“Kiss On My List” by Hall & Oates
Written by Kevin
The first time I sang any karaoke at all was back in high school at Durham, North Carolina. I was in concert band and we had just finished performing at a Night of the Arts downtown or some sort of celebration like that. One of the hostesses brought out a karaoke machine and everyone was too nervous to go up and sing, myself included.
And then, she cued up Frank Sinatra’s “Theme from New York, New York.” For reasons I won’t go into here, I was obsessed at the time with both New York City and Frank Sinatra. I simply could not resist; I was like Roger Rabbit desperate to cry out “two bits!” Before I knew it, I was engaged in an impromptu duet with the hostess, who happened to be a trained jazz singer. It was transcendent.
And sure, everybody else in the band (even our band director!) got into the swing of it. But someone had to break the ice. Someone had to make it okay to get up there and sing your guts out. Much is said of how vulnerable actors are on stage, exposing the most intimate details and facets of their personality in front of an audience. I’d argue singing doubles that vulnerability, and being amateur, nervous or flat-out afraid can increase it exponentially.
So, it’s important to create and maintain a safe space. Not every karaoke bar does this and not every crowd supports this, so performing early or straight-up first is crucial in this regard. The almighty song choice can win the night or wreck your evening, especially if you’re going up early. It’s up to you to do this!
To be frank, I love the thrill of karaoke. I love watching someone go up for the first time, and I love watching a seasoned veteran knock it out of the park. I used to be a goofball, making comic performances out of my singing until I saw a young man belt out Etta James’ “At Last” like he was at the Apollo Theater. It was incredible and since then, if I can give a serious and powerful performance should the evening call for it, I sing my guts out. But I vacillate between the two; karaoke can suit any mood, any genre, any person.
The sense of community in a karaoke scene is real and tangible. It doesn’t matter if it’s in a private room, a dimly-lit dive bar, or at a house party. Singing connects people in a profound way. We see this in vocal bands, doo-wop groups, acapella clubs, choirs at school and places of worship. But putting randos together at night evokes something else that is just as powerful, a sense of brotherhood and sisterhood that unites us all with the love of music. People we never knew and just met that evening can forge a connection, ephemeral as it may be.
Going back to that primary song choice, you want something that won’t just break the ice, but shatter and liquify it until it’s steam vapor. You want to pick a song that’ll make people pop out of their shell, shake off their stupor and brim with impatience to get that microphone in their hands. And for that, nothing – NOTHING – is better than Hall and Oates’ “Kiss On My List.”
Everyone knows this song, so use it to your advantage. It’s instant nostalgia, a mental time machine that places the listener immediately back to where and when they were the first time it entered their soul. I honestly believe there is no such thing as a song everybody loves, but there are songs that nobody hates. “Kiss On My List” is one of those songs.
The key here is to pass off the mic and get others to sing the chorus for you. Break it up into pieces and make it a game; see how far you can go across the room. This shouldn’t be a problem, everyone loves this damn song. It even has room for an air guitar solo, and you’ll get bonus points for handing that off to someone else as well. Although, you have to bring it home, starting with the high note directly after the guitar solo (you can do it!) and the impassioned outro of the chorus.
Everyone wins, everything is glorious and by the time you’re done, the crowd should be chomping at the bit to perform some karaoke.
[5sonpjct note: John Oates will be playing at the Troubadour in Los Angeles on February 10th]
NEXT UP a song that is much more than a meme. Kevin talks about “Never Gonna Give You Up”