Why I love videoke

I am not ashamed to admit it: I love videoke. With a passion. If only this love equated the talent needed to actually sound good. Unfortunately for my friends, they will have to bear with my vocal, ahem, abilities until they finally decide to delete me from their phone directories and facebook friend's list.  Why do I love videoke, you say? Here are the reasons:

1. It's a fun way to bond with friends and family. Back in Manila, whenever my friends and I would run out of things to do, videoke would be our default activity. After singing Bon Jovi songs at the top of my lungs in front of friends, who must have the awesomest self-control for not shoving the microphone up mine, I feel I could trust them with anything.

2. Connected to number 1, it's a good ice breaker especially for new friends. I find it challenging to make new friends because I'm terrible at small talk. And when you're meeting someone for the first time, you need to have some small talk skills because you're not yet at the level where you can ask the other person about the challenges of his love life or why his dad abandoned their family. I find that videoke is the best way for someone like me who doesn't have the needed small talk skills to break the ice with new friends. You only need to have the mic and the song list and watch the magic happens.

3. It's the perfect stress reliever.When you feel like strangling someone, just grab that mic(no, don't throw it at the person that makes your life a living hell, no matter how tempting) and choose the most challenging song, the one that will make you scream and jump on tables and couch. Don't worry if the song is 20 octaves above your range. Just go for it. Scream it. Dance to the song. Head-bang. Go crazy. Trust me, you'll feel a thousand times better afterwards. 

4. Relieve your childhood/younger days. Remember that Backstreet Boy song you used to sing in the shower but now hum under your breath in shame? How about that Nsync beat you used to dance to but now pretend to not remember? Singing videoke actually makes it, not just permissible, but COOL to sing these songs again! And without shame!

5. Reminds me of home. The videoke machine is like rice to us Filipinos. It's a staple in every household. Whatever the occasion, Filipino's sing videoke. Christmas? You betcha! Halloween at the cemetery? Of course! Christmas? Never complete without it! Birthday? Are you kidding me? And every time I get to sing videoke in New York, I am back home, if only for 4 and a half minutes. 

In New York, videoke has been all these things to me - a bonding experience with friends, a stress reliever and a reminder of my youth and home. When I get to build my dream house, you can be sure that there's gonna be a videoke machine room. And if you come to visit, you'd know where to find me. 

Bonus: Here's a peak at my repertoire (hahaha, and don't pretend you don't have one!)

1. This I Promis You - Nsync.

2. You give love a bad name - Bon Jovi

3. Roxanne - Police

4. Bituing Walang Ningning - Sharon Cuneta

5. Harana - Parokya ni Edgar

6. Huling El Bimbo - Eraserheads

7. I don't want to miss a thing - Aerosmith

and many more. hahaha.