News	Email this article

San Diego keeps churning out the karaoke champions

By Larry Knowles

May 15, 2006

San Diego--While San Diegans lament the lack of championship hardware from the Chargers, Padres, and Aztecs, they can hold their heads high, point to Phil Michelson and Greg Grimaldo, and boast, “We’re number one!”

What’s that, you say? Michelson and who?

San Diego, then, should properly be known for surfing, fish tacos, and karaoke—and not necessarily in that order. If Louie Castellanos had his way, karaoke would be the number one activity associated with the city.

Castellanos is the publisher of “San Diego’s Karaoke News Magazine,” a monthly publication dedicated to promoting karaoke in the San Diego area. He says that San Diego is one of the largest karaoke markets in the United States, with over 150 venues throughout the county.

He attributes the popularity of karaoke to a second generation of singers, the children of the original karaoke enthusiasts back in the late 80’s. He also believes that the proliferation of karaoke machines and software, cheaply available at discount stores like Wal-Mart and K-Mart, have enabled those under 21 to practice singing at home.

“Karaoke’s a little like soccer,” Castellanos adds. “Nobody used to know about soccer. Then, after they introduced it to the kids, it got more popular. Now, as the kids have gotten older, just as with soccer, karaoke has gotten more popular.”

Castellanos points out that many restaurants now offer karaoke nights to bring in families and singers who aren’t yet old enough to sing at the bars.

Castellanos launched Karaoke News to fill a void left by the two local publications which left the area two years ago. As families began to get into karaoke, and new venues cropped up, Castellanos realized that there weren’t any publications covering the burgeoning scene. “For two years, there wasn’t any way to get the word out about what was happening in the karaoke community.”

Though he’s now a spokesman for the local karaoke community, he wasn’t always one of its skilled practitioners. “I look back at my singing now, and it was awful,” he says. “But then I got into some of the competitions, started hosting shows, and went on to win best karaoke host in East County for a couple of years.”

As a host, it’s Castellanos job to make sure that everyone has fun. Despite the area producing champion karaoke competitors, local karaoke nights are geared toward self-expression rather than competition. On occasion, however, the competitive spirit overtakes a singer or two.

“There’re some people that take karaoke too seriously. They think they’re gonna get discovered out there. If somebody sings a song, don’t come back and say, ‘Well, I can sing that song better.’ Don’t outshine somebody else.”

(He encourages singers to follow simple etiquette. For example, participants should clap for each other after songs, not scream, and not drop the mic.)

Every job has its drudgery and for Castellanos “karaoke host” is no exception. He says he tires of the same few songs that get sung night after night, venue to venue. Number one on his hit list is “My Heart Will Go On,” the theme song from Titanic by Celine Dion.

“That boat has sunk already, honey,” Castellanos sniffs. Number two is the decidedly less maudlin “Love Shack” by the B-52s.

If playing host to champions means also putting up with “My Heart Will Go On,” Castellanos is happy to play that tune over and over.

The San Diego Karaoke Club can be reached at: http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/groupsandiegokaraoke/

--------------------