How to Throw a Karaoke Party
- By Heather Russell - A Writer from Helium.com

Karaoke has long been a staple of the weeknight bar scene. In recent years, its popularity has expanded to a point where it's not uncommon to rent an entire room for a karaoke party. Some venues host “live” karaoke nights where pa- trons can get up in front of a live band to live out their rock and roll fantasies. It seemed like only a matter of time before people wanted to bring the fun of karaoke into their living rooms. While this may seem intimidating, it often doesn't take much time or money to put together a fun, lively karaoke party in your own home.

Karaoke machines are readily available in a range of prices. By hooking up to your television, they give the most realis- tic karaoke experience as your voice is channeled through your stereo speakers. If you don't want to commit to pur- chasing a karaoke machine, you still have options. You can use karaoke DVD’s without the microphone option; while this system lacks the voice amplification of a real karaoke machine, this could be a good thing! Many "on-demand" cable companies provide karaoke television stations where you use your remote to select songs and the words appear on the screen as the music plays.

If you're using CD’s or DVD's and are a committed karaoke party-thrower, you will probably want to have books of the songs listed alphabetically both by song and by title so guests can easily find their favorite songs. If this is too much work for you, simply make sure the CD's are avail- able for easy perusal.

Make sure you have a clearly defined “stage” area in front of the television. Move the coffee table to the side (you can use it to set up the CD's), and set up chairs for the audience. Make sure to keep the atmosphere relaxed; two straight rows of folding chairs staring right at the singer will be intimidating for performers!

Once you've figured out how to organize the karaoke part of the party, you'll still need to figure out snacks, drinks, and activities to keep your guests fueled and the party moving. While I'm not suggesting that alcohol is necessary for a good time, it can't be argued that a few drinks will loosen inhibitions, and a karaoke party is no fun if guests are self-conscious! Pick a signature drink to serve like a “karaoke kamikaze” or “musical margarita”. An option in keeping with the interactive feel of karaoke is to provide a bar stocked with some basic alcohols and fun mixers and encourage guests to create their own music themed cock- tails. Who knows the “Monkees Martini” may become your new favorite drink!

Unless you don't mind a sticky microphone and smudged CD's, avoid finger foods as snacks. Serve foods that can be eaten with utensils like pasta salads or Chinese dumplings, or stick toothpicks into otherwise finger foods like pigs in a blanket or mini quiches. Avoid baskets of chips and bowls of candy at all costs! Make sure there are plenty of napkins and paper towels on hand; you might even want to consider leaving a box of pre-moistened hand wipes by the box of CD's.

Once guests are fed and loosened up, you may want to set up some games to get the party rolling. Put all of the guests' names in a hat, and have everyone choose a partner for duets. Let them choose from fun songs like Sonny & Cher's “I Got You Babe,” “I've Had the Time of My Life” from Dirty Dancing, “Summer Nights” from Grease, or my per- sonal favorite, Meatloaf's “Paradise by the Dashboard Light”.

You can also play “Karaoke Truth or Dare” where guests “dare” other guests to sing potentially embarrassing songs. You can alter the rules of the game to suit your particular group of friends by adding a “truth” component to the game, or by asking several guests to suggest songs and letting the singer pick from them.

Once everyone is warmed up, let the party continue natural- ly; the quickest way to kill a fun vibe is by being a control- ling host. Encourage wallflowers to participate, and try to discourage microphone hogging; other than that, sit back, relax, and enjoy the show!