If the audience picks the winner, isn't this Just a popularity contest?
"You. will. be. Popular! You're gonna be popular!" This is not a musical talent competition. This is team-based karaoke. The joy and beauty of karaoke is that you don't have to be a good singer. If you bring passion, commitment, humor and sweeeeeet dance moves, being a little pitchy can be forgiven. In this competition, vocal styling is just one consideration. Because teams are vying for audience votes, packing the room with your friends is a viable strategy. So is opting for crazy over-the-top theatrical crowd-pleasing bops (instead of a slow, soulful ballet). Plan your wedding to coincide with finals week to give your team an edge, we won't be mad. A portion of the bar proceeds are going to support local arts non profits, so the more people buying drinks the better.
How many people can be on a team?
Eight is great, nine is not allowed. Seven is heaven. Six is fine. Five is about the minimum. Four is too few and three is right out. Not everyone will be able to show up every week. So the more people you have the easier it will be for your team to put on a good show when folks flake.
Can people vote remotely?
Nope, you must be present to vote.
When is league play?
Monday nights, from 7 pm to 9 pm starting February 12. There's a Bye Week March 11, and the finals are April 8.
I have a good idea for a theme, can I suggest it?
Of course. This season is set, but we can put it in the idea bank for future seasons. Please shoot us an email at [email protected].
How do I pay my registration fee?
We have a Venmo, @KaraOakland. It's $30 and goes to pay for web hosting and security, our domain, small advertising budget, name tags, and the rest goes into a bucket for a prize package.
How does scoring work?
Much like Oakland mayoral elections, we're doing ranked-choice voting. All the teams will compete against each other and the audience will rank each round of performances (solo, duet/trio, and group). If one team gets more than 50% of first-choice votes, awesome, they win the round. If no team gets a majority of first-choice votes, then it triggers a new counting process. The team who did the worst is eliminated, and those vote are redistributed to the second-choice pick. In other words, if you ranked a team candidate as your first choice (maybe because your friend made you come support them), and the team is eliminated, then your vote still counts: it just moves to your second-choice candidate. So let's say the crowd all votes for the team that invited them, and then puts the team they thought actually did the best as the second choice, the team that actually did the best will probably win. It's a little confusing, but the State of California is pretty excited about this concept, so maybe it will work for us.
Do I have to attend every week?
We don't expect perfect attendance, that's why there are eight people on your team, however you need to communicate with your team captain so you're not letting down your team. If you miss more than four weeks you won't be illegible to compete in the finals.
What happens to cheaters?
If we catch you trying to stuff the ballot box, get remote votes, or your team chooses to ignore the theme, you will be forced to wear giant silly hats the next time you perform.