Explosm Idol

[abbey]

YES, THE SINGING CONTEST IS BACK
http://www.aolcdn.com/aolr/06-emma-roberts-addie-singer-400a032807.jpg

REGISTRATION IS CLOSED. THIS THREAD IS NOW FOR SONG SUGGESTIONS.

Competition is here. (http://forums.explosm.net/showthread.php?t=51986)

[Inseln]

Signing up!

I so love this shit.

[paraskeet]

Totally signing up.

I aim to win this.

[gizzalove]

As last years winner, I will be judging. Also shouldn't this be in the music forum?

[abbey]

As last years winner, I will be judging. Also shouldn't this be in the music forum?
People are showcasing their singing talents. I put her in her place.

[WoeStorm]

Can there be points for bad singing? I'd win this shit.

[abbey]

Can there be points for bad singing? I'd win this shit.
That'll be under "entertainment value", so yes there will be points.

[Aramon]

Haha I'll sign up for the hell of it. Count me in. I like competing.

EDIT: What kind of music is it in general?

[exetra]

Oh god yes.

[Metalhead636]

sign me up. I might drop out.

[abbey]

Haha I'll sign up for the hell of it. Count me in. I like competing.

EDIT: What kind of music is it in general?
We'll try to include most genres, but it'll be easy to sing guaranteed.

[Ocellatus]

I'm in. You guys are going down.

[Aramon]

We'll try to include most genres, but it'll be easy to sing guaranteed.

Sounds great! I'm in.

[exetra]

We'll try to include most genres, but it'll be easy to sing guaranteed.

Pfft, all the best songs for these things are hard to sing.

Unless you consider Take On Me easy.

[Aramon]

Well how about we all sing whatever we want, the judges listen to ours and the original and judge us. We don't have to sing the same thing to find a winner, talent is talent. Or lack there of. Just a suggestion, though, I'm happy the way it is now.

[Metalhead636]

We should have themes every week. Not too specific, but maybe one week it is American artists, the next, 70's shit.

[Tweek]

It's better if everyone does the same song. Last time there was like, an option to do a song of your own choice as well every round but I think it's a lot easier on everyone if everyone does the same song.

[exetra]

Or like, everyone sings a certain song as well as a song of their choosing. Each week.

[Metalhead636]

But Tweek, think about it, if we all do one song, someone will have an obvious advantage.

If we do a song like Take on Me, the guy with the good range will do best, etc.


Also, where can I find/make instrumental versions of songs?

[exetra]

Usually an instrumental is provided, right? Oh, and I wouldn't worry about having a good range for high songs, anyone can falsetto.

I thought it was something like the judges pick one song and you do that one and a song of your own.

[Ocellatus]

We should do some black or some death metal. So then my victory would be guaranteed.

[InTransit]

Or like, everyone sings a certain song as well as a song of their choosing. Each week.

Should be this. And I'm so in.

[abbey]

Or like, everyone sings a certain song as well as a song of their choosing. Each week.
That's how it was last year. The thing with this is that some of the judges don't know if they'll have time to listen to 2 songs for each contestant. If we get 10 people competing, that comes out to about an hour of listening time. We'll see though. When the first round starts, a lot might be different.

As for the instrumentals, they are pretty hard to find for most songs. We'll try, but last year, having the actual artist singing in the background didn't turn out too badly.

[Laurence]

On all those Idol shows they work up to 2 songs as the weeks progress and contestants are eliminated. Maybe the first round should just be the one chosen song (different for each group, a la the previous competition), and then once we get the numbers down then we can let people sing two songs.

[Aramon]

Going on what abbey said, I don't think having the artist in the background is that bad as long as you can tell the contestant is singing, and be able to distinguish the two voices.

[Benjaman]

Put me down as a backup judge in case you can't get a hold on anyone else. I'm awful at singing.

[gizzalove]

Who cares if you're awful. I can't sing at all and I won last year!

[Tweek]

I'm even awfuller and I got pretty far, as well. It's just some fun.

[DieHard]

I'm not backing out this time, I'm signing up

[Fruitality]

Oh dear I think I might have to try this. Though I'll need to find a time when I'm the only person home to sing.

