I will say, I've been to karaoke with people who danced before.
I mean, you guys know me.
I'm not like going to be dancing at karaoke.
The most I'll do is like jump.
For like 10 minutes straight and like, yell the lyrics with my hands up.
That's like my version of karaoke dancing.
But once I went to karaoke and one of our friends started like twerking on the wall and I was like, I've never seen like, this is like a culture shock to me.
And I was like, does this person think we're just fucking boring?
Cause we're just like sitting there on the couch. Oh my God.
Wait, that's so funny.
Sometimes the excited people will be like stand up when like you get the mic and I'm like, no. I will keep sitting.
No, thank you. Well, sometimes I feel like my ass gets hella sweaty.
Because you're sitting on like, I don't know how to describe it like, pleather?
Yeah, yeah, yeah and it like, depending on what you're wearing, sometimes I get really, like, sweaty and also it's hot in, like, a karaoke room, usually.
And then when people stand up, I'm like, oh god!
You have to reveal your under thigh sweat.
Yeah, exactly. I guess it also depends on, like, how drunk I am.
If I'm more drunk, I'm more likely to be more lively.
But, yeah. Okay, actually this is, like, a personal thing in karaoke, but I like to get the mic when people are taking shots so that I can avoid drinking.
I'm like, great genius.
Sure. That's the reason, Chris, of course, I'm also enjoying singing this song, but like, it is a big reason to help me like stay pretty sober during karaoke because it's pretty dangerous.
You get pretty drunk.
People are very excited usually.
Yeah. Cause I feel like it's like a, your personal backtrack, right.
moment and I think what we like to do when we go karaoke is like sing a lot of throwback songs and I just get transported back to like my middle school angsty like us against the world type of attitude so I totally agree with karaoke being dangerous sometimes.
Yeah. I will say though I feel like a lot of the times when I go with less people it's to karaoke it's not to drink or it'll be like sober karaoke but like big group or larger group karaoke is definitely more of like a opportunity to drink wait that's so interesting now that I think about it I've never had like sober karaoke really yeah that's like super rare for me I have to say I think it's just the groups that we go in I think like karaoke is yeah like an opportunity to drink while also letting go of your because sometimes it's like without a shot in you you're too shy to Right, we're releasing
our innovation. Kind of talking about the etiquette part of karaoke, Crystal what you said about how some people can be too shy if we're not drinking, I feel like you get a little bit of that at the start of karaoke, so it's very important at the beginning to set up the right songs And you need to have like, somebody who, cause I feel like people who are too shy to take the mic will also usually be too shy to queue things.
Because then if you queue it, the expectation is that you will take the mic.
And so I feel like you need the person at the beginning to queue a bunch of really lit hype songs that like, pretty much everyone will know and enjoy and be able to participate in to, like, get that going.
and you also cannot be shy to take the mic, like you need somebody who is down to like belt out a song or two or like to at least get the mic and get other people singing in the background.
And then somebody else as well, who's depending on the drunkenness level of the group are ready to like start passing around the shots, you know, to like, be like, Okay, like this is happening like this is to like, set the mood and like, get people to start drinking more until naturally when people see other people are like comfortable going for the mic, they'll also be more comfortable going for the mic, but you have to set the precedent in the beginning, completely agree, like there are roles in the beginning, I'm usually the cuer.
I think I often take that role too, it's important to set it up and I've had a lot of lessons too, because I think not only do you have to set up the beginning, but to an extent you can't play songs that are such bangers that you need to reserve for the peak exactly so they have to be kind of like boring crowd -pleasers like think like Katy Perry and not Pitbull you know what I mean?
true or if it's like if one artist has some really popular songs you've gotta save their best song for like a third of the way in or like half of the way in or you have to like time them at least maybe like three or four songs in you get like waves of hypeness you know it's like oh shit like this song is up like if you haven't been screaming your heart out at this point like this is your time to come out like nobody like no child left behind you need to come out now hopefully you've gotten like two shots in now and like you know some people have passed around mic and everything already.
But like you have that first really lit song.
And then you know, some more cruisers and hopefully people have like cued other songs that they actually want to sing.
And then you have like, moments of really big crowd pleasers.
That's also very popular at the moment.
So totally agree with timing it.
Yeah, I feel like those really lit songs at those points, you can almost just thrust the mic into anyone's hands, and they'll hopefully at that point, be accepting of it.
