Magic Sing Blog

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If you haven’t checked out the New Magic Sing EG-18000 Wireless Karaoke Microphone 2008 Edition, then you’re missing something big baby! This is the fresh Magic Sing product which offers new and exciting components that come with the already fantastic features of Magic Sing, only at WebbyShop. (:

Since Christmas season is on again, why not purchase one for your holiday entertainment spree, or have it as a gift this Christmas! I bet it would be much-loved as a gift. Why? For one, it’s a compact, handy, user-friendly, all-in-one entertainment gadget that fits many occasions and celebrations. If there’s what you call plug and play devices, then there’s also plug and sing, that is, Magic Sing!

The EG-18000 includes two wireless microphones for more of your singing extravaganza, 35 feet wireless distance, dual microphone base, and a remote control. It comes with 2,064 built-in English songs so no extra CD/DVD players are necessary, and it can be upgraded with 4 song chip expansion slots. You can have a variety from the song chips sold separately which can be easily slotted in, if you can’t get enough of singing from the built-in songs.

Among the fantastic new features of EG-1800 are the enhanced picture and vocal quality. In addition, EG-18000 has 17 melody instruments for background music, has the ability to change your voice/pitch to male or female (that’s something cool!), and comes with a battery charge status indicator. Much more than that, EG-18000 has team game and competition functions, so you can use it for your family reunions and get-together of friends and stage a fun, friendly singing contest. It also contains the singing tutor function wherein the green color indicates you are too fast or too slow, the blue color if your pitch is too low, red if your pitch is too high and black if you are in perfect sync.

There’s just so much more to discover of EG-18000, so go check it out now. The Magic Sing EG-18000. Yes, it’s Entertainment Glee 18000 times over!

If you are a singer and wants to be one, take a look at what famous people and singers themselves have to say about singing, and get inspired!
 
“A bird doesn’t sing because it has an answer, it sings because it has a song.”
 Maya Angelou, American Poet
 
“Music is the purest form of art… therefore true poets, they who are seers, seek to express the universe in terms of music… The singer has everything within him. The notes come out from his very life. They are not materials gathered from outside.”
Rabindranath Tagore, Indian Poet, Playwright and Essayist
 
“I think all the boys that write the screaming stuff would write the best love songs…. because they have the most to hide. The guys that are in the most pain are usually the ones with the biggest hearts.”
Tori Amos quotes, Pop Rock Singer
 
“Sing, Sing a song, Sing out loud, Sing out strong, Sing of good things, not bad, Sing of happy, not sad, Sing, Sing a song, Make it simple, To last your whole life long, Don’t worry that it’s not good enough, For anyone else to hear, Sing, Sing a song.”
Joe Raposo

“When a singer truly feels and experiences what the music is all about, the words will automatically ring true.”
Monserrat Caballé quotes, Spanish operatic Soprano

“Singing is such an excellent thing, that I wish all people would sing”
Richard Byrd

“Being a singer is a natural gift. It means I’m using to the highest degree possible the gift that God gave me to use. I’m happy with that.”
Aretha Franklin quotes, American singer of soul music
 
“I don’t want to be just a straight pop singer. I’m a vocalist and that’s what I want to be seen as in the long run.”
Christina Aguilera quotes, American Singer
 
“I always wanted to be a singer, it’s what I wanted to do since I was little. I’m doing it now and I couldn’t be happier.”
Britney Spears, American Singer
 
“I was always a singer and a dancer, and I always wanted to be an actress. For me, it’s all just one thing.” 
Jennifer Lopez, American Actress, Singer and Model
 
“If a thing isn’t worth saying, you sing it.”
virtuosogal Pierre Beaumarchais, French Comic Playwright

It has been recorded that karaoke originated in Kobe, Japan. But do you know that the Karaoke Sing Along System (SAS) as in the practical, versatile compact machine which slots in an amplifier speaker, one or two tape devices, optional radio tuner and microphone mixer with elements to augment one’s voice, like the echo or reverberation to build up an opera hall or a studio sound (ok breathe…) with the entire system enclosed in one cabinet casing, is invented by a Filipino? Yes Pinoys, the Karaoke Sing Along System is patented under Roberto del Rosario, a Filipino prodigy.

