Karaoke Unabridged

Karaoke took place during the last day of the cruise and it proved to be a very different experience than karaoke from the 2010 cruise. Most notably it took place outside on the pool deck, which in theory was a nice concept but due to rain that didn't work out so well. Also, I think due to the railings and karaoke equipment, there weren't too many good spots on deck to get a good view.

But anyway, karaoke of course was running on Backstreet time and they boys were running late. Before they came out, Hal Roseman came out and announced the winners of the door decoration contest. Congrats again Ash and Cort!

At this point Howie announced that they would be shaving a fan named Michelle's head because she was about to start cancer treatment. It was a very touching moment.

About 20 minutes later karaoke finally started. The fans who got to participate were pre-selected and informed via email that they would have an opportunity to sing with the boys. You had to sign up to qualify and give your top 3 song choices. I signed up to participate and was half disappointed I didn't get picked, and half relieved. I would've been a wreck up there. Talk about nerves. So I sat back and enjoyed the show.

The songs in order were:

• Wannabe
• Raise Your Glass
• The Thong Song
• Before He Cheats
  
  This was one of my favorite moments of karaoke.
  
  
  Brian- “She dug her knife into his into his seat and 7,000 dollars later. And he didn’t even cheat.”
• I'm Too Sexy

 Nick- “Who wants to get wet with Backstreet?”

• Baby Got Back
• Lady Marmalade
• Livin' La Vida Loca
• I Kissed a Girl 

One of my other favorite moments was the ending banter between the guys. In fact I think it was the best part of the event. They had some great zingers in there. Just watch...

Nick- “Chestnuts roasting on Rochelle’s dinner plate.”

Karaoke had a lot of sexual comments throughout, which I can't pretend I didn't enjoy. I wish we could see this side of the Backstreet Boys more often.

Karaoke was ultimately cut short due to the weather. I have to say, this was probably my least favorite event of the cruise (which is again probably evident in the length of this post). But still being my least favorite event on a BSB cruise still trumps any other possible activity. So on a scale of 1-10 it may have been a 15 instead of a 20. After all, its still an event with the Backstreet Boys.

There were a number of reasons why it wasn't my favorite. It started off late due to the boys being late and it was further postponed by the head shaving, so I was already antsy by the time they started. I also think that leading into the karaoke with such a somber event set a rather gloomy tone. Furthermore it was tough to see given the setup of the stage. The rain wasn't ideal. Expectations were high from the previous cruise. I felt the boys weren't as into it. And there were a few other reasons for why I just wasn't feeling it.

Gosh, I feel bad being so negative. Again, still had fun, but just not as much fun as say the beach party. The boys are definitely spoiling me and it's not good. Now I call it a "bad" event if there aren't at least 2 Backstreet Boys with no shirts on. All that said, Karaoke did have various elements that I did like. I thought it was very well organized in how they picked contestants. I like that it was pre-selected randomly to give everyone a fair shot. It minimized chaos at the event. I think it's nice they give the opportunity to a lot of fans to be on stage with them. Plus I enjoy the fact that you can't really get that kind of karaoke experience with BSB anywhere else. It's unique to the cruise.

I personally think they should retire doing karaoke but if they do bring it back I think they need to bring a new twist to it. Maybe have the boys split into 2 teams so they can go head to head. The boys seem very competitive so I think they'd get more into. It just needs something to make it fresh again.

PS- Thanks again to Anne Marie for letting me borrow her vids.