I once heard that karaoke meant tone deaf in Japanese (it doesn’t, the shortened words “kara” and “oke” mean “empty orchestra”) but the singing phenomenon is helping three local venues to bring back crowds post-Covid, with $6,000 in total prize money. 

For the first time, three diverse venues in ACT and NSW – Hotel Queanbeyan, Kambah Inn and the Harmonie German Club – are collaborating with Kanberra Karaoke to increase patronage by hosting three competition heats each, culminating in a grand final in September.  

Wes Heather, owner of Kanberra Karaoke, encouraged the three venues to work together and organised a meeting where the venue owners met for the first time.

“The main reason we’ve put it together is because people are still a bit afraid of going out,” Wes said. “I run entertainment all over Canberra and venues are seeing a decline. The tariffs are going up and everyone is finding it very difficult to come out.”

These three venues would normally compete for customers, however over nine weeks they’ll share punters. Also, to encourage people to attend all karaoke events (not just the heats), there’s a $500 wildcard entry at each venue.

“The main thing is to encourage people to go to other venues for the very first time, who may not have ever thought about going because it’s the other side of town, or it’s too far away,” Wes said. “We want to introduce new patrons to the club for the first time.”

Before you dismiss karaoke as a drunken regret, you should know that the inventor of karaoke (Daisuke Inoue) was awarded the Ig Nobel Peace Prize in 2004 for providing a way for people to learn to tolerate each other.  

In Canberra at least, it seems to be true with many karaoke nights inclusive of all types of singers. Basically, you’re allowed to be flawed. 

Queanbeyan resident Robin Von Schelberger, who’s a plumber by day and crooner by night, has been doing karaoke for 40 years. Neil Diamond is his go-to karaoke pick but he also duets with his wife Betty (which once won them $500).

Three nights a week, 60-year-old Robin (they call him rockin’ Robin) sings karaoke around town with songs by Johnny Horton, Johnny Cash or Johnny Farnham (who incidentally was also a plumber).

“I don’t do this for money, I’m humble,” Robin said. “I enjoy what I’ve got and it’s a necessary evil in my life.  There’s no heckling or anything it’s just a way to get rid of a bit of angst over the week and I like to throw my emotion into what I sing.”

Robin is a self-proclaimed extrovert and can sing pretty much anything from the top 40 hits from the ‘60s. He said there’s more to winning a karaoke competition than just having a good voice. In the upcoming competition, judging criteria includes stage presence, costume/dress, song choice and audience interaction.

“For karaoke I’ve travelled to Wollongong, Tuross Head and Goulburn and I’m usually the warm-up act to encourage others to pick up a microphone,” he said. “For the past 17 years I’ve been a regular at Hotel Queanbeyan.”

Wes, who doesn’t mind a bit of Elvis, said that once you try karaoke, there’s no going back.

“The ones I enjoy seeing get up on stage the most are the ones who have never done it before,” he said. “They are just in awe of the rush they get – it takes a lot to get up but once they do, they get up again.”

The first Kanberra Karaoke heat is at Hotel Queanbeyan on 1 August, 7:30pm, second heat Kambah Inn, 3 August, 8:30pm, and third heat Harmonie German Club, 7 August 8pm.

To enter visit Kanberra Karaoke on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/KanberraKaraoke/