Bert del Rosario is an acknowledged inventor with more than twenty inventions patented to his name. Some of his noted patents include the Trebel Voice Color Coded (VCC) Sing Along CDs, the piano tuner’s guide, the piano keyboard stressing device, the voice color tape and the one-man-band (OMB). This one-man-band was later built up as the Sing-Along-System (SAS). The Karaoke Sing Along System was patented on 1975. His other inventions include the Golf car trailer and No look-up Device, which shows his leisure pursuit with golf.

Besides being a productive inventor, Bert is also a flourishing businessman and a gifted musician. He is the president of the Trebel Music Corporation and plays various instruments. He learned to play musical instruments without formal lessons, like the piano, accordion and drums. He’s actually a management graduate at the Far Eastern University, which strikes us remarkable that he has made more than twenty inventions without a degree in engineering or even a science course. Talk about born talent!

I read about him saying, “Be observant. Be creative. Most of all, work hard.” It takes a passion for something to create something out of nothing. Like his passion for music which allowed him to learn instruments solely on his own, and later create things that would be of benefit to other music enthusiasts and experts alike.

See? That’s Roberto del Rosario. Way to go Bert!

Karaoke is “kara” and “oke” in Japanese. Kara comes from “karappo” meaning empty, and oke comes from “okesutura” meaning orchestra. Commonly, a song when recorded has vocals and accompaniment, but music tapes with only the accompaniment recorded were named “karaoke.”

Today, this Japanese word is a Japanese word no more. Take a look at the most renowned of English dictionaries, The Oxford English Dictionary, and there you’ll see your favorite piece of entertainment listed. From the typical kind of entertainment for Japanese business people dropping to karaoke bars after work to have some drink and unwind while singing karaoke songs, now karaoke has been entertaining people all around the world since its invention twenty years ago.

According to karaoke history, the use of karaoke began at a snack bar in Kobe City. The story began when a strolling guitarist could not come to play at the bar because of illness, so the bar owner arranged accompaniment tape recordings, and the singers at the bar enjoyed singing to the tapes. This is only a legend though, but it might have been indeed the beginning of karaoke. Since then, karaoke has been commercialized and has become popular all over Japan.

Moving on to karaoke’s history, it was born in a night amusement quarter at the end of the high economic growth period in Japan. Before that, the clientele were accustomed to listening to famous songs via wire broadcasting, asking for their favorite songs by telephone, and the wire broadcasting company would put the songs on the air. The system like such continued for quite a while. Then again, it was not natural for many Japanese who like singing to only listen to other people sing. There karaoke entered the scene. Holding a microphone and singing a song to the accompaniment of an “orchestra,” they can feel like a professional singer. If the other customers as listeners applause for their performance, there’s the extra satisfaction they get. Karaoke has thus enthused people’s desire to sing. It also served as a pick-me-up tonic in removing stress to those business people and corporate men. As a result, karaoke immediately spread from Kansai (the region of its origin) to all over Japan… and to the rest of the world.

Do you know that karaoke has its own competition that covers contestants across the globe? It’s karaoke world championships!

This competition originated in Finland in 2003 with seven countries. The international karaoke competition features almost thirty countries around the world! It works like any other global competition, where there is a national contest initially held in each competing country, and the winner in each nation will represent their country in the world championships. Talk about how far karaoke has taken you, as far as the entire planet!

The titles to vie are Male Karaoke World Champion and Female Karaoke World Champion. The host country of this world championship has been in the country of its origin, in Finland. But this year is the first time since the birth of the contest that another country other than Finland has hosted the championships. It was held in Thailand last   September 2007.

