Karaoke singer taking on Canada’s best
Heidi Joshua of St. Catharines competes this week in Calgary for national title
POSTMEDIA NETWORK
When Roger Feng gets up on stage, he doesn’t pay attention to the judges sitting in the front row or the packed crowd whose eyes are on him — he looks directly into the spotlight.
Because that’s exactly where he wants to be.
But unlike singing competitions such as or these contestants have the luxury of a video screen in front of them with scrolling text of the lyrics they belt out.
Feng and his singing partner 39-year-old Heidi Joshua of St. Catharines have been training for the Karaoke World Championships National Finals in Calgary this Wednesday to Sunday.
If they’ve got the pipes to make it through that round, they will move on to the World Finals this November in Vancouver. The grand prize is US$5,000, an elaborate trophy with the title of Karaoke World Champion and, of course, bragging rights.
“I block out the judges and all I see is that spotlight,” said Feng, a vocal teacher who is in his first year of competition but has been singing for more than 20 years. “And I just sing towards that spotlight and just sing and perform. There is extra pressure being in a contest, but when you get into a song, there’s no difference between a contest and a performance.”
Karaoke has evolved since the first machines of its genre were first created in the 1970s in Japan. Karaoke bars have sprouted up across Europe and North America, but typically, the off-key singing tends to coincide with a night out drinking with pals. Since 2003, the Karaoke World Championships have created a sense of both community and professionalism for people who want to want to take their voices seriously. To them, karaoke is hard work.
“At the national level, you should have things memorized and they will deduct points if you look at the screen,” said Joshua.
A step to the world stage would be even tougher.
“These are the best from India, Japan, Spain, England. Your game has to be that much better. Vancouver is my hometown, so to win the nationals and go to Vancouver and bring it home for the whole thing would be killer.”
The three songs the pair have chosen are secret, but fall within the classical, pop and gospel genres, all tunes not originally orchestrated as duets.
Burlington husband-and-wife duo Michael Victorero — a bronze medallist at last year’s world competition in Singapore — and Sharon Quinn have been coaching their group of 38 singers across Ontario at the provincial level, whittled down to a dozen competitors now heading to Calgary for the nationals.
“Song selection is a huge part,” said Victorero, 34. “It’s helping them see the insight I’ve gained not only from competing, but being a judge. Competition is fierce. Karaoke can be fun and incorporate a lot of different things, but can also incorporate world-class singing.” Victorero said Elvis Presley’s
was the first song he sang at 14 while out with his parents. Years later, a stranger would approach him in a bar and encourage him to compete professionally.
“I literally went from that karaoke bar to another karaoke bar to qualify in the contest,” he said. “There was just a part of — maybe there was something special about me, that really made me feel like I should keep doing it.” jyuen@postmedia.com