“Never Gonna Give You Up” by Rick Astley
Written by Kevin
Karaoke can be serious. If you have someone with powerful vocals, a modicum of training and perhaps they’re in the midst of a bad week, it can get heavy. Maybe someone is racked with pain and because of their stylings or lack thereof, your ears are racked with pain too. I, for one, try to keep things from getting too serious. This next song is not exactly vaudeville, but it should get an immediate chuckle from the audience upon recognition alone.
“Never Gonna Give You Up” is one of the cheesiest songs ever written, but what makes it great and has fueled its prominence as one of the first internet memes and digital pranks, is its genuine earnestness in declaring devotion. It’s a man finally taking a stand and breaking out of the friend zone. He (heeeeee) just wants to tell you how he’s feeling. He’s gotta make you understand.
The key to performing this song, besides being brazen enough to Rick-Roll the crowd, is to commit to the emotion of it. You have to actually sing it. No irony or self-mockery allowed. This is what moves the crowd, even if they’re chuckling too much to realize they’re being moved.
This is a key component of why awesomely bad songs have survived the 80’s and 90’s. Even though they were jam-packed with cheese, songs like these were ultimately sweet and endearing. “We Built This City,” “Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now,” or any song you can think of by Starship were songs that really meant what they said, even if the synthesized corniness oftentimes got in the way of the sentiment.
So, songs like “Never Gonna Give You Up” can end up providing a double whammy: a quick derisive chortle followed by genuine emotion. Remember, you have to sing the entire song. You’d be surprised how many people forget that once they’re on stage (I only know the hook!).
COME BACK TOMORROW to learn the meaning of the word Karaoke.
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