​by Pamela Jordon Woodard 
​I used to be a shy singer. Like… painfully shy. The kind of person who could harmonize just fine from the back row of the church choir but would rather fake laryngitis than sing a solo. I was in choirs growing up—even a competition choir in high school—but the moment I had to open my mouth alone in front of people? Cue the internal scream.
Fast forward to today: I’m dressed like Left Eye from TLC, rocking two high side ponytails, spitting bars in No Scrubs like my life depends on it. What happened? KaraOakland happened.

There’s a competitive karaoke league in the East Bay that’s about more than just singing. Every Monday at KaraOakland, teams perform songs on specific themes. Then, participants used ranked choice voting to pick the best performances — like Oakland voters will in the city’s special election next month.

By Gabe Lehman
On a recent Monday evening, the Legionnaire Saloon in downtown Oakland was filled wall to wall with people. It’s only 7 p.m. but the bar is so busy that the bartenders have to take breaks from the endless line to collect glasses because they keep running out. 

​However, the crowd isn’t dressed in your average after-work drinks attire. A construction crew in neon vests and hardhats order cocktails at the bar, multiple Dolly Partons mill around a table, while a single Rosie the Riveter works through some last minute choreography. They are all here to compete in the second season of KaraOakland, the East Bay’s only competitive karaoke league. Teams of five to seven singers perform and compete across multiple rounds, with winners selected based on song choice, costumes, props and enthusiasm. There’s a different theme each week — recent themes included Jock Jams, High School Dances and Goths and Ghouls — with a season-long championship hanging in the balance. Think of it like a beer league softball, but for recovering musical theater kids. 

How a zany Oakland karaoke league teaches partygoers about ranked-choice votingKaraOakland’s first season—filled with costumes, power ballads, and dance routines—ends Monday night at Legionnaire.
by Jose Fermoso April 5, 2024, 1:21 p.m.
As the sun set on a brisk and busy Telegraph Avenue last Monday, five people dressed up as a Master Chief from Halo, a Black Hercules, and a trio of sparkly-dressed magical dancers walked into a bar. They had not gathered to battle the growing number of Twitter trolls in Oakland or to start a bar fight. But their mission would be no less taxing. They were there to compete in a competition that has put a new spin on competitive singing: a wild karaoke tournament decided by ranked-choice voting. 
The battle over the next two hours was intense. Some predicted it would be replayed in people’s minds for generations, or at least for a couple of hours on Instagram...