Hamilton’s karaoke queen and king
As the slogan commands, just du-et. And they just did et, I mean, it.
Christine Costa and Dustin Jodway conquered Calgary in the couples category.
Next stop, Helsinki. In December. When there are only about five hours of sunlight a day, according to Google — Dustin does a search as we talk.
No mind. Christine, Dustin, Sharon Quinn and the rest of the national karaoke team, being Canadian, are used to darkness in the afternoons. And anyway, they’ll bring their own kind of shine, powered by song and the thrill of the chase. Because in Helsinki (forgive an obvious pun), they’ll be at the Finnish line.
The worlds! The last step, the final stop, on a long (but awfully fun) journey up the ladder of competition, in the arena of singing over backing tracks, namely karaoke.
If you didn’t know there was a national karaoke championship in Canada or a world title beyond that, don’t cry (for me, Argentina); I didn’t either.
But we really should know in Hamilton, because we are to karaoke, apparently, what Austria is to skiing.
The national championship was recently held at the Casino Hotel in Calgary, over the course of several days.
And two of the three category winners were Hamiltonians. Christine won twice — best female soloist, and she and Dustin shared best duet couple. Calgary home-towner Sean Britton won best male soloist.
And Sharon Quinn? She’s not a performer, but she is the national director of Karaoke World Championships Canada. Also from Hamilton — well, Burlington.
“Hamilton is so talent-rich” when it comes to karaoke, says Sharon, and she knows, having been at worlds and seeing/hearing the best on the planet.
“Some great performers from here.”
For Dustin and Christine, the “best of ” laurels were especially gratifying as their success in karaoke competition has been building in increments — Christine came second in best female soloist at a previous nationals, and Dustin has won provincials before. This year it all came together; it all happened.
In a way, it was a risk for Christine to enter both categories. “I was worried it would be a distraction from her solo performance,” says Dustin, whom I’ve admired for years in his performances for Hamilton Theatre Inc. and who recently became a dad, adopting an eight-year-old son.
But Christine says working on both helped make her sharper.
They decided to do a run at the duet just a month before the meet, but they practised furiously. Four songs, including the “Elephant Love Medley” from “Moulin Rouge;” “Don’t You Wanna Stay” (Jason Aldean, feat. Kelly Clarkson) and “Time of My Life” from “Dirty Dancing.”
Winning was sweet, especially as it punched their ticket to Finland, but Dustin, Christine and Sharon all say that the best part of the nationals is the pure joy of the company they find themselves in.
“It’s such a great group,” Christine says. “There is such an incredible camaraderie.”
They come, dozens of competitors, from all over the country, drawn together by an unquenchable servitude to the cause of karaoke, their driving passion. They love to sing.
“It’s so competitive,” Sharon says, “and yet so friendly at the same time.” The competitors are each other’s mutual support.
And it’s no wonder. Most of them have been singing their entire lives. Dustin, for instance. “I come from a very musical family. It (singing) is just something I’ve always done.” Christine, too.
And how does a karaoke competition differ from any other kind of singing competition? It doesn’t really, Sharon says, except there’s even more emphasis on “selling” the song. The singing chops have to be there, but there’s so much more — choreography, personality, wardrobe.
The competitors are judged against many criteria, but because they’re usually doing songs made famous by a specific performer, they have to be cautious not to fall into too close an imitation or impersonation.
“There are other competitions for that,” Sharon says. The judges want the performers to put their own individual stamp on the song, but not so individual that the song is unrecognizable. There are many fine lines, which makes the art of karaoke so exciting and delicate at the same time.
A big part of Hamilton’s success at karaoke, Christine says, are the bars that encourage it, like her home bar, Tracie’s Place on Upper James.