KWP Spot Contest Alert!

Hello there, peeps! I hope that you’re enjoying your weekend so far. I wish I could say the same for myself, but it’s very hectic for me with weddings last night and tonight… so I need you to have fun for me.

Anyway…

I have decided that I will be running a KWP Spot Contest on Sunday night, August 9th. I’m letting my blog readers and Facebook Group members know in advance so that you have a bit of an advantage in terms of preparation. First prize will be $25, and I’ll be giving a 2nd prize of $10. I’ll go over the scoring shortly for those of you who have not competed in one of my contests before, but here’s Sunday night’s theme:

KWP At The Movies

I’m sure that you know by now that John Hughes, who had a hand in such classic movies as Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Sixteen Candles, Home Alone, The Great Outdoors, and others, died Thursday of a heart attack. His passing got me to thinking that a lot of well-known music has gone hand in hand with movies… so, for this contest, you will need to pick a song that’s from any movie soundtrack. It doesn’t necessarily have to be from an ’80s movie, although that decade was big on soundtracks. Please keep in mind that KWP rules do apply, so certain songs may be out of bounds– such as from the movie Chicago, for example. Remember the rule: No songs from Broadway musicals or Disney animated features are allowed. Of course, when you submit your contest card, I will let you know if your song choice qualifies.

The interesting thing about this contest is that we won’t be stopping the show like we usually do in order to run it. The singer rotation will continue as usual, and I’ll be announcing whether each singer is a contestant before they sing. We’ll be looking to start at around 9:30pm, so I advise coming down to the Ranch early to submit your song and to get loose. We’ll still be letting non-competing singers keep their spots in the rotation and we’ll still be working new singers in as needed.

As for scoring, below is a brief reminder of my grading system for this kind of event. Keep in mind that each score begins with 10 points and gradually decreases based on vocal errors or performance issues. Here are the categories:

• Vocals: As you’d probably guess, this category is about how good you sound. If your pitch is off, if you rush ahead or lag behind the song, or if you mess up on the words, you’ll begin to lose points here. Some ad-libbing is allowed, but I’m looking for a solid cover of a song and not a completely different interpretation. For example, if you pick Before He Cheats, I don’t expect you to rap the lyrics. See?
• Performance: Singing is only one part of the karaoke experience. The challenge in these events is to apply as much effort to your performance ability and playing to the judges and crowd as you do in getting the pitch and rhythm right. The highest scores here go to singers who use the wireless microphone to their advantage by taking the performance offstage and into the crowd, or to singers who can make the crowd and judges feel their emotions if they’re singing a ballad or even an angry song. Points may be deducted for staring at the lyrics for extended periods of time or for singers who are too static. Bonuses may be awarded here for appearance, including costumes and/or props.
• Crowd Reaction: This is the part where bringing a group of friends or family really benefits you. This score is based on how the crowd reacts to you. Is there cheering? Is the crowd paying attention to you in general, or do they become distracted quickly? If you can make the crowd love you, you can score very well here.
• Song Difficulty: How challenging was your song? More points are awarded here for riskier songs that require range or speed to pull off. For example, if you picked Tequila (from Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure, which we don’t have), your score here would be very low because the song only has one word and doesn’t require much skill to pull off. Conversely, if you were to pick My Heart Will Go On (from Titanic), the difficulty is high because of Celine Dion’s range… and it’s risky if you don’t have the chops to hit those high notes. This is where some strategy always comes into play.
• Pete’s Perspective: This score is what I thought of your overall performance. Impress me, and you score well.

Each category has a maximum score of 10 points, meaning that 50 points is a perfect score.

Of course, if you have any questions about this event, feel free to drop me a line (nerdykj@hotmail.com), leave a comment here, or write something on the Wall over at the KWP Facebook Group page. I’ve not launched the KWP Text Group yet (as there are only two participants so far), so we’ll keep questions in internet format for now. Don’t forget that, if you want in on the Text Group, to send me an e-mail with your cell number so that I can add you when we’re ready to go. I’d like to have it up and running by September.

That’s it for now. I’m curious to see who (if anyone here) is planning on coming on Sunday to compete. Anyone? Please… let me know. Remember: If we get decent turnouts for these contests, we can probably run more of them!

I hope to see you all on Sunday night!

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