[Aramon]

Oh dear I think I might have to try this. Though I'll need to find a time when I'm the only person home to sing.

Me too! You should come to my house and we can pow wow. Is that gay?

[Fruitality]

Hardly.

[Aramon]

Hahaha, so is it that you can't sing or just don't like singing in front of others?

[Fruitality]

Nah I like singing though I don't know how decent I sound. I just don't want my family to hear and judge me.

[Aramon]

Yeah I can understand that. In my opinion I'm fairly decent, but I don't want to get ragged on for doing it by my family either. I'm just hoping the music they pick is good.

[exetra]

The music that will be picked doesn't have to be good, just funny. I wanna hear Metalhead doing Barbie Girl or something.

[Aramon]

Hahaha! Okay that works too. Or Too Sexy for my Shirt. With a video. HIlarious...

[Sanlands]

Anyone know any good synthesizers?

[Ercoledi]

This could be amusing. I'm in.

[Sieda]

I have absolute shit to record myself with. But I'm tempted to throw myself in the fire anyway.

I'll try it out, we can back out without too much difficulty though, right?

[exetra]

Anyone know any good synthesizers?


What sort of sound do you want? Are you talking hardware or software?

[abbey]

I have absolute shit to record myself with. But I'm tempted to throw myself in the fire anyway.

I'll try it out, we can back out without too much difficulty though, right?
Backing out is just a matter of not posting any of your singing. No one's going to persecute you.

[Aramon]

I've been thinking, and it's just a thought- If we get a lot of people, it can be handled in a simple tournament style bracket system. Otherwise, it could just be the person with the lowest score in each round that loses and the final two contestants have a showdown style thing. That's my two cents, those two options seem like the only logical ones to me.

[abbey]

I'm thinking no eliminations.

Five rounds of songs, five rounds of scoring, the person with the most points wins. Otherwise things will get boring when we're down to only 2 or 3.

[Aramon]

Hm that would be cool too. Like I said, whatever works, works for me. That sounds good though.

[SourChicken]

There should be an "Obscure Song" round, where only B sides tracks are allowed.

[mikerotch5]

count me in!

[CnGy]

can I still sign up?

[abbey]

can I still sign up?
Yes. Signing up will still be open for another few days.

[CnGy]

I would like to sign up then.

I cannot sing at all.

[Sieda]

Backing out is just a matter of not posting any of your singing. No one's going to persecute you.

Sweet. I'm totally in.

[Sanlands]

What sort of sound do you want? Are you talking hardware or software?

Software, something to make my voice even more angelic (as if it was possible).

I'm in by the way.

[puce]

I'm in.

[exetra]

Software, something to make my voice even more angelic (as if it was possible).

Okay, if you wanted to cheat you could use Antares Autotune or Orange Vocoder but don't do that because that would be gay.

If you want your voice to really sound nice naturally you're going to need a microphone with a frequency response that suits your voice. As a rule of thumb, most people with an average vocal range sound good with a microphone that has slightly more gain around the 2-6KHz region, and less sensitivity below 120Hz. It doesn't really matter for this thing though, anyway.

So you're probably recording with a shitty mic, right? Keep your cool. Remember to record with as little background noise as possible and sing in a way that's comfortable. Use headphones to listen to the backing track to avoid feedback and/or phasing. Avoid breathing onto the microphone, sing facing at an angle to the mic instead of straight into it to avoid pops from plosive ("puh", "duh", "buh" etc.) and fricative ("fff", "vvv", etc.) sounds. If singing at an angle isn't how you roll you can make a pop filter with a wire coathanger and a pair of stockings (not pantyhose) by bending the coathanger into a circular shape and pulling the two stockings over the circle. Hold this contraption between you and the microphone when you sing.

OH! Almost forgot the golden rule: DON'T FUCKING CLIP. When you record and it distorts because you're recording stuff too loudly and all the pretty lights on your recording program go red, that's a bad thing. Always check your input levels before you start recording for real.

I think I'm done. I'm not going to get into EQ and compression and shit because I think that's against the spirit of the competition anyway. It's just for fun but hopefully my advice should make your recordings more usable.

