Richmond Co. singers put their voices to the test for trip to Las Vegas

Richmond County residents one more chance to qualify for the upcoming Karaoke World Championship by participating in the Bow-Tie Karaoke Night Wednesday, June 12, hosted by Striker’s Loung.

For the past few weeks contest officials nominated two performers from each Bow-Tie Karaoke Night, and those performers will go head-to-head June 26 for the state competition, also hosted by Striker’s Loung, and an opportunity to take their talents to Las Vegas.

“I just thought it would be good exposure for people in this area. I do a karaoke night, and there are a lot of good singers down here,” said Steve Bryant with Bow Tie Entertainment. “I just wanted them to get the opportunity to get on a big stage in Las Vegas, and possibly the world stage in the Netherlands. It’s wild … This has been going on for 22 years. It has a good history and something I wanted to put my name behind.”

The contest is part of the Karaoke World Championship USA. As part of the contest, for the past few weeks judges at Strikers determine a performer’s scores based on four categories: voice, artistry, technique and stage presence.

“I’m not a judge, but I have judges in the crowd. They have an app and in the app it’s broken down into those categories. They put the numbers in and then we score them. We go by the highest score. First and second [each night] will go on to the state finals. We’re looking forward to that. In two weeks, we’re going to have another competition here, and that will be the last competition to get to the finals,” Bryant said.

Those who qualify each Wednesday will move on to compete in the state competition in June. From there, the winner receives a chance to compete at the national competition in Las Vegas, including airfare. From there, the national champion would compete in the Karaoke World Champion in Turku, Finland.

“One singer is going to win the trip to Vegas, but the next five will be eligible to go to Vegas. They will have to pay their own way, but they will be eligible to go and compete. They will have their room and airfare paid for. That will be good. I’m going. I’m going to coach them all and make sure they’re where they need to go. Hopefully, I can help the runners-up and try to make sure they can go to with a fundraiser or something,” Bryant said.

The final contest kicks off 8 p.m. June 12 inside Striker’s Loung. For more information on the contest, and learn how to sign up to qualify for the state Karaoke Contest, check out the Bow Tie Entertainment Facebook page.