On Wednesday night, approximately 200 freshmen belted out classic karaoke standards in the cinema room of Warren Towers; there was a little Backstreet Boys, a little Britney, a little Disney. There was a lot of talking, a lot of pizza eaten, and a lot of brownies on top of the pizza. Overall, the event was a rousing success.
The faculty-in-residence from each tower put together the second-annual competition and served as judges as students got in touch with their inner rock star. I’m using the term “competition” lightly here; really everyone was there to sing their favorites with their friends, not win some t-shirts. The cinema room was softly lit with Christmas lights, something I was thankful for when I took the stage and promptly turned bright red as my roommate and I put our own spin on Hilary Duff’s “Come Clean.”
Two girls nailed “The Call,” the only song off of Backstreet Boys’ 2000 album Black and Blue that most of us (I speak for the ladies) recognize. The karaoke software, which was on a computer projected on a big screen, flashed lyrics over film accompaniment: usually young people looking longingly at each other in meadows, or touching each other’s cheeks tenderly.
Not many males took to the stage, but when they did there was a slightly disarming trend of choosing Michael Bublé songs. I don’t know if they were trying to be romantic or what, but it was awkward. Bublé didn’t match the pop-dominated vibe of the event and often slowed the momentum of the performances. But let me tell you, when one group of girls sang “Love Story” from Taylor Swift, the whole crowd sang along. Including the few guys present. It was disconcerting, to say the least.
There was one interesting song choice from a boy named Ted: David Bowie’s eclectic “Ziggy Stardust.” Other than that the choices were mostly modern or 90s throwbacks, but a few girls decided to tackle “Proud Mary” by Tina Turner, which was a classic everyone, including the judges, could get into. At the end of the night they took home the top prize.
Leaving with stomachs full of pizza, brownies, and those rare Coca-Cola products, as well as minds full of memories of awful singers, I’d say we were all winners at Warren Towers Karaoke Night.
