Karaoke Ring of Death: The top of your playlist

Although I recorded mine in December for December's theme, the actual posting got pushed back a month in an effort to drum up more participation. I'm hoping that it was just the hectic holiday season that kept people busy, but if you like singing and don't mind recording yourself, I'd encourage you to give Karaoke Ring of Death a try! You can always check out more at:

http://karaokeringofdeath.wordpress.com

Anyway, this month's theme was the song that's been dominating the top of your playlist. I get to host Heather of Musings of a Girl, who bravely takes on one of the toughest songs anyone can do: Adele's "Rolling in the Deep". And if that wasn't enough, she rocks it a cappella, as well!



You should be able to find my song (Helly in stereo, again-- and since I recorded it right before Christmas, you can guess what kind of music was on my playlist at the time!) on Edwin's blog: http://blog.myadultbrain.com/

However, since it doesn't appear to have been updated with even November's KROD, here's a link to my video on YouTube in the meantime:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SW7LL7r2y2M

Enjoy! :-)

Karaoke Ring of Death: Catchy Songs

This month's KROD coincides with the last day of NaBloPoMo, so I get to sign off this month of blogging with a bang! 

Okay, maybe that's an exaggeration. The theme for November was "catchy songs"-- that song you just can't get out of your head ;-) I get to host Edwin of My Adult Brain, who sings Wham's "Wake Me Up Before You Go Go". His commentary at the beginning is very apt, because that's exactly what happened to me-- was just starting to "get over" a song that had been stuck in my head for a while, and then having to actually sing the whole thing for KROD just extended that :-P

Anyway, watch Edwin reach for some of those high notes:


Catchy KROD from Edwin Schippers on Vimeo.

As for my own video, I had a brainworm that was, just like May's 80's theme, inspired by an episode of Glee. It also happened to be a duet and a song that I HAVE to lower at least 3 half-steps in key, so finding a duet partner on SingSnap, where I normally do my online karaoke, was a challenge. After a while of listening to various videos done in the normal key, I realized I had picked up enough of the harmony to just do the whole enchilada myself. So I decided to do just that.

You can catch Helly in stereo (both acoustically AND visually) at Kanriah's blog:

http://oneredwall.wordpress.com/2012/12/01/catchy-karaoke/

And of course, the main Karaoke Ring of Death website:

http://karaokeringofdeath.wordpress.com/2012/12/07/novembers-master-list-is-catchy/

Karaoke Ring of Death: Boy Bands!

They say that there is strength in numbers. I certainly find this to be true of karaoke. Bringing a friend or two up on stage with you is a great way to break the ice and jump into karaoke without feeling too self-conscious. Whenever I want to do a song I'm not 100% confident about, I try to rope in a friend. Having company on stage emboldens me! Plus it can just be plain FUN. Even if it's a song I would be confident enough to do alone, I can get into wackier antics on stage if I have someone there with me, either leading the way or egging me on. And that's the whole point of karaoke, isn't it-- to just get up and have fun!

So, it is with great pleasure that I get to host one KROD video featuring TWO singers, Kanriah and Tabitha, as they belt out N'Sync's "Tearin' Up My Heart". I think it's just as much fun to watch them play around and have fun with the performance, as it is to listen to them.

To see my video, you can head on over to Tabitha's blog: http://thelizardspockexpansion.blogspot.ca/2012/10/boy-bands-are-back-baby-october-krod.html

And now, enjoy this month's "boy bands" themed video!



And as always, the master list can be found here: http://karaokeringofdeath.wordpress.com/2012/10/31/boy-bands-are-back/

Karaoke Ring of Death goes Country: Yee-haw!

August's KROD got off to a bit of a late start because we had so few participants, we decided to wait a few days to encourage other people to participate. I guess that didn't really help much, and I'm a little disappointed because this month's theme is country music! My favorite genre! I was out of town during the voting process, but when I returned, I was excited to see that it had been voted as the theme this month, and couldn't wait to get started. The only problem was-- there were soooo many good ones, I had a hard time choosing! I ended up recording 3 of them in one day and then spent the next couple days waffling back and forth until I finally settled on one (with hubby's help).

You can see which one I ended up choosing, on Sandy's blog:

http://sandywessel.blogspot.com/2012/09/krod-is-going-country-little-late.html

In the meantime, here is Edwin of My Adult Brain, with a good ol' classic, "On the Road Again", with plenty of visual road time!


KROD August: On te road again from Edwin Schippers on Vimeo.

Karaoke Ring of Death: Non-native artists

This month's theme was "non-native artists", in other words, songs by artists that are from a country other than your own. It could be in another language, but didn't have to be. For us Americans, that opens up a whole host of possibilities of English-speaking artists from Canada, which is exactly what Jes from Jes Getting Started did.

Here she is, rocking out "Call Me Maybe" by Canadian singer Carly Rae Jepsen:



I have to admit, the title of her video on YouTube misled me a little-- I was expecting a patriotic rendition of the Canadian national anthem instead! ;-)

As for me, I've been looking forward to this theme for quite some time, as it allowed me to do one of my all-time favorite songs (a German one). You can find me on Liz's blog at:


http://joyfulcalamity.blogspot.com/2012/07/krod-going-international.html

And of course, the master list is here: http://karaokeringofdeath.wordpress.com/2012/07/25/july-master-list/

Happy listening! :-)

Karaoke Ring of Death: Summer Fun!

