Looking for karaoke party ideas on the net, I came across this funky website called Evite.com, a top online destination for invitations with party-planning tools and content. The site works like a personal party planner by guiding party hosts through every step of the event planning process – from deciding on the party specifica and inviting guests to preparing the party to finalizing the menu and sending eCard thank-you notes after the event. It offers everything a host needs to throw a great event, from free online invitations to planning checklists to a budget estimator and drink calculator. The website makes planning easy, saving hosts time and money.

Their karaoke party event planning is uber cool. They have free invitations, you can choose from eleven pre-designed invitations available (and they’re real cute). Here’s a sample invitation:

They likewise offer decoration tips, reminders on etiquette, ideas for activities, and what to serve as food and drinks! (Will post the ideas shared on this site on the next entry.)

Now all you have to do is do some note-taking and put them into action for your very own karaoke party at home. Your Magic Sing Microphone is the most essential tool for your party’s success! Have fun planning!

I found this very amusing how-to from ehow. I enjoy ehow! They give easy-to-follow tips including the instructions, difficulty, and materials which are simple and fun. Since this is all about Karaoke singing, let me share what I’ve read.

Karaoke is where non singers can feel confident about getting in front of people to sing their hearts out. The following are suggestions on the best way to have the best time.

Difficulty:  Moderately Easy

Things You’ll Need:  Voice, energy, courage and a friend.

Instructions:
Step1. Be familiar with the song selection the karaoke joint has. Try to stay away from places that don’t update their song selection often, this means they may have faulty discs. Though, lately karaoke jockeys are switching to computerized methods. Also, stay away from crowded places because you’ll be waiting forever and only sing one song.
Step2. Also try to sing songs with in your vocal range. To find your range, sing the shower and try to hear yourself.
Step3. Find songs you tend to sing along with in the car or at a concert. This helps with putting on a show, people like to see you move around and interact with the audience.
Step4. When you have carefully looked to the selection and chosen your song go up to the karaoke jockey to submit you song and then sit and enjoy the singers before you. The your turn shows up and song along with the words on the screen in front of you and rock out!

Tips & Warnings
* Unless the karaoke jockey allows it, submit one song at a time. Some don’t mind getting multiple songs at once, they can form a rotation.
* Bribery with money can help to get better placement sometimes.
* Once you feel comfortable with familiar songs, then jump out of your comfort zone. Many regular singers love seeing people trying new songs.
* Don’t continue to bug the karaoke jockey about when you’re up, they may put you later on their rotation.

Are you ready for some karaoke joint-ing? Hope this helps!

First of all, happy hearts day! Since it is Valentines, I did some research about this much-celebrated event.

Here’s what Wikipedia says:

Valentine’s Day or Saint Valentine’s Day is a holiday celebrated on February 14 by many people throughout the world. In the West, it is the traditional day on which lovers express their love for each other by sending Valentine’s cards, presenting flowers, or offering confectionery. The day was originally a pagan festival that was renamed after two Early Christian martyrs named Valentine. The day became associated with romantic love in the circle of Geoffrey Chaucer in the High Middle Ages, when the tradition of courtly love flourished.

The day is most closely associated with the mutual exchange of love notes in the form of “valentines.” Modern Valentine symbols include the heart-shaped outline, doves, and the figure of the winged Cupid. Since the 19th century, handwritten notes have largely given way to mass-produced greeting cards. The sending of Valentines was a fashion in nineteenth-century Great Britain, and, in 1847, Esther Howland developed a successful business in her Worcester, Massachusetts home with hand-made Valentine cards based on British models. The popularity of Valentine cards in 19th-century America was a harbinger of the future commercialization of holidays in the United States.

The U.S. Greeting Card Association estimates that approximately one billion valentines are sent each year worldwide, making the day the second largest card-sending holiday of the year, behind Christmas. The association estimates that, in the US, men spend in average twice as much money as women. (hmmm, really now?)

