Mista Karoge: Tuesday-Night Zoom with Haleluhyia Didi

My karaoke friend Didi insisted that with the lockdown we had to find a way to croak away. After minutes, or even seconds, on Google I found the perfect solution.

The event requires using two different platforms. The first, Zoom, is where we’ll congregate and sing to each other. Guests are instructed to wear headphones and mute their microphones when not singing or talking to keep excess noise to a minimum.

The other is Watch2Gether, a platform that allows people to stream videos at the same rate. (Picture two browser windows. In one is Zoom, in the other is a YouTube karaoke video running so you and your co-singers can all see the same lyrics in sync while also watching the videoconference.) Duets and costumes, the document notes, are encouraged.

We start off after alot of learning - the curve was very steep. Didi begins with a Nina Simone. She gives it her all, and despite the audio lag and some glitching… it’s great. And then it’s my turn. I have opted for Oasis’ “Wonderwall.”

Halfway through my impassioned performance — apologies to my neighbor — I get a DM from Didi that my mic has stopped working. I’ve been dramatically miming for the past 32 nseconds. Technical difficulties fixed, we restart the track and do it all again.

Didi proposes making this a regular Tuesday event.

I’m grateful for the evening’s distraction as I pick up my phone to see a news alert blaring grim disease statistics. It feels a little like we’re all living in the musical interlude of a too-long karaoke track. On hold until the screen tells us what to do next. Waiting, waiting, waiting.

See you inside?