And just like, even if just for a line or two or like the chorus, and then they can pass the mic off and those are like, when everyone truly gets into it.
You know what I love?
It's when like the shy people, you can tell that they're shy in the beginning or like they don't go karaoke very often or whatever.
And then like the lit song comes up, you just hear them in the background, go like, oh, or like, I love this song.
And then And then I'm like, I'm the one usually with the mic and I'm like shove it in their hands be like, Oh my god It's your turn Queen or like whatever, you know And then they can't say no They can pass it off at that point.
So you're like I heard you I heard what you said.
I see you I see you.
This is your time Damn, you're like emceeing the karaoke Follow up question to that.
Do you think you also kind of look at if someone holds the mic for a long time and then try to like pass it away from that person?
I think I do keep an eye out on the cue list. So if I notice because usually, you know, if one person's going up to I guess it differs, but like, if it's like the machine, kind of Where you have to like search for songs, then usually the same person's songs will be queued in a row, right?
Versus if it's like the booklet old school kind like that might be passed around a little bit more frequently so you might get naturally the queue might be a little bit more mixed up but if it's the machine kind usually I'll like keep an eye on the queue list and then I'll like move songs up and down I'll prioritize certain songs if I feel like there's a big chunk of like similar style or like similar vibe songs, you know, because you got to like, switch it up a little bit to keep things spicy, to keep everyone interested, also to give people a break, you know?
Wow, dude, you are truly MC - I'm out here thinking about it.
You're like the karaoke mastermind.
She's playing chess and we're playing checkers.
I'm like, damn, should we be controlling the vibe next time?
Like we should adjust the cue more we should cuz you're totally right it's very easy you know someone finally gets the input machine or pad or whatever and then they cue like maybe three or four songs and then it's going to be clumped together which is it also totally fine but sometimes it's like a solo song maybe or it's like a little bit more niche of a song so it's like good to mix it up also usually at the beginning you know people are like furiously queuing songs and then And it like kind of dies down after a bit right, with like cueing new songs.
Sometimes you get a lot of filler songs.
And you know you thought about, or like people thought about and they cued it, but it's not actually a banger.
And so sometimes you gotta like keep an eye out on the cue list so that the ones that are cued later can have a chance to make it to the top.
Sometimes you know like the Shire people who don't cue stuff in the beginning, I want to make sure that their song, they get to actually hear their songs come up.
And so usually if you know, it's like halfway through and people are still queuing new songs, I'll like go in there and like move it to the top.
So they have enough, like, they'll actually come up before, you know, like two or three hours is over.
Dude, I'm gonna have to pay attention next time because sometimes the queue does change.
Now that I think about it, all of the last times that I've been Karaoke -ing with Jessica, she always sits at the corner by the TV.
And I always thought it was just like the order of which you walk into the room and like slide on onto the couch. But now I know it's strategic.
Dude, she's controlling the vibe.
She's keeping them up.
True. She's optimizing karaoke.
Dude, I'm all about efficiency.
Well, I feel like it's very clear that Jessica's the karaoke host and see.
But, Crystal, what do you think your archetype is in karaoke?
Okay, mine has evolved because actually I used to be really, really shy for karaoke back in college.
I think I really needed to have some drinks in me to be able to participate.
But the thing is, I love singing.
But I think it's just like the idea of singing in front of people, it's like, oh God.
But then I started to realize kind of what we've been talking about.
Like you need someone in the beginning to just like take charge, take the mic, because honestly, probably 80 % of the people are feeling a little shy.
And it's a little awkward, just like Jessica said, I guess like I had to let go of that fear a bit and be like, dude, even if you're not good, uh, it's shaky in the beginning, someone just has to get it started and then people will feel more comfortable and slowly feel braver to like ask for the mic.
But this has evolved into, I tend to just have the mic a lot, because of a couple things, one is I'm avoiding drinking.
Two, I do really like singing and it helped a lot to like let go of that fear.
I do try to pass the mic off, I'll be like, oh, anyone want it for this song?
But if no one wants it, I'll just keep it.
Dude, I'm not gonna lie, I don't remember a ton of times where you've asked people if they want the mic.
wait after every song unless it's like a song iq'd i'll be like does anyone want this mic crystal like holds it out like an inch from her face i don't she's like yeah i she that's more right i actually put it onto the table i don't know if that's super accurate and if no one takes it i take it back i mean i'm sure there's times you do it but i i swear unless i q'd the song i'll always put the mic back on the table I actually have this specific story that I'm thinking of where we were at karaoke.
