How to host a karaoke party: The ultimate 8-point checklist that guarantees your success!
Karaoke is known as a party hit that takes both novice and more advanced singers as they go. Whether it’s a home party, a party held in a separate party room, or even a picnic in a park, karaoke is a guaranteed activity to keep your guests enjoy their time from start to finish (and sometimes even more). Below we’ve put together some tips how to host and organize a successful karaoke party to make your job as a host easier. Hey, you might even win the Host of the Year title with this, who knows!
"People who have secretly dreamed about singing karaoke at a bar but have never dared to are usually keenest singers at private karaoke party."
1. Turn your laptop into a "karaoke machine"
Karaoke machine? Excuse me? Heavy and impractical karaoke machines were used in the 90s but in the 2020s you can run karaoke like a pro from your own laptop with the help of Singa.
A quick introduction: Singa is the most modern karaoke software in the market. It is fully digital and has cool yet practical features to ensure the smoothest singing experience. For example, with the song queue and pop-out karaoke player, everyone can easily add songs to the playlist by themselves and browse the song catalogue (with over 80 000 karaoke songs) without interrupting the singing that is happening. Keep exploring the Singa app and you will be impressed by the 2020s karaoke experience.
As said, you can run the whole karaoke night from your laptop. But if you want to up your karaoke party a notch, you can stream the karaoke lyrics and backgrounds to your TV for a wider screen (or download our Singa app for smart TV), add in some home stereos and maybe a microphone, or two.
2. Convene the best karaoke gang
You can't have karaoke without karaoke singers. So invite your friends, and remember to mix in those who like to sing and the so-called "closet singers". It is that latter group that is promising because those who have secretly dreamed about singing karaoke at a bar but have never dared to are usually keenest singers at private karaoke parties.
3. Choose a theme for your party (optional)
While it is not a must, having a theme for your karaoke party could be a lot of fun! Your guests will not only have a chance to dressing up and express their creativity but also can prepare their karaoke songs and practice, should they want, beforehand. You can find inspiration for themes from music styles (e.g. 80's rock theme), movies (e.g. Disney theme) or public holidays (e.g. Halloween theme). Only the sky is the limit when designing themes, so be creative and have fun!
4. Be prepared to open the karaoke party
When there are singing people in the building, there is usually little need to crank up a karaoke party – the song queue fills up with enthusiastic singers within seconds. However, if you feel the need to break the ice, be the first to open the game. Also, a tip is that even if you’re a superb good singer, don’t show your skills off too much at this point. Instead, strive to create a relaxed atmosphere so that your guests feel comfortable and dare to throw themselves into singing and celebrating. Encourage also all singers equally. If you or some of your guests needs inspiration for a song to get you started, feel free to check out this "Easy Karaoke Songs for Beginners" blog post as well as the singlists of carefully curated songs in the Singa app.
5. Spice up the party with special program numbers
When the party is on the fly, all you have to do is let it flow as long as there is enough voice and enthusiasm. However, if you want to try something new, you can spice up your karaoke night with different special program numbers. A well-found program number is having a group song known to everyone which is then sung by everyone in turns phrase by phrase.
With Singa's new song queue feature mentioned above you can easily add a group song to every fifth song (our suggestion) to perfectly brings the group and the focus together.
Another good and simple spice for the party is to promise some sort of award for the performer of the most unique karaoke performance of the evening. In this way you'll get a spirit of a playful competition, which usually encourages people to give their best. Nonetheless, it is worth emphasizing that the challenge is specifically looking for a unique and original performance, and not necessarily the best singing performance.
Karaoke sweeps away very holistically and it's trick is that people get to perform for each other.
6. Keep your food and drink coming
Good parties naturally come with good food. Offer your guests a little salty and sweet snack so that the singing energies stay on and the party doesn’t peg out at any point. Trendy and easy finger foods is perfect for a karaoke night but you can also refuel your guests with chips, popcorn, candies or fruits.
It's also worth of investing in the drinking side, but alcohol doesn't necessarily have to play a major role.
It's also worth investing in the drinking side. Alcohol doesn't necessarily have to play a major role though. There are non-alcoholic versions of many party drinks nowadays, which raise the mood to the ceiling just as well. However, carbonated drinks or, for example, beer make you burp, which is very embarrassing when singing. So, it's good to avoid sipping those drinks just before singing or between verses.
7. Don’t stress about a sideshow
You can try to organize a sideshow to your karaoke party, but from experience we can tell you that it will probably not be very popular. Karaoke sweeps away very holistically and its trick is that people get to perform for each other. What could be more entertaining, especially when there is a good gang together.
Karaoke is hours of great fun by itself!
8. Choose the appropriate after-party venue if you don't want to end the fun
In our experience, karaoke parties are the most fun but also the hardest to end. If you are organizing a party in a villa, in a separately rented party room or in a summer cottage, then nothing is better than partying full-on until the morning. If you are partying in an apartment building, however, it is considerate to move the party to a Singa karaoke bar at some point of the evening to maintain the neighborhood's harmony. If the after-party is held in Helsinki, you can find tips for choosing a suitable venue from our "Top things to do in Helsinki: Karaoke edition" blog post. If the after-party is in a restaurant, you can then belt out the song you tested at the home party with the familiar Singa karaoke background and shine like a star.
That's all! And here is the checklist once more for your convenience:
- Turn your laptop into a powerful "karaoke machine" with Singa
- Convene the best karaoke gang: known performers, closet-singers, good friends
- Choose a theme for your party (optional): be creative
- Be prepared to open the party, aka. be the first to sing
- Spice up the party with special program numbers
- Keep your guests' energy level up with food and drink
- Don’t stress about a sideshow in a karaoke party
- Choose a appropriate after-party venue to take the party into the night
You can find more inspiration on Singa's Instagram and Facebook, as well as other blog posts. Also, be sure to tag us in your social media postings so we can enjoy your party too! Have a fun karaoke partying!