There's two o's in Goose, boys...
Well, Jerry Lee Lewis has done me good. I was informed Monday that I came in third place in Friday's Karaoke finale. I didn't really understand how that happened, since my score wasn't even in the top 10, but that's what I was told. Then they told me I had to attend an awards ceremony on Wednesday, and that I would once again have to perform "Great Balls of Fire." Not good news for me...
I went to the ceremony with a couple of other guys from the office who were also finalists. One of them sang Peking Opera in full garb: makeup, platform sandals, a brilliant blue robe/thingy and a really big hat. The other guy sang a Chinese pop song called "One Night in Beijing." I think he was a favorite with the ladies. They were both really cool guys.
We got there early and watched the stage get set up. The 715 hosts were sitting in the front of the auditorium talking when one of them saw me and called me over. He was the one who talked to me about American music backstage during the semifinals. We talked about the States and North Carolina, and about my new-found celebrity status within the company. He said he was really impressed that the company allowed such a fun event to happen.
"Ten years ago, this would have been impossible," he said. I know there was another karaoke competition 12 years ago, so I asked him what he meant.
"This is so relaxed. Everyone is having a good time and the songs are popular. People liked your American song. Ten years ago, every song would have been a patriotic song about China. It would have been very serious." That was an interesting thing to hear.
I had to open today's show once again, which was fine, except the audio guys started the song before I was even given a mic. It's a tough song to pick up like that, but I tried - "You shake my nerves and you rattle my brain!" - then they started the song over. I looked over at them and gave them a stop gesture with my hand, then a little wave to tell them to start over. They did, but that brief four-note intro blended in with the part of the song that was going already, so I didn't catch it. Then they started it again, but by then I was all flustered so it got all jumbled up. I was really sad my last performance had to start like that. Also, the front row was filled with all of our corporate gurus who were most definitely the most serious-looking people on the planet. It was really intimidating. They weren't getting into the song, no one was clapping along. It was like performing in a morgue. A total reversal of what it was like the other times I performed.
It got better as the song went on. I sang it a lot better this time - not well, just better - since my throat wasn't feeling as bad. I fell to my knees to sing the last line again and threw my arms out on the last beat, which people liked. Then, since I knew the crowd hadn't really felt the performance, I yelled, "Zhong guo jia yo!" (Go China!), which made everyone cheer. I think it made up for the lackluster beginning. Gotta know how to play to your crowd...
After another performer, they called a group of us onto the stage, and it then made sense how I got third place. Actually, eight of us got third place - very communist. I finished 12th overall in the competition and the people who finished eighth through 15th were considered the third place group. The top three all got first place and fourth through seventh got second. I got a bouquet of flowers and a big red award folder that actually doesn't have anything in it. They said I would get my prize soon. I'm dying to know what it is.
At this point, I have to say that this KTV competition has been the best part of this trip. I'm sad it's over. So far in China, I've seen some sights and met some people. I've done most of the cliché tourist stuff. I ate the food, experienced this and that, but getting to be a part of this event was really an honor and definitely something unlike anything I have ever experienced. I could go home tomorrow and be satisfied with my experience here based on that alone.
I went to the ceremony with a couple of other guys from the office who were also finalists. One of them sang Peking Opera in full garb: makeup, platform sandals, a brilliant blue robe/thingy and a really big hat. The other guy sang a Chinese pop song called "One Night in Beijing." I think he was a favorite with the ladies. They were both really cool guys.
We got there early and watched the stage get set up. The 715 hosts were sitting in the front of the auditorium talking when one of them saw me and called me over. He was the one who talked to me about American music backstage during the semifinals. We talked about the States and North Carolina, and about my new-found celebrity status within the company. He said he was really impressed that the company allowed such a fun event to happen.
"Ten years ago, this would have been impossible," he said. I know there was another karaoke competition 12 years ago, so I asked him what he meant.
"This is so relaxed. Everyone is having a good time and the songs are popular. People liked your American song. Ten years ago, every song would have been a patriotic song about China. It would have been very serious." That was an interesting thing to hear.
I had to open today's show once again, which was fine, except the audio guys started the song before I was even given a mic. It's a tough song to pick up like that, but I tried - "You shake my nerves and you rattle my brain!" - then they started the song over. I looked over at them and gave them a stop gesture with my hand, then a little wave to tell them to start over. They did, but that brief four-note intro blended in with the part of the song that was going already, so I didn't catch it. Then they started it again, but by then I was all flustered so it got all jumbled up. I was really sad my last performance had to start like that. Also, the front row was filled with all of our corporate gurus who were most definitely the most serious-looking people on the planet. It was really intimidating. They weren't getting into the song, no one was clapping along. It was like performing in a morgue. A total reversal of what it was like the other times I performed.
It got better as the song went on. I sang it a lot better this time - not well, just better - since my throat wasn't feeling as bad. I fell to my knees to sing the last line again and threw my arms out on the last beat, which people liked. Then, since I knew the crowd hadn't really felt the performance, I yelled, "Zhong guo jia yo!" (Go China!), which made everyone cheer. I think it made up for the lackluster beginning. Gotta know how to play to your crowd...
After another performer, they called a group of us onto the stage, and it then made sense how I got third place. Actually, eight of us got third place - very communist. I finished 12th overall in the competition and the people who finished eighth through 15th were considered the third place group. The top three all got first place and fourth through seventh got second. I got a bouquet of flowers and a big red award folder that actually doesn't have anything in it. They said I would get my prize soon. I'm dying to know what it is.
At this point, I have to say that this KTV competition has been the best part of this trip. I'm sad it's over. So far in China, I've seen some sights and met some people. I've done most of the cliché tourist stuff. I ate the food, experienced this and that, but getting to be a part of this event was really an honor and definitely something unlike anything I have ever experienced. I could go home tomorrow and be satisfied with my experience here based on that alone.
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