Karaoke

This article was written on August 23, 2013.

Author: Lü Jianfeng

Do you like karaoke? Invite three or five friends, find a private room, order a few bottles of wine, drinks, and a fruit platter, and sing from 8 or 9 pm until 2 am. What you eat or drink doesn't matter; the key is that the sound system is good, the people there can get hyped, and songs go one after another without any awkward silences. If you leave early, you're not a true karaoke enthusiast.

I have many such karaoke enthusiasts around me, and I often join these gatherings. In the past decade or so, the places I went to most were Beijing's Qianku and Haoledi, and Kunming's Windsor. I don't like singing, but I don't mind listening. Back then, there were no smartphones, so I couldn't play with my phone while listening. I would usually finish the fruit platter first, then lie down and listen to the songs, eventually falling asleep. At first, my friends would wake me up, but later they got used to it and let me sleep while they continued singing, only waking me up when it was time to go home. In recent years, with smartphones, I basically don't sleep; they keep singing, and I keep playing with my phone.

I don't drink much, I have no girlfriend, and I've never had a job, so I'm always free when they invite me. I'm not someone who never sings a song; the thing is, after they hear me sing, they immediately become super confident. So I'm the best person to make up the numbers. That's fine too. Playing with my phone alone is not as comfortable as listening to free songs while playing with my phone, and all sung by friends.

Tonight, I listened to songs all night again. Remember, next time invite me to karaoke together.