Hello! from Hannam: The Singing Room

I mentioned karaoke in the previous post, but I thought I'd give it it's own post since it is a huge part of the nightlife culture here in Seoul. Koreans LOVE to sing. We have been two two Korean birthday's so far and both times dinner and drinks have been followed by a late night of singing. They call it noraebang (nor-ee-bong) meaning "singing room". It is pretty much the same as it is at home, some are nice large rooms with big stages, nice tables and banquets to spread out and visit on while listening to your friends belt it out and some are on the smaller side, with a cozy, dive-bar vibe. They usually stay open 'til the wee hours of the morning, and by wee I mean like 4:00 - 5:00 am, as I experienced during my first visit to one. The song selections obviously include both Korean and English, and the selection of English songs is usually pretty extensive, at least for the kinds of songs that you probably already know the words to by heart and belt out anyway at home (ex. Billy Joel, Celine Dion, Frank Sinatra, or any song from the '80's).

I have to admit, it's a little nerve-racking going to a noraebang for the first time, knowing that you're going to be forced to get up and sing. I don't know how I always played the lead in my elementary school Christmas musicals, singing in front of a giant audience. I think it's the same reason I could dance in front of a football stadium of people in high school; it's a lot easier to be in front of hundreds of people, when you don't really know them, than to be in close quarters, in front of six people who you just had dinner with. Things that help with the stage fright are a little "liquid courage", making every song a duet so your husband sings with you, or just realizing that you sound just as good (or bad) as everyone else. I usually sing about 4-5 songs per visit, usually all classic rock tunes because they're the most fun to sing. Our duets on Saturday included "Footloose" - Kenny Loggins, "Here I Go Again" - Whitesnake, "The Power of Love" - Huey Lewis, and "Piano Man" - Billy Joel. According to RCP I keep him on key....Mr. Perfect Pitch and Plays by Ear thinks I keep him on key....Amazing.