Wait Crystal looks like she is so attached right now.
It's okay. This is a funny story.
Once we were at karaoke with a big group of people and then a bunch of people had cued their own songs, it was kind of one of those karaoke where people were taking a little pregame to maybe the optimal level.
So it was kind of like a warm -up period.
But then the songs that people queued started coming up.
And then, I just remember a song came up and then Crystal had sang a couple of songs in a row, and then you were holding the mic and I was looking at the mic and I was like, oh, I wonder if she's going to pass it off.
And then you were like, the song title came up and you were like, oh, I know the song.
And then you started singing.
And I was like, damn, that's the bar.
When he said like, put the mic on the table, I was imagining like you know in Egyptian War when you have to like slap in or like slap and then you got like people's hands are like hovering over the center.
Like she puts the mic down and her hand is just like, like, no one's gonna take it no one's gonna take it.
There was this phase where like, I've noticed a lot of people would queue up songs and then they'd get really shy and like stop singing maybe halfway through or something or like after a couple lines or like, oh, shoot, no one knows this song.
Like maybe we can just skip it.
What I discovered helping was I would be like, oh wait, I kind of know this song.
I'll just like try my best to sing it with you.
And then that would get them hyped up and they would keep singing their song.
So during that phase, yeah, the, the bar was basically like, oh, I know the song.
Like I can help whoever cued the song, sing it if that's needed, but then if I get like drunk, things get out of control.
So actually, if I sing a little more at the right times and avoid drinking, it helps control the flow better.
Like I'll, I'll be like putting them like back and like giving it around.
Wait, I just remembered an another funny story about Crystal in KK.
This was, this is, just say at your birthday last year.
Oh no. I don't know if you know, okay, this one I was like, I was like gone for it.
Exactly. So we were all like, this was like the end of towards the end of the night.
And we were all on the couch at Jesus house.
And so this was like YouTube karaoke.
I forgot what song it was.
It might've been, it was a Sabrina.
Oh no, you're right.
It was a Sabrina song.
We cued it and we did it and crystal did it like she had the mic and she sang the song and we were all like, you know, yelling in the back singing along and everything.
And then maybe three songs later, we're seeing other stuff.
Crystal suddenly like, Oh my god, we need to sing that Sabrina Carpenter song.
And I was like, What?
She's like, No, we need to do it.
Like we need to sing it.
I was like, Dude, we sang it like five minutes ago are you talking?
that she was like, what?
That's, that's when I came back.
You came to do that was actually so trippy for me.
Cause I was like, wait, what?
I was like, wait, what?
And then I was also like, wait, what?
Collectively confused.
I feel like this sounds like a catch 22.
It's like if you're singing and like holding the mic, you're avoiding drinking so you don't devolve into em dot aging mike dot hogging But if you are drinking, that means you're not singing and then later you might m dot age So it's like it's like a timing issue Exactly exactly so like I Prefer not to pregame karaoke because then I can just like slowly also because I feel like sometimes, as I said, people are just really excited at karaoke.
So then like the drinks are flowing and I'm like, dude, I'm not trying to drink so much. Yeah.
Honestly, all jokes aside, I know we're totally clowning Crystal, but Crystal is not actually like a really bad mike hog.
And it was recently proved.
We went to karaoke and it was with some people that we had just met.
And then we were like sharing the running joke of like, oh, Crystal is a mike hog.
Ha ha ha. And at the end of karaoke, they were like, oh, you're not even a mic hog.
And we're like, yeah, we're just meeting.
I was like, guys, I told you.
But I do agree that you need to have someone who's willing to sing a lot of songs.
One of the worst parts about karaoke is sometimes it'll be like silent or like really quiet or like dead or something.
And I think part of the social contract of going karaoke in my mind at least is like, you have to come with the vibes.
which means even if it's not my favorite song, I'll still try to sing along or like be hype or like do the phone flashlight thing or whatever and like stay somewhat engaged.
Otherwise, it just gets really awkward in the room.
I agree. I feel like engagement is 90 % of it.
Okay, so I kind of want to break down because I feel like it's very clear that we all very much so enjoy karaoke.
What do you think are your specific favorite parts about karaoke?
I think for me, it's actually specific moments that you remember in passing.
The moment that I'm thinking of is like, you know when there's a really, really good song up that everyone knows and loves, it's like from our childhood, or the most popular song nowadays whatever.
