Karaoke junkie

I've never thought of myself as a singer (still don't). But lately I've been having the best time at local karaoke nights. It's not like I've discovered I'm any type of American Idol material or anything, but I have discovered that I have a voice, and it's not as bad as I'd thought. In fact, it's kind-of okay, maybe even slightly good.

When I was in High School, I was in chorus for a while, and we did a show in which I had a solo. I sang "Blue Moon" (the standard version, not the Sha-Na-Na one from Grease). The choir director told me I had a tendency to go flat, and I've never forgotten that. He's the only one who's ever told me that, but I didn't figure that made him wrong, only honest.

So for the last, oh..., fifteen years, I've thought of myself as having a weak voice and pitch issues. And the cool thing about Karaoke? No one cares. Like life, there's always going to be someone better than me, and someone worse. It's very freeing.

I've always been around good singers - my mom, my roommate in college, my friend Kat - and they always seemed to get this expression of mild bliss while and shortly after singing. And those singers? Man, they'll sing at the drop of a hat. No false modesty or shyness, just open wide and make a joyful noise. How beautiful is that? So now, thanks to Karaoke, I get it. It just feels good. When you can make a sound that vibrates in harmony with the surrounding music or other voices, it feels good. When you take a deep, full breath and let it out over a long note or phrase, it feels good. And when people clap and the end and say you did a good job, well, that feels pretty good too.

I used to think Karaoke was cheesy, and it probably is. But as I've said before, I'm not made of stone. It got me.