[CnGy]

So I should put the mic inside my mouth when I sing, right etc?

[exetra]

Definitely not you silly prick.

[Pencil]

EDIT: Nevermind that, just sound is needed of course.

Anyway, sign me up, I live for this shit.

[Inseln]

Last day of sign ups today, when do we start? ;D

[abbey]

Later today. It might be July 7th where you live when it starts. I'll make a new thread though, you won't miss it.

[Pencil]

How about a song suggestion thread?
You might stumble upon some great songs you hadn't thought of yourself that way.

[abbey]

How about a song suggestion thread?
You might stumble upon some great songs you hadn't thought of yourself that way.
Good idea!

Go ahead and suggest songs in this thread.

[Pencil]

We could do pretty much anything by Bob Dylan. Easy to sing and some of the songs are really good.

[Poopymo]

Touch me by the doors, easy to learn sounds good and has a good vocal range.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PECk9A-07Pw

[RaxoZellet]

Some Sinatra songs would be great.

Come Fly with Me (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Euci0_BBmNE)
Fly me to the Moon (His version is the best)
(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=znjEVqSmUSE)Love and Marriage (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vbOQc3kl1uo)

[exetra]

We absolutely must do at least one song by Aqua.

Actually for one round just give us a choice between Barbie Girl (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zEzh10_xoqw) and Doctor Jones (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=buXJlBd3Mf8).

[Inseln]

We absolutely must do at least one song by Aqua.

Actually for one round just give us a choice between Barbie Girl (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zEzh10_xoqw) and Doctor Jones (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=buXJlBd3Mf8).

Add Cartoon Heros to that list!

[exetra]

Cartoon Heroes is fucking long though... Then again, it's a great throwback. Also, Turn Back Time by them is actually a genuinely decent song and doesn't rely on the duet'ing between Lene and the bald man.

[Fruitality]

I'm just gonna suggest an obvious Total Eclipse of the Heart just cos everyone secretly loves that. Maybe Yesterday by the Beatles.

[Sieda]

I totally second Total Eclipse of the Heart. I was singing the version from "Old School" the other day.

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"Once upon a time I was falling in love, now I'm fuckin' falling apart."

[Laurence]

Unbreak My Heart by Toni Braxton. There can be a week where it's that or Total Eclipse of the Heart. That would be awesome.

Maybe we should just have theme weeks instead? 80s, 90s, Disney, etc.

[Pencil]

Keep in mind that we need karaoke versions, so the songs have to be reasonably famous.

[Fruitality]

We don't really need karaoke versions, you can remove the vocals from songs with Audacity, but it's still a bit of a hassle.

I find it kinda funny that my voice sounds decent and on time to me but recorded its shit and off time.

[exetra]

It's probably down to the microphone you use for the shitty sound and (probably) a lack of low-latency sound drivers for the shitty timing, fruity.

[CnGy]

We could do pretty much anything by Bob Dylan. Easy to sing and some of the songs are really good.

Can I please do something like this instead of the songs you gave me where I like.

HAVE TO SING. Lol.

I will do them but yeah if you could have one that's more twangy or cooler basically that would be nice.

like tom waits

[CnGy]

And exetra and fruity should be responsible for devocalizing any song.

[abbey]

The whole point is that you have to sing, though. I guess we can throw in a song like that sometime, but I doubt there will be more than one.

[Pencil]

There'll probably be a few awesome results if you pick a Tom Waits song.
And a few shitty ones.

[Laurence]

There'll probably be a few awesome results if you pick a Tom Waits song.
And a few shitty ones.

Let's just hope Scarlett Johansson doesn't post on Explosm :lol:

[paraskeet]

Nelly - Hot in Herre

[puce]

Afternoon Delight

[Matterialize]

Afternoon Delight

Holy shit.

You guys should totally do duets/quartets.

[Inseln]

Any and all Spice Girls!

[Beep]

Duet duet duet duet.

And, for shits and giggles, Holding out for a Hero - Bonnie Tyler

[Tweek]

Something by The Aquabats should be done at some point.