And you're like singing, you know, there's like two people on each mic singing into the mic together and then you like look around the room and everyone's singing.
Like half of them have their eyes closed.
Like I live for that, you know, it's like rapturous.
And it kind of actually takes me back.
This is like maybe a little bit sacrilegious, but it kind of takes me back to like back when I used to be religious, we would sing songs together at church and whatnot, and there's like this specific feeling that arises from like singing together and karaoke has been the closest thing to me post religion.
That's like replicating that feeling.
So karaoke is almost religious to.
It is. We should throw in some Christian rock next time.
Actually, sometimes, I sneak it in.
Like, the songs that don't seem very religious I sneak it in.
Wait, what? Like, what?
Like, Be My Escape by Rillian Kay, or Show Me What I'm Looking For by Caroline a Liar.
I'll sneak those in sometimes.
Oh, really? Dare You to Move, Switchfoot?
I don't know that song.
Wait, that sounds familiar.
I feel like a lot of these songs, I don't know by title.
I feel like when you hear it, I would probably know it.
Okay, so next karaoke session, we'll be sure to sneak in some more Christian rock.
Yeah. And then we can hold hands and cry and pray.
I think my favorite part of karaoke, I mean, I also just really genuinely love singing.
So there's that. I mean, it depends on the song.
But I think I actually prefer to not be on the mic.
I feel like those are usually the times when I have the most fun, when it's like, other people are really into it, because I'm always really into it.
So I like it when I'm assured that other people are also really into it.
So two other people have the mic kind of similar to what you're saying, you say with like, everybody really into the song, and we're all singing along, I prefer not to be on the mic.
Because a I don't have to give a shit about what I sound like.
And then B, usually, I'm just like, screaming, yelling my head off at the back.
And it doesn't matter.
I also feel like it's good to have people do that because I feel like it gives the people who have the mic a little bit more reassurance that they can also just like, let loose and sing however they want.
But I feel like my favorite part is kind of similar, like being in that kind of environment.
I feel like the best ones too, are the ones where I discover new songs That I've forgotten about, because I feel like nowadays, you know, I obviously have a karaoke playlist, I have go to ones that I always queue up in the beginning or like at the end or whatever.
But when other people show up with like really hard hitting bangers that I'm like, holy shit, I cannot believe I forgot this song existed.
Or maybe it's like a new song, and I didn't realize how good it is for karaoke.
It's like I get to add more to my list. I feel like if a session gives me like multiple of those songs, then it's a really good productive session for me.
Like it, you know, this was a lesson.
You know, I was taught in this, in this class.
You're like reinvesting into your future karaoke session.
I was served. Yeah.
Wait, this is so funny.
So karaoke is church to Jisoo and it's the class to Jessica.
Okay, Crystal, what is it to you?
Dude, I actually just really like singing.
If I could, I would go solo karaoke.
Do it. That was actually a goal of mine in Korea, because you know how they have, like, the coin karaoke boots?
So I, like, looked all over for it, but it just happened to be the most recent time I was in Korea.
I guess I couldn't find one that was, like, as close to me, so I was like, darn, next time.
So it's like your stage for you.
Yeah I guess it's kind of, I don't know if it's necessarily a stage but it's like a chance to just let loose and sing your heart out.
Do you think it hits for you to sing while someone else is singing?
Cuz for me, I actually am probably similar to Jessica.
I don't love being on the mic unless it's a song that I know I can eat up.
So I feel like I get similar enjoyment just screaming on the side.
Um, I think it does hit.
But maybe like, having the mic, it hits a little harder.
But like, it's almost like karaoke is like people don't have to be there.
Other people optional.
So, I feel like if I were to I also haven't karaoke by myself, but I have karaoke with like one other person and it's basically we're just switching off soloing.
So do you feel like, if you were to karaoke by yourself, you would cue different songs?
Oh, yeah, absolutely.
There's so many songs that I would never cue in karaoke because one they're just like not karaoke songs, really.
And then two, they're like probably no one knows them or like very few people know them.
And then I would be like the only one singing it.
And then that would be like a vibe killer.
Right? We want everyone to be like hyped up.
Because I mean, it's karaoke is kind of like a leveled up version of like singing in the shower or like singing in the car.
That's like kind of what it is for me.
I think. Yeah, I agree.
I feel like when I go with just one other person, or if there are, sometimes sometimes it actually is kind of disappointing thing because sometimes I'll like have some new song that I really really love to sing.
