Raw talent finds voice at karaoke nights
Written by Beatrice Gachenge, www.bdafrica.com, Kenya
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Angela Angwenyi hosts a karaoke night at The Hilton Hotel

Instead of humming in the comfort of their bathrooms, Kenyans have taken their raw talent to the open. While for some, it takes a few drinks to get the courage to actually sing to totally complete strangers, others are simply happy to share their favourite tunes.

Be it a piercing shrill or a mellow soothing voice, whether one can keep to the tempo, or sing out of tune, the karaoke craze seems to have achieved a summit.

While it was exclusive to just a few five star hotels some three years ago, when the Japanese concept was launched in the country, it has quickly sped to other entertainment joints such as bars. But it does not seem to be happening anywhere on Monday. Tuesday and Thursday seem to be a favourite for most hotels and bars.

According to Dan Kaan, the Food and Beverage Manager at Intercontinental Hotel, karaoke nights are the most lucrative night for the hotel. Without revealing the figures, he told the Business Daily that on Tuesday nights when karaoke takes place at the Intercontinental , the bar is full to capacity.

¡°My revenue is double compared to a normal night. On Tuesday, I have over 100 people at the bar, unlike a normal night when I have on average 50 people,¡± said Kaan. He said it was almost impossible to access the bar after 10 p.m. leave alone get a seat.

He said karaoke opens at 8 p.m., but only picks up an hour later or so and the reason: ¡°Most of the people would rather have drinks before performing, may be to warm up but more so to gather courage.

Karaoke is a form of entertainment in which an amateur sings along with recorded music using a microphone and a PA system.

¡°The music is typically a well-known song in which the voice of the original singer is removed or reduced in volume. Lyrics are usually displayed on a video screen, along with a moving symbol or changing colour to guide the singer,¡± said Justin Kamyua, Safari Park Hotel Food & Beverage manager.

It is believed that the Japanese like parties. From ancient times, a party become enlivened when someone started singing and the others kept time with hand-clapping, making the atmosphere more cheerful. It has never mattered whether the person sings well or not. Even if he sings out of tune, it can spark laughter and make the party more lively.

Karaoke has grown to be a major entertainment industry, not only on the local, but also on the international scene.

At the typical Irish bar at the Jockey Club in The Hilton Hotel, karaoke also happens on Tuesday. While it has a sitting capacity of 100, the karaoke ring attracts more than the capacity. But Hilton¡¯s acting banquet manager Peter Gikonyo has an interesting explanation as to why it fell on a Tuesday and not any other day.

¡°It coincides with the tourists¡¯ circuit; Most of the tourists start their week on Tuesday. They spend one night in town before going to the bush or about their other plans,¡± said Gikonyo. At the same time, he added that karaoke was one of the means people used to unwind from a busy day. Having realised the craze for karaoke, other five star hotels had made New Year resolutions to venture into this lucrative niche entertainment industry.

Serena Hotels management saidit was considering it while Safari Park is looking into ways of making it bigger and better.

Currently at Safari Park, there is a small room of about 30 people in utility for karaoke. But it is an exclusive and private event, where a group of people make reservation.

Unlike other hotels that have set aside a specific day for karaoke, in Safari Park, every day can be a karaoke night. ¡°Our first priority is the Korean community since the hotels has its roots there.

The way the Koreans do it is through the bottoms up, where they order whisky or other wines; down the the content in one gulp. At that point, they sing in competition with each other,¡± said Kamyua.

Safari Park charges Sh 350 per hour for the private party. Nonetheless, Kamyua said the hotel was planning to open it to the public and harboured some reservations.

¡°The karaoke craze may die down juts like salsa did. We do not want to spend then find the fad is out. At the same time, location and stereotypes about Safari Park are some of our biggest problems,¡¯ said Kamyua.

He said majority of Kenyans felt that Safari Parkwas of a certain class, hence never bothered to look into their menu. With this in mind, Kamyua he may not have large numbers to break even.

¡°Besides, karaoke is now everywhere and we want to be different,¡± he said. Another five star hotel hoping to debut is the Grand Regency which hopes to have karaoke by the end of next month.

Jennifer Wanza, the hotel¡¯s communication manager said the beauty of karaoke was the fact it is an interactive process. Besides that, one choose the songs that they love, thereby a show of passion and personality.

While some joints would rather have their own karaoke machines, it is possible to out source. At Home Boyz Entertainment, the whole unit, inclusive of karaoke machine with a disc, a microphone, speakers, DJ and host, Sh 40,000 per day will be made worth your while.

Kamyua said that small machine cost about one million shillings. So the next time you want to express your singing talent, take a karaoke menu and have your pick. You just may unearth a hidden talent.

Submitted by David on 14-01-2008

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