The First Time I Sang Karaoke

I cannot sing and anyone who knows me will attest to this. My little 6 year old daughter rolls her eyes, shakes her head and politely tells me to shut up whenever I make any attempt to carry a tune, which is disappointing because I absolutely love to sing!

When I was four I used to stand on the balcony at the apartment we used to live in and I would pretend it was a stage and I would croon to the workmen laboring on the roof of the building next door. They would all put their tools down and smile and allow me to entertain them; they would clap and cheer when I finished. I pulled it off, you see, because I was cute back then.

Nowadays for some reason I don't seem to get away with it so much, the smile is more like a grimace as people plead for me to stop.

I am naturally quite a shy person, so as you can imagine getting up in front of a crowd and doing the one thing that I am realistic enough to know I am not good at, was one hell of a feat and you know something? I wasn't even intoxicated when I made my singing debut.

I will be honest though, it was a duet. My friend and I got up there, microphone in hand, and belted out a very unique rendition of Nancy Sinatra's "These boots are made for walking" complete with the appropriate grunting. It was in a bar, very causal atmosphere and everyone was sitting on very comfy armchairs and joined in towards the end of the song; I still wonder if it was the patrons wish cry for us to get off.

Well you know for those 5 minutes I was a star, I had forgotten my year 5 teacher's word "She has a lovely voice, but I'm afraid she's a little tone deaf", I sang and danced with gusto; man I was "good"!

I am not a person who generally enjoys attention; I even found my wedding day difficult, it being all about me and all that, but this one time I did what I daydream about most days as I listen to the radio and a really cool song comes on; I temporarily leave the planet to appear on stage looking fabulous with my very own band and I put on my show; I envision people in my life past and present admiring me and actually thinking I am somebody, I have talent!

Signs of a low self esteem? Maybe, I just know that the one time I did my karaoke thing is one I will never forget, because it wasn't about how I sounded - by the way, my girlfriend was just as bad as me - but that I had a "go". I moved out of my comfort zone for a few minutes and showed everyone a part of myself that had nothing to do with singing and it was such fun!

I am still trying to live it all down of course.

The friends who were there that night still sing the song to me when they see me and my lack of vocal skill is still the butt of everyone's jokes, but you know what? I had a ball and to all of you out there, try it.

I know it's easier to say no when others are tempting you to get up there and do it, but you will feel great about yourself for trying and as I said it's an exuberant and exhilarating experience; you'll want to tell everyone.

Better still sing about it!