But then it's not like the most popular song or it's like kind of a slower song and that not really like a good moment to bring it out in group karaoke.
So then usually I like, don't cue it or like, you know, just kind of let it go.
So I feel like those would be the songs that I would exclusively do if I went by myself.
Yeah, yeah. I feel like going with one or two other people could be really fun too because then it's almost like you're sharing music with each other.
I highly recommend it.
It's great. I have like a non singing related thing that I would consider one of my favorite parts of karaoke, and I think it comes with the inverse too, like sometimes this is like my least favorite part of karaoke.
I tend to like queuing a bunch of songs and trying to sense out like the group vibe.
One of my favorite things is when I queue something and someone's like, Oh my God, who queue this?
I love this song. And I'm like, Yes, yes, you do.
Because I queued it for you.
However, recently I had the opposite thing happened to me, where I went karaoke with a group of people that I don't know like super well, and the system at this place was a little bit complicated.
It was like one of those places where you have to download an app and then do this, and then do that and it's like, not like a punch it into the iPad or punch it into the machine.
Like it was, you know, required a lot of steps and not everyone wants to download an app.
So I kind of took on the position of like, oh, I'll just like key all the songs, like text me or whatever.
And then a lot of people didn't even want to look at it.
So I was just queuing like my internal like, these are the top bangers, right?
But because I didn't know these people very well, I think songs that I thought were universal bangers of our generation turns out they're not actually universal.
Oh no And it might be like a regional thing or I dunno, like some sort of demographics issue, but yeah.
I queued songs that I was like, this was certified banger.
And then only like half of the room knew them.
Wait, can you give an example?
I think I cued like fall out boy whaaaat?
Okay that's kind of crazy yeah and I was like I thought we all loved this music okay that one's kind of crazy because fall out boy was definitely on the radio a lot when we were younger exactly it's not like every song that I cued was bad like most of them I think were like good but there was like a couple songs that they were like oh who cued this?
so rude I don't know this song can we cue bangers?
and then I was like what if you told me so Bro, people who don't queue should not have an opinion.
That's my take. Honestly, true because queuing songs is a lot of brain power.
Dude, right? It's actually, like, laborious.
Dude, it's so hard that I started a karaoke's notes to, like, write down songs because it's so easy to get the, you know, the machine or the pad.
And then you're like, I suddenly don't know what music is.
What is a song I can cue?
I think it was I don't know, maybe like a learning moment for me, because with my playlist and what I consider to be like years and years of karaoke experience, I was kind of like, I got this queuing thing to like a decent level.
I'm like a B plus at worst, you know?
And then after this experience, I was like humbled a little bit.
I was like, maybe I don't know what everyone in the room wants.
Dude, that's tough.
You had a difficult crowd to work with because you said they weren't queuing, but then they like had expectations for your queue.
Yeah, but it didn't really think about my role in karaoke, or my perceived role, right?
And I was like, maybe I should not cue as many songs as I do, because I feel like I'm doing the room a favor, but maybe it's in a way like taking away from what other people want to cue and whatnot.
Maybe they're just waiting for me to not cue.
I wouldn't know because I'm just guessing.
And then the other thing that I realized was, to an extent, I'm kind of an aspirational cure.
And I'm actually like this when I shop too.
I'm an aspirational shopper, like I shop for what I want myself to be able to like wear.
But what you can actually wear and pull off in real life and in your everyday events is not going to be the same thing as what you like seeing on a celebrity or something.
In the same way like karaoke, that story I shared about like me stumbling over some rap song in Korea, like I do that sometimes.
I'll like put on a song because I'm like, I love this song.
I cannot sing it, but I want someone in the room to sing it.
And I've done that before where I'll cue a song and I'll hand that mic to one specific person and be like, can you do this?
After my karaoke shenanigans, I reflected on myself and I'm, you know, I'm working on it.
You're like, I cued this for you to sing to me.
It's like a delivery.
I mean, I feel like that's still totally fair.
If, you know, if you have a song you like and you want to cue it, and who cares if you sing, you know, not the best, I think that's one of the big things about karaoke, you're not like the world's best singer, but everyone's still gonna sing along and have fun.
Yeah, that's true. It's just hard to suss out group vibes and I think the big learning too is like with a new group, you just don't know.
These aren't the best friends that you go to karaoke with once a month, allegedly once a quarter for some, and share the same number of songs on your like karaoke playlist. Right.
