I have never been a big fan of karaoke bars. I don’t have the sort of voice that is going to earn me a record deal any time soon, and I have always felt it safest to stand on the sidelines with the other chorus girls and let the Beyonces of the world do what they do best.
That is, until I discovered private room karaoke. It’s exactly what it sounds like, and it’s awesome – a room away from the main noise of the bar where no one can hear you try to hit the notes on that final key change except the friends who came with you.
After my most recent private karaoke outing, I started to consider how similar my approach to karaoke is to my position at Don’t Panic. I know that sounds odd, but follow me here.
I enjoy private room karaoke because of how rare it is for someone to sing alone. Friends select songs they all know or associate with shared memories, and everyone in the room ends up belting out the choruses together at the top of their lungs. Rather than one singer showing up and showing off for a group of strangers, it’s about the collective whole – and it’s a judgment-free zone.
If you’ve ever been in a room of a bunch of 20-somethings yell-singing their way through “Wannabe” by the Spice Girls, you know what I mean. If you haven’t, it’s just as hilarious/horrifying as you might imagine.
At Don’t Panic, it’s my job to connect the client with a team member whose skills best meet their needs, and ultimately, to see that everyone is happy with the match-up and finds the work rewarding. I’m there to cheer everyone on and occasionally jump in myself, but I’m happiest when I’ve put together an environment where everyone can succeed. I don’t need to show up to show off. I’m content picking a song we all love so we can sing it together at the top of our lungs.
That’s what brings us to March’s playlist, Sing It Loud. It’s a compilation of some of the songs we like to sing time and time again when the mic hits our hand. If you know the words, go ahead and join the chorus.
photo credit: Karaoke Star! (license)
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