And what do we karaoke lovers do? Sing love songs of course! I wasn’t able to find many songs with Valentines in the title, so here’s a list instead of songs with LOVE in the title (which actually came from an ultimate love song mash-up). I tell you, you will be needing this list tonight!

Outkast – The Love Below
Tupac – California Love
Beyonce – Crazy in Love
The Game – Hate It or Love It
Maroon 5 – This Love
Talib Kweli – Never Been In Love
Wilco – I’m the Man Who Loves You
Crookers – Love to Edit
Keyshia Cole – Love
Air – Highschool Lover
Stevie Wonder – I Was Made to Love Her
MSTRKRFT – Easy Love
Huey Lewis and the News – Power of Love
The Emotions – Best of My Love
Alicia Keys – Teenage Love Affair
Brian Holland – Standing in the Shadows of Love
Death Cab for Cutie – Someday You Will Be Loved
Bon Iver – Skinny Love
Jay-Z – Heart of the City (Ain’t No Love)
Marvin Gaye – God Is Love
Masqueraders – Can’t Nobody Love Me Like You Do
Bloc Party – This Modern Love
The Delfonics – La La Means I Love You
Kanye West – Love Lockdown
Herold Melvin – The Love I lost
Daft Punk – Digital Love
Justin Timberlake – Like I Love You
John Legend – Used to Love U
Bright Eyes – Lover I Don’t Have to Love
Jose Gonzalez – Killing for Love
LCD Soundsystem – New York I Love You
Whitney Houston – I Will Always Love You
Arcade Fire – Crown of Love

This February, Webbyshop offers its latest products:

Enter Tech Magic Sing ET-9000 Hindi

The latest Hindi microphone in Enter Tech’s popular range of magic microphones has finally arrived. The ET9K Hindi is a multiplex microphone with improved sound quality. It comes with 2,088 Hindi songs (Hindi 700 + Tamil 100 + Malayam 100 + Telgu 18 + Bengali 100 + Punjabi 70 + EMI 1000 English) that you can enjoy all year long. You can store your favorite songs using the My Mic feature and play games with the Name That Tune game.

The ET9K comes with a 1 year U.S. manufacturer warranty.

Enter Tech Magic Sing ET-9000 Spanish

Magic Sing ET-9000 Spanish (ET9K) Multiplex Karaoke Microphone 2009 Edition comes with 1,573 Spanish songs that you can enjoy all year long. The ET9K comes with a 1 year U.S. manufacturer warranty.

Enter Tech Magic Sing ET-18000 Hindi

Magic Sing ET-18000 Hindi (ET18K) Multiplex Karaoke Microphone 2009 Edition includes great new features such as 2,088 Hindi songs (Hindi 700 + Tamil 100 + Malayam 100 + Telgu 18 + Bengali 100 + Punjabi 70 + EMI 1000 English) songs await the magic sing fanatics. Gather your favorite crowd and start turning your living room into a real concert hall like you’ve never done before.

And some of its song chip specials:

Enter Tech Magic Sing Indian Song Chip

Magic Sing Indian song chip with 200 popular Indian songs. Visit the Magic Sing Indian Song List page to view the songs.

Enter Tech Magic Sing French 1 Song Chip

Magic Sing French 1 song chip with 150 popular French songs. Visit the Magic Sing French 1 song list page to view the songs.

Enter Tech Magic Sing Pop 800 Song Chip

Magic Sing Pop 800 song chip with 800 popular English songs. Visit the Magic Sing Pop 800 song list page to view the songs. Older microphone models have these 800 songs built-in.

Visit Webbyshop now and see for yourself.

I’m always fascinated with World music, since it features the different sounds of all corners of the globe. It’s the various musical instruments used in the songs that I find very entertaining. There’s a distinct sound for each group; play them side by side and it’s all musical bliss.