I don't know what these people like.
Actually, that's true.
Maybe you need to karaoke with trusted friends.
Suddenly it seems so dangerous.
Like you need, you know, your friends who you know, are just there to have a good time with you.
And like, they're not there to judge you or anything.
So maybe besides the singing part, that's like another part I like That we're just all there to like, have fun.
Yeah. Well, I feel like I talked a little bit about my personal karaoke sins.
But do you guys have any things that come to mind in terms of like karaoke no -nos?
It doesn't have to be about yourself, but just in general.
Well, we talked about it.
But it's a work in progress.
Okay, I have one. I feel like for me, maybe sometimes the temptation to queue foreign language songs, but not in the right environment.
So it's kind of like, you know, depending on the crowd, depending on the time, how far into the karaoke session you are.
And also if there's like other people who know the song, I feel like sometimes I'll I'll sing songs and like, I'll sing like Chinese songs.
I'll attempt to sing Korean songs.
I like it better when Jisoo is there, so then, you know, Korean songs are like the ones where I queue and I hand it to Jisoo and I'm like, can you sing this for me.
We're like, we only know the chorus, the English parts in the chorus.
Jisoo will wrap it and I'll like, shout the last like few words, because you know, it's like wah wah wah, and then I know like the last few.
You're like, baby, my lady.
That's me in foreign language songs.
This is kind of what you said like there's listening songs and then there's like karaoke like songs that you actually know how to sing so sometimes I have to like practice a little at home.
Especially if it's like a new song that I'm really determined to sing like okay I have to like practice this so like last week before my karaoke I was practicing Extra L by Jennie featuring Dung Joon but they didn't have it they didn't so I didn't get to so yeah next time You put in all that practice to kind of answer.
Now I know Dochie's verse really well.
So next time, you'll have to hear me sing it.
So yeah, I feel like there's a time and place for foreign language songs.
Sometimes, not every karaoke session, there's an opportunity for foreign language songs to like, come out, or like, it's not it's like just not the right crowd, especially if it's only me or like, me and one other person in a larger group who would actually care about these songs.
So sometimes I just have to like learn to let it go.
Next time. You know?
Yeah I'm low key realizing that a lot of karaoke etiquette is like learning to let things go.
Whether it's the mic, the aspirational cueing, the foreign language songs.
But we're working on it.
I feel like we are reformed.
There's another thing that I had to let go actually.
Wait. The story low key cracks me up and I've never spoken, like I've never told this story to anyone before.
but I never forgot this after it happened.
There was a time in college where we were going karaoke all the time.
It felt like we were going every week or something.
I feel like the three of us go a lot in general, but then we had just met a new friend group at the time, so me and Jessica were going with a couple people that we didn't really know as well.
We were singing at karaoke once.
I was really feeling myself.
There's a point in karaoke sometimes where I just really feel like I'm a great singer and Jessica and I were singing the song together and I started Harmonizing like every note.
Oh my god. Like not even just like a little bit like I was harmonizing every note like verse, bridge, chorus, everything.
I don't remember this.
And then we were singing it and then I think I said something like Damn, it's kind of hard to harmonize to Jessica cuz I was like it's hard to harmonize the verse obviously, or like just like random bits and then Jessica turned to me and was like then maybe you should stop You're lying I did not say that I'm literally not joking I'm dying After he said that I stopped and then I was like, I thought I was being like a like a helper You know, like I thought I was being like your little sous chef And then I realized I was just not being a helper and I was just like shitting on the song So then after that I like
never harm anyone Wait no, I literally don't remember that.
Please harmonize as much as you want.
Holy shit, I don't remember this at all.
I'm so sorry. I think about this sometimes and I laugh.
No, no, no, no. It's honestly, you were so right.
Cause this would have been my other karaoke no -no to this day.
Oh my god. Oh my god.
Please? Please harmonize if you want.
like literally doesn't matter wait I want I need to hear you harmonize next time it was bad I can assure you it was bad the verses would be hard but the choruses I feel like you could slay them yeah I think the problem was I was just doing the whole song couldn't stop oh my god you're literally lying I did not say that Oh, God.
It's okay, Jisoo. Jessica has said right here on record, please harmonize next time.
PLEEASE do it. Oh, I'll come with the H's.
I'll terrorize our karaoke sessions.
Dude, that's why we have two mics.
One for you to harmonize.
Yeah, I'll bring it back.
I'll bring it back.
