Reply To: Live Band Karaoke Question
So here’s my story, some of which I may have babbled at people after I sang “Still Alive.” In my head, I know the song. When I got onto the stage (momentarily baffled by how tall it was versus how short I am; thank you, kind gentleman, for lifting me onto the stage like a “hero”) and after Jonathan introduced the song, I leaned over and sang what I thought the first line should be like. He gently corrected me, I think I sang it back to him, still completely unsure, and then I thought I was ready to go.
In my head, the song is in a high register, mostly due to the post-production on it for the studio version and the one in the game. I also know that I generally have a tough time singing JoCo songs because I’m an alto/second soprano and he’s a tenor. But I thought I could do this one because it’s one of the few songs on the list that was originally sung by a female voice. (My other choices were “I’m Your Moon” [which I sang to my husband at our wedding reception] and “Code Monkey.”)
So after a breath or two, I “went for it” and what came out of my mouth was something an octave higher than normal. I didn’t want to take it back, so I just kept going along, trying to infuse it with life and energy and hoping that the gestures I was making were fun, etc.
Frankly, after following the live band karaoke version of “Mandlebrot Set” I wonder if I looked/sounded stupid in my higher than normal voice. Someone on Twit-arr said it sounded “pretty and powerful” and I want to find that person and hug the stuffing out of them for being so nice. Other people I talked to said they were surprised to hear me sing it like that compared to the all-alto Madonna song I’d done the night before; I’m glad I got a chance to show my range.
Anyway, tl;dr: Having a feminine voice and singing a JoCo song during live band karaoke is a unique challenge.