In September of last semester, I had the pleasure of experiencing the greatest event put on by the University of Central Missouri: Mules on the Mic. This was a karaoke event where students of all different majors came together, stepped up to the stage and sang their hearts out. From popular songs like “Please Please Please” by Sabrina Carpenter, to Charli XCX’s “Guess”, this night gave anyone and everyone a chance at showing off their singing skills. The turnout was phenomenal and the engagement between the singers and crowd made the atmosphere incredible. When it was time to leave, I didn’t want to. They almost had to pry me out of those chairs. Thankfully, there was another opportunity for karaoke the following week, which also had a great turnout. All in all, both events were amazing.
You might be wondering why I’m writing about these karaoke nights. What’s so special about them? Well, since karaoke nights are such fun, low-stakes events, I’m here to encourage everyone to attend at least one of these nights!
I witnessed firsthand how an event such as karaoke brought together so many different people, creating a community that had an abundance of laughter, singing and dancing. It’s a relaxing event and one of the few social occasions where students don’t feel pressured into joining a club or feel obligated to continuously return. Everyone’s schedule is busy but that’s where karaoke jumps in. It is an extremely flexible event and gives people the wiggle room to show up whenever they can.
Karaoke is also the event where people go for the thrill of singing. But if you’re not into thrills, keep in mind that you don’t have to sing! There are plenty of people in attendance who go just to listen to others perform or watch their friends goof off. I even attended, thinking I wasn’t going to sing. However, as soon as I saw other people go, it gave me the confidence to go up and sing David Guetta’s “Where Them Girls At?” For the record, I was cackling during the majority of the song but still everyone loved it.
That’s another aspect of this event: nobody takes it seriously! This is where laughter and singing intertwine. No matter how bad you think you are at performing or think you have a terrible singing voice, we, as the audience, seriously don’t care. Just sing and you’ll get applauded! That’s genuinely our only criteria.
Mules on the Mic is a fun and engaging event that gives everyone a chance to unwind from the stress of school. And if you’re concerned about no one showing up, don’t worry about that. I’ll be there! You’ll definitely catch me belting out “Total Eclipse of the Heart” or even a K-pop song… who knows! All I’m hoping is that I see you at the next karaoke night.