You can also turn on the– I guess a separate question is, do you guys like it when the backtrack is on or not?
with the actual singer singing the songs?
That's a good question.
If it's a hard song, low -key having backtrack is like pretty helpful for those like notes that no one's hitting.
You're like, all right, the backtrack can like do the work here.
Yeah. You can do the mic fade away, but I feel like when it's a song that like everyone knows not having the backtrack is a little better because then everyone doesn't have to feel pressure necessarily to like follow some backtrack.
They can just like do whatever.
or it's okay if we're a little off or whatever.
Yeah I think I would prefer the backtrack on.
My whole thing is this, in every group that goes karaoke, there's strong singers and then there's like people who are down to sing but singing is not like their thing.
And I think when the backtrack is on it's super helpful for people like that.
And the other thing is, every karaoke I've been to, one mic is always louder than the other.
And I feel like when there's a backtrack on it kind of helps wash that away.
But if it's not on, the loud person sounds really fucking loud.
So, yeah, I think the backtrack is a little better for me.
Do you turn it on or off based on the song?
Because I feel like usually it's already on either at the beginning or it's already off at the beginning and then it's just like that the whole time.
I've never actively been like, I want this on or off for certain songs.
I think, similar, usually whatever it's set to in the beginning, we just leave it at that.
But I think if we are queuing up on YouTube then you can totally just queue up the song itself.
Oh true. If it's like I want to have the backtrack or something like that.
Yeah. I lowkey love karaoke places that have that YouTube setup.
It's like kind of draining to a certain extent but also you can cue random ass songs that haven't flown through like the real karaoke system yet.
So everything is like fresh and new.
Agreed. Oh my god another separate question.
Do you guys prefer When they actually show like the real music video for the song like fancier places usually will have the real music video or You know like the semi -jank ones where it's like some random old 80s Japanese person on like the beach and they're like walking and it's like fading I don't even know where those videos come from.
But which one do you prefer?
Wait, dude, I'm a music video enjoyer I used to watch music videos on MTV.
Oh, I always love it when it's the OG music video.
I feel like that's so rare.
Like I don't remember the last time I I've seen the real music video on screen, but I'm very used to like just the Korean style places and they play like the same five videos over and over.
So I don't really have a preference either way.
Do you have a preference?
I think I actually prefer the not music video.
I feel like it's always cool when the music, I feel like it's more rare for me to go to a place where they actually play the music videos.
Yeah, but I feel like I prefer the other one because sometimes, the real music video will have some type of story, you know, or it's like an extended like artsy video.
And I'm just like, just trying to sing you know, or like in the middle in the middle of the music video and like cut out the song and I'll like be some mini movie and then like go back to the song and i feel like it like kind of ruins the vibes a little bit not that there's a ton of music videos like that but i feel like the risk is there wait actually you're so right i think that happens more with modern songs because they do that for like copyright or like to avoid people ripping it off youtube or something but you're so right actually that does totally kill the vibe there's like the random
mini movie in the middle when you're singing all too well taylor's version It like literally a movie.
But I feel like if the music video is not interrupting the music, it's sometimes fun.
You're watching the movie or like a lot of times I feel like I have never seen the music video before.
So I'm like, Whoa, like, I've never actually seen the music video for this.
So it's, it's kind of cool to see it.
I guess it's like on the border of cool and like distracted.
And you just like don't know which side it'll fall on.
Yeah. true dang does this mean we have to learn music videos too like oh this is the list of not just karaoke songs but like karaoke okayed karaoke music videos yeah i will say all of this karaoke talk makes me really fiend for karaoke now i'm like dude should we go to karaoke this weekend i know literally i just had my fix so But that's why I was so ready for this episode.
I was like, okay, I'm like, I'm fresh off the karaoke experience.
Well, our listeners will have to stay tuned for a part two.
If we ever do go and do that karaoke session, we'll be sure to come back with more pro tips.
But thank you, Jessica, for coming on and sharing all of your karaoke etiquette ideas with us.
And for any of our listeners, if we missed anything karaoke etiquette wise, or you feel like you have a different set of rules for your karaoke sessions, then definitely hit us up.
We have Instagram at Eat Your Crust Pod.
And we also have email eatyourcrustpod at gmail .com.
And don't forget to follow us on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, wherever you listen to podcasts, we upload new episodes every other Wednesday morning.
Thanks for listening.
And don't forget to eat your crust. And that's where it all came loose.
