Anyone HATE Karaoke?

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So I drove 1.75 hours to a disability center's monthly social meetup, hoping some autistic people would be there, as I'm always very keen on meeting autistic people since my late diagnosis last year. Didn't learn till I got there it'd be "popsicles, ice cream and karoake."

I got there very early (thought it was sooner than it actually was), and I kind of thought the desk man was kidding. I left to do some shopping, then returned to a room full of people with various disabilities; we all intro'd ourselves and I said I'm autistic hoping others there were autistic. Only one said he was (PDD).

Then after the intro's, the karaoke got set up, and I realized, Damn, he wasn't kidding.

I can't think of a more useless way to spend my time than watch/listen to people who can't sing to save their life.

The setup was a big screen where lyrics were projected, then the music, and the "singer" would "sing" off the screen.

It astounds me how people could find this entertaining. When I say "can't sing to save their life," I MEAN it. I, too, can't sing, which is why I'd never do it in front of people and make a fart of myself.

Do not these adults realize they CANNOT SING? It's not a matter of opinion. A person with reasonable intelligence can recognize when someone has absolutely NO singing skills. These people were worse than the ones who get the buzzer on those "Got Talent" shows.

They were all NT except that one guy, but the PDD guy was enjoying it all.

Karaoke bars are very popular, and my NT niece loves them. What am I missing here? What do people get out of watching others, especially complete strangers, make a fool of themselves on stage? The weird thing is that, at least the ones I witnessed, they actually seem to think they could sing.

Again, anyone should be able to tell when someone can't sing. For instance I grew up listening to my father's church choirs he conducted, and someone was always singing solo: nice voices with a vibrato and perfect pitch and carrying a tune. Even the "worst" rock and pop singers could sing circles around these karaoke people.

The singers' disabilities were NOT related to low intelligence. They included seizure disorder, cererbral palsy, stroke, tremor disorder and blindness. Ones who didn't sing but loved it all had blindness, physical ailments, and one said she stuttered. I was bored out of my mind and REFUSED to mask. I didn't clap for any one of these people (to do so would've been masking), even though everyone else (or it seemed like it) did.

The guy who was managing the audio and screen setup kept looking at me all throughout. I didn't look back but I could see peripherally he was doing this; nobody was behind me. The way my chair was positioned, it was only ME he kept looking at. He had mild CP but normal cognition but was obviously stumped that not everyone likes karaoke. A little mind-opening was in order for him. I refused to mask on a fake smile and pretend I was enjoying this nonsense. I was full-on Vulcan all throughout, which felt natural for me. The event was 2-3:30. I quietly left at 3:10 between setups. Should've left way sooner.

To each his own, I guess, but I'll bet that nearly every karaoke enthusiast in this world is an NT. Or am I wrong? Dayum.

I came 3rd in a karaoke contest, me and two mates drunkenly slaughtered Run DMC's 'It's Like That', I hasten to add I didn't sing, I just breakdanced.

I'm autistic. I love karaoke. Even terrible karaoke.

Talent should not be a pre-requisite for engaging in an activity that someone enjoys.

One does not have to be good at an activity to enjoy engaging in an activity.

People have the right to engage in an activity, regardless of their skill level.

I'm sure they all know they can't sing. They're allowed to do it anyways, and have fun doing it.

I clap because I respect the attempt, regardless of the result.

karaoke is about having fun not needing to be a professional singer

also what sort of disabilities did the others have cos if neuro disabilities they most likely arent nt even if they not autistic they could have other neurodevelopmental disorders

I don't go out for karaoke much, maybe have two or three times in my life. It isn't that I hate it or find bad singers dreadful. I liked it the most when the people knew they can't sing but didn't care and gave it 1000% anyway and had a ball with it. To me, that's what karaoke is all about...silly fun. My issue with it all is that bars are more crowded and loud on karaoke nights and that gets to be too much for me altogether too quick. I'd like to be able to see more of it as I enjoyed what I did see, but that's not happening for me as bars around here tend to be packed on those nights. Oh well.

