Some karaoke for a change

It was a double treat for music lovers with the ‘Karaoke In Style’ night as well as a live performance by the young and talented Dehradun-based singer Shraddha Sharma at Hard Rock Café recently.

 As part of Social Media Week, the evening began with a twenty-minute performance by Shraddha, who became a YouTube sensation across India after uploading a video of her singing Main Tenu Samjhawan Ki in 2011. Accompanied by her guitar, she played some Hindi numbers like Haal-e-dil from ‘Murder 2’ and Dum Maaro Dum and even a few songs from her own album. “People expect rock music when they come to this venue. But it was nice to play here and the crowd seemed to enjoy the acoustic set,” said Shraddha, after the performance.

Soon after her set, the karaoke session began with all kinds of old and new songs being performed either solo or in groups. From ‘Are You Gonna Be My Girl’ by Jet to Queen’s ‘I Want To Break Free’, it was a blast from the past for the audience members and karaoke singers alike.

“This was our first time here and we performed for a friend who is getting married. It wasn’t embarrassing at all! It’s great fun on stage because you can’t see anyone from up there,” shared Sonia and Ankita, who sang a group song.

Ashwath, who performed solo and has sung there before, noted, “It’s about time that Hard Rock Café finally brought in karaoke. It’s better than most other places on a Wednesday night because it’s got a very chilled vibe where singers can pick up the energy from the people who come here.”

Sheridan Brass, who hosted the show and had the audience crooning and grooving, said that the crowd, which shows up at Hard Rock is one of the best he has seen. “It’s only been three weeks of trying out karaoke here but the response has already been really good. Bangalore is the definitely the best City in India for karaoke. We aren’t biased about what genres people should sing and it’s a good mix of everything. What I do personally is to not send people to stage in a random order. Based on what they’re singing, I create a sequence so that it’s like a playlist with a flow to it,” he explains.

Those who didn’t wish to take to the mic also had a decent time watching. “I think Shraddha went off in the high notes. But some of the karaoke singers weren’t too bad. I don’t sing except in the shower but it looks like fun,” said Soham Sarkhel, an audience member.