The participating countries in the Karaoke World Championships are Australia, Austria, Azerbaijan Republic, Canada, China, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, Indonesia, Ireland, Jordan, Kenya, Kuwait, Lebanon, Macao, Malaysia, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Singapore, South Africa, Sweden, Thailand, United Kingdom, and United States Of America.

The champions have had their own chance of fame and recognition as winners of Karaoke World Championships. During the tsunami fundraising concert in Bangkok, Thailand in December 2005, the top five male and female champions were given invitation to sing for the Princess of Thailand. The concert was broadcasted all over Thailand and raised funds for the tsunami victims of that previous year, in 2004. Also, just this April 2007, the winner of the Finnish version of the UK show Pop Idol, Ari Koivunen, happens to be the 2005 Finnish National Karaoke World Champion and the 3rd Place Karaoke World Champion in 2005.

Karaoke World Championships is without a doubt a solid venue for singers’ dreams to come true!

Karaoke becoming a widespread phenomenon has penetrated different aspects of entertainment, including video games, in mobile phones, computers and the Internet.

In video games, there is the Karaoke Revolution by Konami, which is produced for PlayStation2.  This console was made available in North America in 2003 and was finally released for the Microsoft Xbox in late 2004. This console works similarly like a normal karaoke, where a player sings the song with the lyrics on screen. The player is given a score based on rhythm, timing and pitch. Karaoke Revolution gained Karaoke Revolution Vol. 2, Karaoke Revolution Vol. 3, Karaoke Revolution Party Edition and CMT Presents Karaoke Revolution: Country. There is also SingStar created by Sony Computer Entertainment Europe. This video game is especially well-liked in Europe and Australia.

You can also enjoy karaoke on your mobile phone! With the use of Java Midlet where a text file having the lyrics and Midi file having the music are run. Karaokini is one popular mobile karaoke provider.

In computers and the Internet, there had been plenty of softwares and websites that were created in line with karaoke success. There are computer softwares where you can play karaoke songs in your personal computer, and in the Internet, there are sites where you can sing and the entire world can listen as your audience and rate your song. There are a lot of online karaoke communities like singsnap.com, bix.com, singshot.com and ksolo.com.

In the East and Southeast side of Asia, video CDs became a widely popular means of entertainment, owing to the fame of karaoke. And they are continually selling up to these days! Even with the advent of DVDs and other high-tech entertainment bits and pieces, VCD players with karaoke functions are still part of the people’s entertainment systems.

Indeed, you can go where karaoke takes you, even in cars! In China, there has been a car furnished with a karaoke machine! Talk about karaoke transport!

Pacquiao sends Barrera packing
Posted on Mon, Oct. 08, 2007
BY SANTOS PEREZ
sperez@MiamiHerald.com

ERIC JAMISON / AP
Manny Pacquiao of the Philippines, connects with a right to Marco Antonio Barrera of Mexico, during the seventh round of their super featherweight boxing match, on Saturday, Oct. 6, 2007 at The Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas. Pacquiao won by unanimous decision.Despite lacking a fight-finishing arsenal, Manny Pacquiao again proved his skills can dominate a bout.

Blessed with superior hand and foot speed, Pacquiao never allowed Marco Antonio Barrera to mount a fight-altering attack and won a lopsided unanimous decision in their 12-round super-featherweight bout late Saturday in Las Vegas.

”I tried to give a good show tonight,” Pacquiao said. “I hope people liked it.”

Pacquiao (45-3-2) repeatedly frustrated Barrera throughout the bout with quick combinations to the head. Even when Barrera (63-6) landed a solid right to the head, Pacquiao often countered with a left.

Keeping Barrera on the defensive allowed Pacquiao to build a substantial advantage through the early and middle rounds. Barrera landed rights to Pacquiao’s head, but the shots never had Pacquiao in trouble.

