Karaoke Legend

When I first sat down to write about myself, absolutely nothing came to mind. Like when someone asks you to share an interesting fact about yourself and suddenly you can’t remember whether or not you’re even a person. But even if I am real, am I truly ✨remarkable✨?

Over the years, I have tried to stay true to myself (even if I didn’t know what that was) and figure out what it means to be authentically me. I’ve molded and shaped myself to fit into certain groups and environments because I didn’t want to feel left out or worst of all: weird.

Lately, I’ve tried “owning my weird” because who’s to say my weird isn’t also someone else’s weird? I’ve had to dig deeper into what made me happy and excited as a child. It’s actually funny because there happen to be aspects that I knew were there the entire time but I was too afraid to show them to the world in fear of people shutting me down. Who knew that these traits that I thought I had to hide would make me remarkable?

I’ve done a great job of keeping myself down, I know that. What makes my heart happy is singing and it’s something I’ve been embarrassed about because when I did put myself out there, I was always rejected in some way; it never felt safe. I buried it down in hopes that it would reappear again one day but as I got older, I just kept convincing myself that it’s too late now. Consider this the longest intro ever…

Anyway, this is an overly dramatic story about how being stupid at karaoke made me feel alive..? I’m the type of person that simultaneously wants all the attention but also can’t stand the idea of people staring and judging me. Karaoke is a weird thing too because everyone loves it while also making fun of it. If you’re too serious about it, it’s embarrassing. If you suck, get off the stage! Thankfully, there is alcohol there and you soon will not give a single fuck.

It was a fun night out with my friend and we were blowing off a little steam since work had been absolutely bonkers. We somehow met a new friend so the occasion obviously called for some shots. We were feeling good and knew that we were going to be the best ones up there. It did not take long for the alcohol to convince us of this. We signed up and what felt like an eternity later, we were up.

Of course, we picked the best song for karaoke that anyone possibly could: “Thnks Fr Th Mmrs” by Fall Out Boy. Okay, not the best song but fuck it. It was… okay. Luckily, this isn’t the end of the story.

I signed up a little later to do a solo but it had to be the perfect solo. It takes guts to get up and do a song with your friends but even more to do a solo. But what would that perfect song be? Tenacious D’s “Tribute”? “Mr. Brightside” by The Killers?? No… it had to be even more epic.

I wrote my song selection on a strip of paper and slid it over to the DJ. He looked at me as if he approved of my choice. Minutes passed, maybe even an hour but sure enough, my time came. With a mic in my hand, the music started. The crowd immediately knew the song. They screamed. They jumped. What song could evoke such a reaction, you ask? Why none other than “Chop Suey” by System of a Down. I knew I had this in the bag, as I had grown up memorizing the words on the bus ride to and from school. You could say I had some good friends back in the day. My life changed the day my friends introduced me to this song, and I knew why: to bring these randos in the bar one night of true greatness. They sang along and applauded me. I don’t want to brag* but I had fans that night.

I had forgotten how powerful it felt to put on a performance like that and know that I absolutely nailed it. Honestly, I think I had been chasing that high ever since my friends and I performed “As Long As You Love Me” by the Backstreet Boys in high school (non-sexy sexy chair dance included).

So let it be known, if ever I refuse karaoke, it does not mean that I can’t. But for real, legends only. I am also very aware that this does not necessarily make me remarkable but I certainly felt remarkable that fateful night.

*I actually do want to brag.