[InTransit]

I think to test everyone's diversity we should do Bohemian Rhapsody.

[Tweek]

I love singing Bohemian Rhapsody, it's pretty much a must have.

[exetra]

Fuck yes. Bohemian Rhapsody will be the best thing ever.

If we're going to do duets we should do Aqua songs tbh.

[Beep]

Dibs dueting Bohemian Rhapsody with Inseln.

[abbey]

The thing is that I don't know how we'd judge duets. Do a combined score that applies to both of you? I'll confer with the other judges.

[Pencil]

We should do Sultans of Swing by the Dire Straits. Because it's awesome.

[paraskeet]

Jessie's Girl.

[Benjaman]

Rocketman. Elton John or Shatner, the contestants take their pick.

[Tweek]

A Rage Against The Machine song would fare well.

[Poopymo]

Any song where dio was the vocalist.

[Putzmeister]

Bohemian Rhapsody - Queen
OR
Don't Stop Me Now - Queen

Edit: No I hadn't read previous posts suggesting Bohemian Rhapsody, but it still needs to be done.

[paraskeet]

Marvin Gaye - Sexual Healing.

It'll be erotic.

[Sieda]

Well. I was just hired on at a job from hell, and I'm pretty much going to be awake when everyone else in my house is sleeping... so I really don't think I'll have the time to participate in the rest of the competition.

I doubt I'll be missed, but good luck to everyone else.

[InTransit]

I think a Michael Jackson song is a good idea too now that he's dead and all.

[Laurence]

Eh if we were going to sing something by a musician just because they're dead, make it someone good. Jeff Buckley, Elliott Smith, Ian Curtis (Joy Division).

[Inseln]

Nah man, thriller would be the shit.

[Fruitality]

Tom Jones - Sex Bomb

Lots of kareoke versions of this, too.

[RaxoZellet]

There should be a freestyle rap round.

Or you could sing "Man! I Feel Like a Woman!" by Shania Twain

[Inseln]

Time fucking Warp.

I don't Care - Fall Out Boy

[exetra]

Jeff Buckley

pfft noone cares about the songs he wrote himself

[Urser]

Madonna - Beautiful Stranger.

Pleeeeaaaase.

[Laurence]

pfft noone cares about the songs he wrote himself

Yeah I only really mentioned him because he's more of a crowdpleaser than the other two. Probably more likely to find karaoke versions of his songs, too.

[SourChicken]

These Boots Were Made For Walkin'
SexyBack
Apple Bottom Jeans
Can't Get Enough of Your Love

[paraskeet]

Madonna - Beautiful Stranger.

Pleeeeaaaase.

I would sing this anytime.

[Inseln]

These Boots Were Made For Walkin'
SexyBack
Apple Bottom Jeans
Can't Get Enough of Your Love

Oh GOD yes!!

[Tweek]

USA by Reagan Youth would be nice. And a song by the Beastie Boys, like Intergalactic or Girls or something.
Just to get a nice bit of diversity.

[paraskeet]

Dee-Lite - Groove is in the Heart.

[Pencil]

Thunder Road by Bruce Springsteen!

[Inseln]

Copperhead road - Steve Earle
Khe Sanh - Cold Chisel

[exetra]

Khe Sanh - Cold Chisel

Oh my god yes please.

Probably have to be an ausfag to appreciate this though.

[Inseln]

Ausfag ftw.

Any killing heidi song too.

[CnGy]

Michael Jackson please.

So then I wouldn't feel as bad because NO one would sound that good.

[Pencil]

Oh we should do My Way too.

[Igotapoodle]

If you do a Opera song or two I would join. Opera is about they only kind of songs I can sing decently.

[exetra]

Sing the songs we pick operatically.

[LaughBoo]

Disregard this post.

[CreamScreamer]

ABC - Jackson 5
Tutti Frutti - Little Richard

Oh and any Queen song suggested so far.

[Metalhead636]

Oh my god. Fruit deserves to win for that Take On Me.

Do Child in Time by Deep Purple.

[DieHard]

well cool my computer broke and it wont be fixed in time. I don't want to do this but I'm out