It’s early evening on a Saturday night in the Underground, and approximately 30 people are lounging around, jamming to performers belting out renditions of their favorite songs. This is the First Year Advisory Board-sponsored Karaoke Night.
Music genres during the evening ranged from classic rock (“The Wind Cries Mary” by Jimi Hendrix), to modern R&B, to alternative songs (The Red Hot Chili Peppers’ “Give It Away Now”) and rap hits like Sir Mix-a-lot’s “Baby Got Back.” Hits such as Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” and the B52’s “Love Shack” rounded out Karaoke Night’s score, giving the audience a fresh song every time.
Cesar Weston’s performance of Usher’s “Nice and Slow” had a good part of the audience singing back-up, and first-year Chris Wells later had Guilford students clapping by performing “Chop Suey” by System of a Down more melodically than the band ever has.
Participants didn’t just sing for the sake of performing; the event was judged by students, including Fedelma McKenna and Tara Alan.
“The prizes were really cool, if I do say so myself,” Alan said. “There was the pooper chicken, the hamster key chain that sang ‘I’m Too Sexy,’ and then there was the ‘wash away your sins’ lip balm in ‘cheap red wine flavor.”
Tanyaradzwa Madenyika won the prize for best overall performer, and Ian Breckheimer and Anne Belott took the cutest couple distinction. “Cesar [Weston] won for sexiest by default when Asa Fager failed to show,” said Wells, who hosted the event.
Wells, who spent the evening dressed in a teal sport jacket, fuchsia dress shirt, and black pants, has been pursuing karaoke as a hobby for years in New York City before coming to Guilford. “I’ve been passionate about karaoke since I was five or six,” Wells said.
Alan attributed all the credit for Karaoke Night’s success to Wells. “This project was his baby. Pretty much all of us in FYAB have projects that we’ve been just dying to do, and karaoke night was all Chris’,” Alan said. “He was really into it, even pretending to be a famous karaoke DJ from New York who he called CJ Monroe.”
“The Advisory Board provided additional equipment, set up [the Underground], and helped with publicity and food,” said Wells regarding the event. Wells hosted similar karaoke concerts in Milner lobby last semester, and he plans to try to get karaoke introduced in Chaos next semester as an icebreaker for new first-years.