Lawd knows to my surprise...

Last night was Face-Your-Fears night at Martha's Karaoke Lounge, so that's where we went after the show. Technically, it was Karaoke Contest night, but since I'd been to about 5 karaoke nights since rehearsals began, and hadn't sung once, I decided that it was time to face my fears. After much dorky study and karaoke downloads at walmart.com ($0.88/song!!), I felt armed and ready. Well, to be honest, dorky study, karaoke downloads, and a $3 Margarita left me feeling armed and ready. I had my list of songs I thought I could do, and sat down with the book to select the perfect one.
The folks I went with are all Karaoke veterans, except for one, so they already knew exactly what songs to begin with. They filled out their forms quickly and got in the cue. The KJ (karaoke jockey) was announcing the contest, and that there was a limited time to sign up. I finally found a song I thought I could do, filled out my form, and with trembling limbs, headed up to put in my entry.
Before they got to my name, they began the contest, which meant there would be at least 6 more songs (there were 6 contestants) before they got to me. Add to that the random dance music that was played before and after the contest, the rest of the non-contest entries in line before me, and that meant I had about an hour before being called up to sing. Plenty of time to get petrified. Also plenty of time to finish my 'rita and order another. So by the time I got up there, I was good and warm.
And I gotta tell ya, "Son of a Preacher Man" never had a chance. I had expected to hear a lot of my voice, which would have made me feel shy about belting it, but I didn't. The music was loud enough, and my vocals at just the right levels so I could hear myself, but could never have overpowered the music. So belt I did. The song starts out small, but gains energy and momentum as you go, so I felt like I just had to keep going, keep pushing, to keep up with it. It was quite a rush! The bartender even came over to my table later and asked by why I hadn't entered the contest. **shock!! glee!!** We'll be going again next Thursday, I suspect.
On a side note, my friend Christy sang for the first time last night, and got so into it that she sang 3 times! Talk about facing the fears -- Way to go, C!! You rock! Woohooo!
Also, the first and second place winners in the contest were from our group. Gray at #2, and his lovely lady, Laura, at #1! Ahhhhh, Yeah!