Baton Relay Project: Let's Have an Explosive Karaoke Party Together!

This is a story from before COVID,
but I used to gather music lovers through SNS groups and word of mouth
to hold karaoke festivals.

The goal was for everyone to become one.

It wasn't about whether the participants were good singers or not,
it wasn't about the volume of their voices,
and it wasn't about whether the songs were major hits or obscure tracks.

It was about the singer singing the song they wanted to sing,
expressing it with their whole body, to the fullest, without holding anything back.
And it was also about the listeners fully embracing that song.

That is what it was all about.

At these gatherings,
we would recruit facilitators from among the participants
to take on the roles of MC and hype person.

Since everyone is nervous at the start,
the facilitator takes the lead
to help break the ice for everyone.

Now then,

the facilitator for today's explosive karaoke is...

yours truly, Yama-chan.

By the way, I have the experience of being
semi-forcibly made to sing in front of 150 people at my peak.
Except for two people, they were complete strangers.
(That experience made me hate my boss.)
Back then, I was so incredibly nervous
that I hid in the bathroom many times.
(I was drunk so I forgot, but I might have even thrown up.)
I tried to download the image of myself
singing on the venue stage.
(That just made me more nervous and I started to lose consciousness.)

Well, enough of that digression,
it's about time the explosive karaoke begins.

Are you ready for a big explosion?

The first batter is, of course, me.

Alright, in that case, my signature song.
No, wait, that's not it.
With the feeling of throwing my own nervousness and shyness right at you guys,
I'm going to belt it out to the MAX!

♫ Takane no Hanako-san by back number

During this song, right before I start singing,

I'll shout, 'If only I were Masaharu Fukuyama!'

And
I'll raise my fist and roar with guts.
(Being fat and bald is convenient at times like this ♡)

Even without winning, I'll strike a victory pose.
I'll declare myself the winner even though I'm a loser from the start!

The participants will think,
'No way!'
and lean forward involuntarily,
and their tension will... hopefully melt away, right?

For the second round, I don't want to lower the energy.
But I want to try a different performance than Hanako-san.

Here I go, rapping!
You have no idea how much I practiced this.

♫ Hero by FUNKY MONKEY BABYS

I will definitely stumble over the words.

By the third round,
perhaps because everyone was standing and getting too excited,
the older folks start worrying about their knees and lower backs.
(We're already at that age, you know.)

One by one, they start sitting on the sofa,
and before I know it, everyone is ordering more beer.

N-no, everyone!
If things keep going like this, when it's my turn,

the staff is going to come in, aren't they?

Even the clerk doesn't want to see
a bald old man
going off the charts.

Suddenly, my reason kicks in,
and I have no choice but to stall for time with a ballad that has a long intro.

♫ Even if it's lonely, I'll wait for tomorrow by Sukima Switch

The box door opens,
and the clerk comes in carrying a tray full of beer.

You're too slow putting the mugs down, clerk.
I don't need politeness.
You can spill it.
The song is about to start!

Don't tell me to enjoy myself,
just get out of here, you idiot.

Alright, alright, I'll sing it mellowly.
The bridge section
is the best part of this song.

Ah, I'm already tired.
After singing three songs max, my voice is already raspy.

What's this, what's this? The old man and old woman
are still full of energy, aren't they?

I just noticed,

that lady over there who looks like a Peruvian ornament,
what's with that lipstick?

Did you just eat someone?

There's a french fry sticking out of your nose.

Alright, this is my time to shine.
In my imagination,
I chug a black Yunker and start the fourth round.

I'm going to nail this.

♫ Hirugao by Crazy Ken Band

Ma'am,
ma'am, ma'am,
ma'am, ma'am, ma'am.

Maaaaa'am♡

Arching my back, the bald, fat guy is thrusting his hips,
going non-stop for the ma'am.

By this point,
the pitch doesn't even matter.
Thrusting my hips is the priority.

Tomorrow, I'm going to be useless.

I ate a person.

Ma'am♡

I received the baton from Eijyo-san for the
karaoke relay project
and introduced my repertoire.

As for my other repertoire, I have

not at all similar
impersonations of Ayumi Ishida singing
Blue Light Yokohama.

With my over-the-top chirimen vibrato,
I got blocked on social media by Miyuki fans one after another—
it's not 'Fight' at all, Fight!

It's well-received!

(Yeah, right!)

Ma'am.

The origin of this project is...

these two people.

I think karaoke is the
most powerful tool for expression that Japan has ever produced.

I haven't been to karaoke in over two years, but
I've practiced singing this a lot
and was planning to use it in practice.
The song I want to sing if I get the chance is this one:

♫ Kirari by Fujii Kaze

In this post, I am declaring the anchor.

However,

To any noters who have read and listened to this,
if there is anyone who would like to say, 'I'll take Yamachan's baton,' please let me know in the comments section.

I'd like to leave it all to you♡

See ya