Shadiamond Gardner stepped up to the microphone and gave a performance of Frank Sinatra’s “My Way” that left Columbia students in the audience cheering. After finishing and stepping off stage, the first-year interior architecture major confided that she was nervous. 

“Yeah, most people are,” Gardner said.

Gardner said karaoke gives people a chance to step out of their usual roles and play a character, usually that of the original singer.

“Karaoke’s like playing pretend,” she said.

Student Engagement and Leadership hosted the karaoke event in The Hive on Thursday, Sept. 10. As the sun set outside the windows on Michigan Avenue, students went up to the microphone to sing pop hits like Bruno Mars’ “Versace on the Floor” and parodies like Weird Al’s “Word Crimes.” Nearly one hundred students, with even more coming in and out throughout the evening, were in the audience singing and clapping along to strangers they didn’t even know, many of them first-year students coming out to one of their first campus events.

“Karaoke is a great way for everyone to get involved,” said Cecelia Voth, a senior music major and one of the hosts of the event.

Mackenzie Endlich, a senior computer animation major, echoed a similar sentiment, confidently stating that karaoke is “a good opportunity for students to bond.” 

Winter McManus, a first-year film and television major, said karaoke lets her “sing and be stupid on stage.” Even if the audience “doesn’t know the song, they’re able to pick up on the beat and clap along.” 

Copy edited by Isaac Russo