I love the brass instruments of North America Western Europe, even the synthesizers which is very much employed in the mainstream music as well. No strings, tubes or hammers, just electric current. Total ear candy! I also enjoy listening to mariachi of Mexico, with their non-electric guitars and accordions, you know, those keyboard instruments that you squeeze to make sounds. Even the panpipes and marimbas of Ecuador sounds good, their historical Inca musicians played them. Moving towards  the Asian region, the Chinese plays a lot of bells, drums, gongs, flutes and stringed instruments call the quin and pipa. Same as the Chinese, the Japanese plays a lot of bells, drums, gongs and flutes too, including their own kinds of ancient stringed instruments. But my most favorite of all is the gamelan orchestra of Indonesia, where they play main instruments by striking them. In college I used to sit at the university garden and enjoy the music every time the Gamelan Ensemble play and practice their sets outdoors. Beautiful!

But well, there could not be an instrument more amazing than our own voice, which is the universal musical instrument and available in all places in the world.  The human voice, so flexible, is the only instrument that can give goosebumps. Just by watching really great singers sing on stage, or even on TV makes my hair stand up! I absolutely don’t have a gift like theirs, but oh well, it doesn’t hurt to sing once in a while especially with the karaoke mic and loud speakers turned on. Besides, karaoke microphones, like our very own Magic Sing, were not invented for those with great voices only. It was invented for everybody who loves singing!

So just let the music reach your ears, and always enjoy!

Here are the newest song chips available for your much-loved Magic Sing.

Enter Tech Magic Sing Korean 9 Song Chip

Magic Sing Korean 9 song chip with 300 songs. Visit the Magic Sing Korean 9 song list page to view the songs. Only compatible with the ET series of microphones.

Enter Tech Magic Sing Korean 8 Song Chip

Magic Sing Korean 8 song chip with 300 songs. Visit the Magic Sing Korean 8 song list page to view the songs. Only compatible with the ET series of microphones.

Enter Tech Magic Sing Korean 7 Song Chip

Magic Sing Korean 7 song chip with 300 songs. Visit the Magic Sing Korean 7 song list page to view the songs. Only compatible with the ET series of microphones.

Enter Tech Magic Sing Korean Trot Song Chip

Magic Sing Korean Trot song chip with 300 songs. Visit the Magic Sing Korean Trot song list page to view the songs. Only compatible with the ET series of microphones.

Enter Tech Magic Sing Tagalog 9 Song Chip

Magic Sing Tagalog 9 song chip with 300 popular Tagalog and English songs. Visit the Magic Sing Tagalog 9 Song List page to view the songs. It includes popular artists like Amy Winehouse, Britney Spears, Chris Daughtry, Coldplay, Fall Out Boy, Gwen Stefani, Justin Timberlake, Maroon 5, Michael Buble, My Chemical Romance, Plain White T’s, Pussycat Dolls, Rihanna, Switchfoot and many more. It also includes popular Filipino artists like River Maya, Eraserheads, Gary Valenciano, Jaya, Journey, Piolo Pascual, Rachel Alejandro, Regine Velasquez, Sarah Balabagan, Sarah Geronimo, and more.

A site especially created for the celebration of New Year listed some popular new year songs which are very familiar to us, like Auld Lang Syne, or the Barry Manilow classic.

Auld Lang Syne is like the national anthem of New Year. The song is sung at the strike of midnight on 31st of December in almost every English speaking country round the world. Auld Lang Syne is said to have been at least partially written by Robert Burns in the 1700′s.  It was first published in 1796 after Burns’ death. It is believed that the early variations of the song were sung prior to 1700 and inspired Burns to produce the modern rendition. An old Scotch tune, “Auld Lang Syne” literally means ‘old long ago’, or ‘time remembered with fondness’ or simply, ‘the good old days.’

The Song
Should auld acquaintance be forgot
and never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot
and days of Auld Lang Syne.

For Auld Lang Syne, my dear,
for Auld Lang Syne,
we’ll take a cup of kindness yet
for Auld Lang Syne.