I'm looking out my window as I type this, and can't help but feel somewhat depressed by the dreary, foggy, cloudy, cool weather that hits Santa Barbara every year-- the dreaded "June Gloom". Come on, we just had graduation this past weekend, it's supposed to be SUMMER, for cryin' out loud!

Well, in anticipation of summer, this month's KROD theme was songs containing the word "summer". And yes, it was cool and dreary when I recorded my version, but I wasn't going to let that stop me! :-)

This month, I'm again hosting Kanriah of One Red Wall, as she sings "Springsteen" by Eric Church. I will have to thank her for introducing me to a country artist I hadn't really heard much of, and whose music I'll have to try to explore further.

To laugh at me decked out in summer gear despite gray skies while I belt out a summer classic, head on over to Dave's blog: http://littlearrowshurt.blogspot.com/2012/06/krod-summer-songs.html

And, as always, the master list can be found here: http://karaokeringofdeath.wordpress.com/2012/06/18/junes-master-list/

Karaoke Ring of Death: 80's, baby!

May flew by in a flash! Started off with my birthday on the 2nd, before I knew it, it was my son's birthday on the 20th, and time for another round of Karaoke Ring of Death!

The theme for May is 80's songs, which certainly didn't make it easy to narrow down a choice! There were so many I remembered from my junior high school days!

This month I'm hosting Heather of Musings of a Girl. Heather, I believe, is the one who first introduced me to KROD, indirectly, earlier this year. She left a comment on my friend Tabitha's blog about it, my curiosity was piqued, I got a link to the main KROD blog, and the rest, as they say, was history :-)

Today Heather treats us to "Lost In Your Eyes" by the iconically-80's Debbie Gibson... and a cappella on top of that! Awesome!

My own 80's choice was inspired by the recent "Prom-asaurus" episode of Glee. I'm nowhere near as good as Dianna Agron or Naya Rivera, but I had fun learning it and giving it a go. You can find my video on Jes's blog: http://jesgettingstarted.blogspot.com/2012/05/gleeking-out-to-80s.html

And, as always, the master list with everyone's songs can be found here: http://karaokeringofdeath.wordpress.com/2012/05/23/mays-master-list/

Happy listening, and enjoy your trip down memory lane! :-)

Karaoke Ring of Death: Duets!

This month's Karaoke Ring of Death theme was duets. I'm really excited to see what my fellow KROD-ers are going to come up with, since this is supposed to broaden the scope of who's singing (roping in a partner) or maybe employ some creative means to get around the lack of a partner.

Today I present to you Carolina of http://www.carolinathinks.com, traversing the high/low vocal extremes of "You Don't Know Me":

As for me-- I was all set to go solo (duo?) and sing a duet with myself, something I've actually done before, but fortunately, my karaoke buddy/partner in crime Nick came to the rescue so we could record one of our standards that we always perform at our local karaoke joints. You can catch us on Sandy's blog at: http://sandywessel.blogspot.com/2012/04/april-krod.html

The master list, with a link to everyone's blogs/videos, can be found at the main KROD blog: 
http://karaokeringofdeath.wordpress.com/2012/04/25/april-master-list/

Karaoke Ring of Death: Funny Songs

It's that time of month again! No, something more pleasant than THAT :-P I had such a blast breaking into the Karaoke Ring of Death last month that I decided to have fun with it again this month!

This month's theme was "funny songs", which can range the gamut from songs that personally tickle your funny bone to outright parodies!

And this month I am fortunate to feature the lovely Kanriah of One Red Wall, singing "Mood Rings" by Relient K. I will admit-- I had never heard (of) this song before, so I Google'd the lyrics so I could follow along as she sang. And OMG-- I laughed. Because that song really captures the puzzlement I often feel about women whose emotional roller coasters and lack of straightforward communication leave some very befuddled men in their wake. In most situations, I wind up sympathizing with the man when that happens, so hey-- I'm all for mandating a universal "mood ring" that can help decode what some of these women are thinking!

Oh and also-- doesn't her hair look great? She reminds me of my friend Amanda, a natural redhead whose lovely locks were just one of her many assets :-)

To hear my take on the "funny songs" theme, head on over to Dave's blog: http://littlearrowshurt.blogspot.com/2012/03/make-me-laugh.html

And to see the master list, check out the main KROD blog: http://karaokeringofdeath.wordpress.com/2012/03/20/march-master-list/

Karaoke Ring of Death: Legendary Singers

A few weeks ago I read a comment on my friend Tabitha's blog about something called the Karaoke Ring of Death, and my curiosity was piqued. Tabitha sent me the link to their main group blog, and I was further intrigued by the concept.

Basically, every month a group of bloggers records themselves doing a song based on that month's particular theme. For February, the theme was "legendary singers". After that, we all get assigned to host someone else's video on our blog, which leads my readers to that person's blog. That person, in turn, hosts yet another blogger, and so on. By the time you follow all the links through the karaoke postings, you will end up back where you started, hence a Karaoke Ring. Neat concept, isn't it?

It sounded like a lot of fun, and since I love doing karaoke both online and offline, I decided to hop on the bandwagon and dust the cobwebs off my trusty Blue Snowball mic.

And, without further ado, I present to you Dave from http://littlearrowshurt.blogspot.com/, doing Ray Charles, whom I agree, is quite the legendary singer!





To hear my song, head on over to Edwin's blog: http://myadultbrain.com/?p=186

And if you want to see the master list, check out the main KROD blog: http://karaokeringofdeath.wordpress.com/2012/02/19/februarys-legendary-master-list/

Enjoy! :-)