Pacquiao’s dominance was confirmed by the scorecards from judges Jerry Roth and Glenn Trowbridge, each of whom had Pacquiao winning 118-109. Judge Tom Schrek had it 115-112 for Pacquiao.

”I was still careful in the fight because he is still a good fighter,” said Pacquiao, who stopped Barrera in 11 rounds four years ago. “He is not an easy opponent.”

Barrera, who spent nearly two years campaigning for Saturday’s rematch, said he will retire.

”I trained hard for this fight and proved wrong the so-called experts who predicted he would finish me in three or four rounds,” said Barrera, 33. “I am happy because it’s my last fight.”

How many times have you seen karaoke as part of the cast in movies? If you’re a karaoke fan, you know when your favorite singing gadget has appeared as a film prop. Like in my My Best Friend’s Wedding, when Julia Robert’s character wanted to embarrass Cameron Diaz’ character in front of everyone, including obviously the fiancé (Dermot Mulroney’s character) by pushing her to sing which she knows the fiancée can’t, with karaoke of course as our valuable prop. In turn, the planned turned out the opposite, with the fiancée’s croaking voice becoming adorable to the audience. We all know what happened after that. Actually, that part of the movie was pretty memorable to me, since the first time I sang with a karaoke in a big class party, my classmate said my voice was similar to that of Cameron’s character, which also, such croaky voice became adorable to them. Haha.

How about in High School Musical, where Zac Ephron and Vannessa Hudgens’ characters first met in a party as randomly chosen guests to sing a duet, making initially visible their chemistry for singing and visible our valuable prop once more! Until they met again in school and tried out for the school play. There are in the list, like in Jim Carrey’s The Cable Guy, Lost in Translation, and Rush Hour 2, where Chris Tucker had his own karaoke act, including outmaneuvering another karaoke singer. Duets is also another film featuring karaoke as the central theme. Jackpot, also featured karaoke bars as locations where the lead character toured, taking chances to fame as a country singer.

Then there’s also the 2006 independent film “The Karaoke King” and the Thai comedy-movie Fun Bar Karaoke, where the lead actress’ father fell in love with a karaoke bar hostess who’s the girlfriend of a mobster. A hitman is dispatched to kill the father, and the lead actress ends up falling in love with the hitman. There is also the documentary “Karaoke Fever” featuring karaoke contestants. In the documentary they go after six aspirants as they vie for one of the coveted spaces in America’s largest singing contest, the Karaoke fest. Competing for fifteen thousand dollars and a recording contract, they are not only singing for the audience’s enjoyment, they are also singing for their lives.

Wow, look! She’s a star, the karaoke!

I read about one news write-up in the health section of a news network that singing can help the brain relearn communication skills. Persons with Alzheimer’s disease are recorded to have unlocked their communication block through singing. Usually, people with dementia tend to withdraw themselves and stop communicating with others; they are not able to hold conversations.

Some relatives of patients with Alzheimer’s tried singing with groups, where their loved ones showed some personality changes like being able to hold conversations, gaining focus and recovering from slurred speech due to a stroke. 

One group which helps such patients is Singing for the Brain, which started three years ago to give aid to patients with dementia. The founder said their weekly sessions had proved popular and successful for patients. They have an avid following in the group they have and families believe it has enhanced their lives and in some ways it has kept people well longer.

The group chooses things to sing for people that have an emotional resonance, things that allow them to express their emotions such as feeling irritated or sad as well as happy. They say that music has the ability to access words and people who have lost their ability to speak can access songs and words from the melody. The singing sessions also appeared to have positive effects on participants’ cognitive powers, their physical ability and their emotions. They likewise seem to enjoy doing something jointly with other people and being socially engaged is good for people with dementia.

It was explained that the part of the brain that worked with speech is different to the part that processes music, allowing those who had lost their speech to still enjoy their music. Rhythm had also been shown to be beneficial, particularly for those with diseases like Parkinson’s where movement was a problem. Listening to rhythms could be very helpful.