The First Ever GhostLight Idol
The bar where you’re the star. Months ago, someone used that to describe the GhostLight Lounge. It was clever and rhymed, and held enough truth that we found it fitting to turn that offhand comment into our motto.
In many ways, we experience that every karaoke night. With our regulars on Friday nights, who show up every week with their closest friends to celebrate the joy of being together through renditions of The Eagles and Allman Brothers songs. Or the groups that show up towards the end, looking for one last stop for their night on the town, all gathered up on stage to sing an almost coherent cover of “Sweet Caroline”, the remaining patrons dancing and singing along from the audience. Or the random passers-by, who stop in out of curiosity and find themselves up on stage, surprising everyone with a unique take on a Celine Dion song. Our stage has become a place for many people to take their first step into the spotlight.
I will admit that over time, I’ve grown a little tired of karaoke. I know what you’re thinking, how in the world could someone even consider such a thought? But I have. Perhaps it’s just the folly of my youth or the underlying cynicism that seems to run rampant in my generation, or, most likely, jealousy. I mean as much as I love my job, I do miss the days when I’d go out with my friends with nothing on my mind but having fun. And just like every other human being on this planet, sometimes those negative feelings get the best of me and cloud my judgment, which leads to silly thoughts such as the aforementioned one. But never fear, dear reader, for it was on January 20th, that this Debbie Downer had a change of heart.
Our very first contestant of the night came up to the bar to check-in. Despite her wide grin, I could sense the nervousness in her stance. Her boyfriend stood next to her, with an even wider grin and nothing but support in his stride. Later I learned that he’d been part of her push to participate in our competition. Courtney Ziehr, whose incredible take of “Call Me When You’re Sober” by Evanescence wowed the audience enough to move her to the final round, hadn’t sung in front of anyone in years. Her boyfriend, sensing her passion for it and recognizing her talent, supported her in stepping outside of her comfort zone, all the way to the moment she was on stage. Her strong voice carried her the rest of the way. By the end of the song, you could tell something had changed in Courtney. That her leap into uncertainty had paid off tremendously as she faced her fears and sang in front of a packed room, and it was packed. Every chair full, more stolen from outside, people lined up against the walls. Trying to move around was like playing a game of the floor is lava, jumping over purses and toes.
As our contestants continued to take the stage, the audience continued to grow. Even those who just happened upon our competition joined in on the participation. When it was time to jam, like Daniel Fuqua’s cover of “Welcome to the Jungle or Mariah Walthrath’s “Let’s Give Them Something to Talk About”, or Katie Burn’s “What’s Up” (who worked the stage with added choreography, a move that brought her to our final round), the audience jammed with the performers. When slower songs filled the stage, like Chris Williams’s “Desperado” and Mel Ramsey’s “Paint Me a Birmingham”, the audience swayed with the melancholic melodies, waiting until the end of the song to let out their eruptive applause. And of course, there was the performance of “Open Arms” by Shasta Roberts, who brought new meaning to the phrase power ballad and secured her spot as a finalist within minutes of leaving the stage.
For the final round, the audience selected five of our sixteen performers. We had a mix of talented vocalists and performers in that final five, all with their own unique style and appeal that helped them secure that coveted spot. In no particular order, Katie Burns and her abundance of stage presence, Courtney Ziehr with her passion and talent, Bandi who wowed audiences with her vocal range, Fake Ian, whose real name is Alex but agreed to lie for a spot in the competition, and our eventual winner, Shasta Roberts. For her second performance, she chose boldly, opting for the Ozzy Osbourne classic “Crazy Train”. Her incredible vocals carry over from her first performance, and she showed the audience that she was made for the stage, or maybe in this case, the stage was made for her.
After everyone performed their last song, a final vote was cast, and it was evident even before we counted the tickets that Shasta Roberts had taken the victory. I grabbed the trophy made earlier in the week (a beer bottle spray painted gold and decorated like a second grader’s art project) and the cash winnings, before announcing our winner and greeting her on stage, where she thanked the audience, and in a touching surprise, invited her brother on stage to help her song her celebratory song.
The rest of the night carried on with our regularly scheduled karaoke, and our bar continued to pull in more people from the street. The energy from our event maintained steadily through the night, and as we drew nearer to the end, I wondered if we ever going to get there. Eventually, things died down, and our doors came to a close for the weekend.
It was a good night. Consider me like the Grinch of karaoke, and this tale of The GhostLight Idol is akin to how his heart grew three times that Christmas Day. While I might still roll my eyes at the starting notes of “Wagon Wheel” for the umpteenth time, it’ll be with love, for as repetitive karaoke might seem to me, for some, being up on that stage is their only opportunity to stand in the spotlight. Literally, metaphorically, or however you want to take it: everyone deserves a chance to feel seen, to be heard, or just enjoy a moment alone at the center of attention.
Shasta winning the first ever GhostLight Idol.
