Posted by admin! / Under Karaoke Revolution
On a recent Monday night at a Los Angeles karaoke bar, a meek-looking woman in a business suit and glasses was coaxed on stage by her co-workers. While the boozy crowd readied itself for four minutes of awkward singing, the woman — "Karen" — suddenly belted out exquisite, pitch-perfect renditions of the Jewel songs "Who Will Save Your Soul" and "Foolish Games." Astonished crowd members picked their jaws off the floor and cheered wildly. One person was heard comparing Karen to "an American Susan Boyle." Unbeknownst to them, they had been victims of "undercover karaoke." Karen really was Jewel,
Published on Saturday 31st of July 2010 10:47:57 PM
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Posted by admin! / Under Karaoke Revolution
February 11, 2010 Wannabe Frank Sinatras face final curtain in ‘karaoke rage’ killings Leo Lewis, Tokyo “And now, the end is near . . . ” For some, the Frank Sinatra version of My Way is a timeless classic; for many in the karaoke bars of the Philippines, however, it is a ballad drenched in bloodshed that ought to carry a health warning. Sung badly, or with just a touch too much defiance, the song can unleash unspeakable violence from the audience. According to Manila police, men have died attempting to hit the final note. The “karaoke rage” phenomenon has...
Published on Saturday 31st of July 2010 10:47:57 PM
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Posted by admin! / Under Karaoke Revolution
Sinatra Song Often Strikes Deadly Chord By NORIMITSU ONISHI GENERAL SANTOS, the Philippines — After a day of barbering, Rodolfo Gregorio went to his neighborhood karaoke bar still smelling of talcum powder. Putting aside his glass of Red Horse Extra Strong beer, he grasped a microphone with a habitué’s self-assuredness and briefly stilled the room with the Platters’ “My Prayer.” Next, he belted out crowd-pleasers by Tom Jones and Engelbert Humperdinck. But Mr. Gregorio, 63, a witness to countless fistfights and occasional stabbings erupting from disputes over karaoke singing, did not dare choose one beloved classic: Frank Sinatra’s version of...
Published on Saturday 31st of July 2010 10:47:57 PM
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Posted by admin! / Under Karaoke Revolution
GENERAL SANTOS, the Philippines — After a day of barbering, Rodolfo Gregorio went to his neighborhood karaoke bar still smelling of talcum powder. Putting aside his glass of Red Horse Extra Strong beer, he grasped a microphone with a habitué’s self-assuredness and briefly stilled the room with the Platters’ “My Prayer.” Next, he belted out crowd-pleasers by Tom Jones and Engelbert Humperdinck. But Mr. Gregorio, 63, a witness to countless fistfights and occasional stabbings erupting from disputes over karaoke singing, did not dare choose one beloved classic: Frank Sinatra’s version of “My Way.” “I used to like ‘My Way,’ but...
Published on Saturday 31st of July 2010 10:47:57 PM
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Posted by admin! / Under Karaoke Revolution
KUALA LUMPUR, Malaysia — Police say a Malaysian man has been stabbed to death by customers at a karaoke bar for singing too much and refusing to share the microphone. A district police official says witnesses saw a group of men punch and stab 23-year-old Abdul Sani Doli with a knife at the bar late Wednesday in eastern Sandakan town on Borneo island. The official says a brawl broke out because the men were furious that Abdul Sani was hogging the stage. He says police detained two suspects after Abdul Sani was found dead outside the bar. The official spoke...
Published on Saturday 31st of July 2010 10:47:57 PM
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Posted by admin! / Under Karaoke Revolution
Yesterday the McCain camp hit back hard on this front-page NYT story by Elisabeth Bumiller reporting that Sarah Palin had been a member of the Alaska Independence Party in the 1990s. Today, the paper ( New York Times ) writes: " The chairwoman of an Alaskan political party that advocates a vote on the state’s secession from the union said Tuesday that she had been mistaken when she said Gov. Sarah Palin was a member of the group. A front-page story in The New York Times on Tuesday ... The information in the Times article was based on a statement...
Published on Saturday 31st of July 2010 10:47:57 PM
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Posted by admin! / Under Karaoke Revolution
A gunman in Thailand shot-dead eight neighbours, including his brother-in-law, after tiring of their karaoke versions of popular songs, including John Denver’s Country Roads. Weenus Chumkamnerd, 52, put his gun to the head of a respected female doctor and seven of her guests as they partied at her home in Songkhla Province, South Thailand. "When I began shooting nobody pleaded for his life because they were all drunk," he said after his arrest. He said he was so furious with their awful singing that he did not notice he had murdered his own brother-in-law. ... Country Roads is a hugely...
Published on Saturday 31st of July 2010 10:47:57 PM
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Posted by admin! / Under Karaoke Revolution
Teacher calls police after Guns N' Roses karaoke scare School custodian's rendition of 'Welcome to the Jungle' prompts police call 2 hours, 54 minutes ago ROXBURY, Conn. - State police say the teacher at Booth Free School barricaded herself inside a classroom Wednesday when she mistook someone singing a Guns N' Roses song over the public address system for a threat. /snip Six troopers and three police dogs showed up and found three teenagers, one of them a custodian at the school, who had been playing with the public address system. Police say one of them sang "Welcome to the...
Published on Saturday 31st of July 2010 10:47:57 PM
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