Hi all-

Do any of you know of an index of songs on the Pioneer LaserKaraoke discs, and/or on other karaoke discs (if there were any)? I will admit that I have done some occasional karaoke performances, and it is indeed fun.

What I would like to achieve is to know if the few songs I would ever sing are/were put onto laser discs, and if so, what title/volume(s). Then, I can chase those down and at least be cool when I am being silly. I did a search and could not find such an index either here or elsewhere online.

Thank you for any links or suggestions!

You can try to use "Category = Karaoke" and "Info contains" with the title of the song you're looking for on:

https://www.lddb.com/query_advanced.php

Ex: My Heart Will Go On (Céline Dion/Titanic)

Julien

Thank you for that tip, Julien. I tried it, and I did get a couple of "hits" on song titles. None of them were listed for sale (here), though, so I may try chasing on Ebay or similar, just for fun.

I've got some Karaoke LDs I'm willing to part with if you want to give me the songs you're looking for.

Thanks, I have not made a specific list but I may try to do so. One song is "99 Red Balloons"; I only found the German version ("99 Luftballons") listed.

I don't have any discs with that one, but do let me know what else you're looking for.

That’s probably because the English version bombed, at least in the US. The English one I remembering hearing on the radio exactly once and then it was back to the German. Nobody wanted it.

According to the Wiki, it didn’t attain any chart position in the US (the market it was made for) and the band didn’t like it.

The pop music version of dubbed anime works only very very rarely. And while it’s not impossible to have a foreign language in hit in the US it does occasionally happen.

HOWEVER…it’s only ‘oke after all. The words on the screen won’t help but the songs and the backing vocals should work and you still have a mic connected to speakers. Just read it off your phone when you sing. Normally people karaoke songs they already know and only look at the screen to avoid looking at other people…

HUH???

I don't know what city YOU lived in in 1983-84, but in the Chicago area the German version was rarely played, and the English version was all over multiple radio stations and in the clubs, too, including the "dance remix" one.

The 45 RPM single had the German version on one side and the English version on the other side, so there was no specific tracking of separate sales.

If you have ever done any actual karaoke performances, you should know that a big part of the fun is for the audience to go along with the lyrics on-screen as the song is sung. That is why there are two or more video displays set up at most karaoke events.

And, I hope you do not pronounce it "carry-oh-key".

I assume you think this makes you sound worldly and cultured, but really it just gives the impression that you don't know how loanwords work.

This is a joke. Nothing more, nothing less. That is the purpose of the smiley face.

Back then charts were determined by sales of singles and radio play. As I said, the English version attained no chart position whatsoever. This would indicate that is sold very very poorly and probably most people only heard it on the radio the week it came out, which is probably when I heard it. The German version was #2 on the Billboard chart…which was back when being #2 was something huge. The difference between #2 and “no position” is as big as anything could possibly be. It would be different if these were imports or bootlegs or Red Foxx records but when it comes to Billboard type stuff I trust Billboards numbers. Effn’ nobody bought the English one…except outside the US. Looking now it hit #1 in the UK, Ireland, Canada, and South Africa. It sold 600,000 in the UK! That’s better than some singles off Thriller. Considering that, perhaps there is a PAL karaoke LD?

The 12” you mention for sure had very little US success. I’m not sure if any US 12” ever attained any chart position other than regional/club/urban/dance/whatever sub charts. I tried to look that up but couldn’t seem to come up with the correct search terms. Perhaps some Busta Ryhmes thing or disco era extended remix sold big but I sort of doubt it. Nearly all of my US 12” singles are promos. It wasn’t a well promoted format here whatsoever. Don’t confuse one DJ liking something with the entire world liking it. It’s a great song. I wish it was more popular outside of Chicago. I wish Green Velvet and Butterfly Child were more popular outside of Chicago. I wish being able to take a train to work was more popular outside of Chicago too but it’s not. Chicago is not Detroit or LA or Miami. America is an unknowably huge place.

The Wiki says it hit 22 in club play, that was likely the 12”…but clubs play (free) promos so that doesn’t necessarily indicate any sales at all. I’d be very surprised if they sold through 1000 copies of this, to be honest. I bet a ton of the ones in the wild are cutouts. From what I can see on Discogs the US 12” doesn’t even have a picture sleeve…

So is Nina still going in Chicago? With all their endless legions of fans they probably have moved there so they can be admired and showered with money every time they show their faces, such is their fame in The Windy City. The rest of middle aged America just remembers a cool song that was popular for a month in the Reagan years.

As for how insufferable my pronunciation of karaoke is…I’ll concede that victory to you. I have no horse in that race. I live more in the world where the purpose of language is to communicate ideas and it serves me no purpose to be the only one in the room using a particular pronunciation of a word that confuses everyone but me. It’s a reimported pidgin loan word, three times murdered. In truth it has no correct pronunciation.