How to shop for a quality Karaoke Show for your event © 2011 Brian Harrell 

For a listing of KJ's nationwide click here

Print this and use it to shop for a quality Karaoke Host/Entertainer for your corporate event, club, wedding (combined with DJ music), house party, grad party and more!

1. Ask for a list of the music they are bringing to your event and make sure it is what you want.  (online list is easier to search too)

2. A good karaoke show should have over 10,000 karaoke songs with the better services 20,000+ (non-duplicated songs)  (make sure the # is karaoke songs only, not DJ included)
Those that claim 50 60 or 70 thousands songs are including a lot of duplicate versions of songs as there just is not that many karaoke songs out.
You will pay more for more songs with good KJ companies.

3. Ask for recent references within the last 3 months of real people you can call OR get letters of reference from those clients who had events within the last 3 months.
Karaoke companies will try sometimes to give you letters but no date or dated so old that they do not give a clear indication of current quality of show. 

4. Make sure the contract outlines all the times, date, location and $ amounts.   No contract = possibly no show so never take a chance on that.

5. Better companies will write in their contracts that they carry certain backup equipment at the show in case of failures.
BETTER companies have emergency backup equipment to run their shows or someone they can call to get backup equipment out to them within 30 minutes.
You will pay more for this peace of mind backup equipment option with most companies.    Usually paying about 25% higher than others for this option.

6. If they are offering DJ music along with the Karaoke show, ask for a list of their DJ music selections and their DJ experience for a show like your type (wedding, corporate, club...)

7. See their performance on video or live if you can before hiring them to make sure there technical mixing skills and personality match what you want. 
Over half the KJs I interview do not know how to run reverb or EQ on sound systems and it just does not sound very good.
Seeing LIVE or on recent video is the ONLY way to assure the KJ personality and style of show fits what you want. 

8. Response times when calling a KJ:  If they do not answer your call "live" when you call then a pretty good indication of quality is returning your call within 4 business hours. 
Keep in mind that full-time or part-time KJ companies are not the primary indicator of quality.  There are some very good part-time entertainers (1x week) and some bad full time performers.
A video demo is a good way to assure personality and style matches but not a good way to assure quality of sound (in person is best for that).
If a KJ returns a call a few days later that usually is a clear indication of lack of quality of service to you for your event. 

9. Electricity issues: Better karaoke hosts carry filtered battery power for more rural areas which can have electricity issues or areas prone to more storms or outages.  Helps when the power goes out for a few seconds as over half KJ companies run computer-based systems.

I hope these suggestions help you find the best Karaoke (KJ) entertainer for your wedding, bar, nightclub, or special event!

If you have suggestions on recommended KJs you know OR hiring a KJ or any other reason: please contact Brian here with your suggestions

Thank you!

Thanks also to Wayne (a professional KJ for some of the above)