Here’s more New Year songs:

What Are You Doing New Year’s Eve
(A classic song written by Frank Loesser and sung by Ella Fitzgerald in 1960.)
When the bells all ring and the horns all blow
And the couples we know are fondly kissing.
Will I be with you or will I be among the missing?

Maybe it’s much too early in the game
Ooh, but I thought I’d ask you just the same
What are you doing New Year’s
New Year’s eve?

Wonder whose arms will hold you good and tight
When it’s exactly twelve o’clock that night
Welcoming in the New Year
New Year’s eve

Maybe I’m crazy to suppose
I’d ever be the one you chose
Out of a thousand invitations
You received

Ooh, but in case I stand one little chance
Here comes the jackpot question in advance:
What are you doing New Year’s
New Year’s Eve?

It’s Just Another New Year’s Eve
(This song was written by Marty Panzer and performed by Barry Manilow)
Don’t look so sad,
It’s not so bad you know.
It’s just another night,
That’s all it is.
It’s not the first,
It’s not the worst you know,
We’ve come through all the rest,
We’ll get through this.
We’ve made mistakes,
But we’ve made good friends too.
Remember all the nights we spent with them?
And all our plans,
Who says they can’t come true?
Tonight’s another chance to start again.
It’s just another New Year’s Eve,
Another night like all the rest.
It’s just another New Year’s Eve,
Let’s make it the best.
It’s just another New Year’s Eve,
It’s just another Auld Lang Syne,
But when we’re through this New Year
You’ll see, will be
Just fine.
We’re not alone, we’ve got the world you know.
And it won’t let us down, just wait and see.
And we’ll grow old, but think how wise we’ll grow.
There’s more you know, it’s only New Year’s Eve.
It’s just another New Year’s Eve,
Another night like all the rest.
It’s just another New Year’s Eve,
Let’s make it the best.
It’s just another New Year’s Eve,
It’s just another Auld Lang Syne,
But when we’re through this New Year, you’ll see, will be
Just fine.

It’s always fun to sing sing sing during holiday celebrations, isn’t it? Good thing your Magic Sing is always handy and ready!

If songs reflect our personality, then we better get the happiest songs of all time! Because happiness is really in the mind, right? Let go of all your emotional burdens and what have you’s that prevent you from being genuinely happy.

Why not grab those magic microphones and get a dose of get-happy songs? In a party or alone, it would be really nice to just let it all out and feel what life is all about. After all, getting giddy and stretching those facial muscles while you smile won’t do you harm–it might even help you get rid of those (forming) wrinkles.

In an informal poll in Pop Culture Madness, website visitors listed the 100 most favorite get-happy songs and listed those included in my personal list too!

Here’s the top 12:

And guess what? Most of these songs are available in various song chips for your magic mic! Of course there are a hundred more get-happy songs NOT in this list. Why not create your own through magic mic? Start singing your heart out! I just did while writing this entry and it really made me feel a whole lot better.

Ditch those financial economic crunch worries or forget that heartbreak with a song. Whatever genre or era, get-happy songs will make you feel like this: = D

Remember Disney’s first installment of High School Musical in 2006? One of the beginning scenes was a party, with two teens shoved on stage to do a duet. It was the first time they met and that singing act began the whole High School Musical saga. The teens happened to be the now ultra-famous characters Troy Bolton and Gabriella Montes. And you have to take notice of that thing that introduced the two—karaoke of course!

Recently, I saw an interview with some of the cast for High School Musical 3, and I heard Zac Ephron say that his dad has friends in the Philippines, and it’s so popular for karaoke. His dad comes back and forth for vacations, and those vacations always include karaoke fun. Yes, karaoke is one supreme form of entertainment. It is so popular that you can see the whole karaoke vogue here and there in different movies and on tv.

I saw a list in Wikipedia of karaoke depicted in a variety of movies and television shows. You might probably know some in the list.

