Last Friday evening, the Southeast Asian Club staged a karaoke night in the Intercultural Center. As I made my way into the building, I immediately heard laughter and loud singing radiating throughout the building. 

Numerous couches surrounded a projector in the event space. It felt like walking into a very comfortable amphitheater. Everyone had the option of participating and was welcome to  sit and enjoy the music. As with all great Brandeis events, there was free food set up in the front of the room. There were snacks and tasty treats, complemented by various drinks to keep people hydrated. The laid-back atmosphere was both welcoming and exciting as the people already there were having so much fun.

Karaoke is a fun, carefree way to de-stress from school and workloads. The atmosphere was filled with people laughing and having a good time. Sometimes it can be intimidating for people to sing in front of others; however, this did not seem to be an issue, as everyone was singing. People of all singing abilities were encouraging each other to belt out the tunes. Some voices were outstanding and some were clearly off-key, but regardless of ability, no one was alone. It did not matter who had the microphone; everyone in the room sang along with you.

The songs for the night started with a lot of rapping to songs such as “Bodak Yellow” by Cardi B, “Be Humble” by Mad Squablz and “Super Bass” by Nicki Minaj. 

In most karaoke events, lyrics are helpfully projected onto a screen. In the case of rap songs, however, the words go by so fast that the lyrics on the screen are of no help to the singer. After the crowd got through the rapping stage of the night, they progressed to throwback songs. Passing the microphone around, the group sang to “A Thousand Miles” by Vanessa Carlton, “Everytime We Touch” by Cascada and “I Want It That Way” by the Backstreet Boys. 

Now that the crowd was engaged in the music and everyone was singing along, SEAC decided to change it up, singing slower songs such as “Death of a Bachelor” by Panic! At the Disco and “All of Me” by John Legend.

I did not want to leave such a fun, music-filled night. People love to sing along to tunes when they come on; it is hard to resist singing to a great song. 

However, when you are out and about and hear a song come on, you might be hesitant to sing along. But the fear of singing along is broken by the idea of a karaoke night. People have the time to be carefree and de-stress with music together, regardless of whether they can sing or not. 

Having fun and taking some time to myself was the best part of this night. If you could not make it, the evening was thrilling, with carefree people and singing.