No, I love karaoke! It's always nothing more than silly fun.

It may depend on the local culture. The last one I went to was OK. I didn't mind that they couldn't all sing very well, though I took my own turn quite seriously, as I've never been able to sing without getting serious about trying to make it sound good. Singing is a special interest.

From where I came from, I deal with it on a regular basis.


I don't mind who's singing. That didn't matter.
I'd start to mind it if my ears, if my head is starting to overwhelm and can't take it.

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I've never been to Karaoke event. I can't sing so I would not get up in front of people to sing. I would be mortified and also wouldn't want to subject other people to my singing. But I do think it's just meant to be fun and silly, not a show of talent.

But just like people who are bad at singing have a right to enjoy doing it anyway, and people who think it's fun to listen to bad singing have a right to enjoy that, you also have the right to not enjoy listening to bad singing. I'm sorry you drove out of your way only to find out that the event would include Karaoke, which you don't like. That must have been disappointing and unpleasant.

It's okay for you not to like it, and it's also okay for some other people to like it.

My first encounter with karaoke was in Dubai, and it sounded exactly the way it looked -- a drunken Australian soldier trying to deep-throat a microphone.

My opinion of karaoke has gone downhill ever since.

It's one of those things that I'm both attracted to and repelled by. It's one of my remaining unfaced fears. I'll have to do it one day.

I know that the whole point is that you don't have to be a good singer. Who goes to karaoke to listen to good singers? Go to a concert with professionals for that. The fun of it is seeing people put effort into doing something badly and not caring - there's some kind of freedom in that, it impresses me even as it offends my ears.

But I always want to be good at everything. If I'm going to impose my singing on people I want it to be decent by my standards.

I loath it

Several responders have emphasized the point of karaoke is to have fun, rather than seek out talented singers.

I already know that.

What I'm perplexed about and can't wrap my head around is WHY anyone would want to listen to people who CAN'T sing, who can't carry a tune in a bucket, who sound awful? This is like watching a tennis match in which every shot goes into the net, or watching a basketball game in which nobody can catch passes, nobody can dribble, and everyone keeps getting exhausted from all the running and must stop mid court to catch their breath.

I just wanted to get some feedback on WHY anyone would think it was "fun" to watch/listen to people who sound horrible attempting to cover a song. I don't find this the least bit amusing or entertaining. What's even more vexing is when one finds it entertaining to watch people THEY DON'T EVEN KNOW. I can somewhat understand if you're watching good friends or family members, but ... strangers??? One might argue the people at this center all knew each other, but I'm doubting that because they all gave intro's at the beginning. Plus, at karaoke bars, it IS usually strangers.

One might argue, Well, others DO, and we should respect that. Or, "If some people like karaoke, that is their right; let them have fun."

HOWEVER, let's not forget that I was the one being judged; the guy who was in charge of setting up each song and screen lyrics kept looking at me, and I mean KEPT looking at me, like, literally every one to two minutes. Nobody else was in his line of vision. You can bet he probably thought something was wrong with me because I wasn't getting into it like everyone else was.

So if you like your karaoke, then fine, but at the same time, don't keep looking at me like I'm a Martian just because I think it's boring to high heaven. I didn't bother calling out this guy because first of all, I knew I'd never be going back there again, and second of all, he had CP, was small in stature, and I didn't want to be perceived as some kind of bully (I sometimes have difficulty calling people out without coming across as gruff).

I think the idea is everyone is equally horrible so it creates a bondng experience.
Some may be a little more talented, but it's mostly about being prepared to be vulnerable and imperfect in front of others.
In essence it's accepting a dare.

I've never done it or witnessed it, from my vantage point under a rock.

^You haven't lived unless you've sung Dancing Queen in a bikie pub.