·    Films:
o    1989 film Black Rain
o    1996 comedy The Cable Guy
o    1997 romantic comedy My Best Friend’s Wedding
o    1997 Korean gangster comedy No. 3
o    Karaoke is central to the 2000 movie Duets, which features a father and daughter competing in karaoke  contests
o    In the 2001 film Jackpot, an aspiring singer tours karaoke bars hoping to catch his big break as a country star
o    2001 film Rush Hour 2 includes a karaoke performance by Chris Tucker, where he upstages a tone-deaf local in Hong Kong by singing Michael Jackson’s “Don’t Stop ‘Til You Get Enough”
o    2003 film Lost in Translation
o    Karaoke is the central theme of The Karaoke King, a 2006 independent film

·    Television shows:
o    American television show Desperate Housewives
o    Several episodes of American television series Angel feature the demonic karaoke bar Caritas, whose proprietor Lorne (Andy Hallett) can tell fortunes based on the songs he hears. Some of the episodes include “That Old Gang of Mine” (episode 3 of season 3) and “Offspring” (episode 7 of season 3).
o    Bones, a forensics and police procedural in which each episode focuses on an FBI case file concerning the mystery behind human remains brought by FBI Special Agent Seeley Booth to the forensic anthropology team of Dr. Temperance “Bones” Brennan. Karaoke was part of the cast in one of its episode, “Wannabe in the Weeds.”
o    Two Pints of Lager & A packet of Crisps featured Donna singing “Chick Chick Chicken”, which was made for the BBC by Zoom Entertainments, a karaoke producer based in Hull, UK.

You yourself might be thinking now of more episodes in tv series or scenes in movies with karaoke in it. Karaoke is just so widespread!

Do you feel you’re most of the time out of tune? Or that you are more like a better performer than to be a real singer? Don’t fret. Here are some of the singing tips experts around the world have agreed on:

> Know your capacity. Don’t choose a song not fit for your pitch. But if you think singing a song that’s out of your range can give you that plus-factor, go ahead. Singing is about having fun anyway. Just make sure you’re not abusing those vocal chords and that the eardrums of those within the area won’t get destroyed

> Learn how to properly breath while singing. This seems to be a hard task but most voice teachers say that if you’re having a hard time breathing while singing, probably you’re not doing it right. Make sure there’s proper air flow.

> Feel the mood and the music. More often than not, a singer isn’t an artist is he or she failed to communicate the message of the song. It’s one of the basics: don’t smile when you’re singing about a heartbreak. Who’s happy with that? Make eye contact or if you’re singing for your own pleasure then be at ease! Let loose all the emotions you’ve long wanted to get over with.

> Relax those facial muscles. Stiff muscles may prevent proper blood and air circulation. This will help your breathing while singing. The result? Better singing performance!

There are many others and will dwell on the tips more in the next blog posts.

However, if you tried all these already and still feel you still have not gotten the songs right, then maybe you need to get a better singing equipment. Because sometimes, the microphone has the magic too.

Adjustable echos and pitch level, which is available in the Magic Mic, will help you determine your singing capacity.

Thank heavens the magic mic also have the Singing tutor function which will show the Green color if you are too fast or too slow. Blue color if your pitch is too low. Red if your pitch is too high. Black if you are in perfect sync. How cool is that? An instant vocal coach!

There is also a Built-in memory for 8 minutes recordings & playback which can help you assess your performance. Listen to your voice or get friends to comment on it. And if the verdict is “more practice” you don’t have to worry–there are hundreds of built-in songs in the mic you can practice on.

It is not bad too to practice in front of the mirror so you can see if your facial expressions match that of what the song means. With the magic mic’s 35 feet wireless distance (open site), a remote control and a dual microphone base, you need no bring a mirror near your television set.

Amazing? You have not heard the rest of the deal yet. Keep returning to this blog for more tips and whatnots.