Hey folks!

The Best Album of 2001 Karaoke Event is coming up on June 14th! @lanna.bsky.social and @nanette.bsky.social are hosting, and they have provided a helpful FAQ, which I’ve reproduced below. If you have further questions, ping me or the others on Bluesky (I’m @bestalbumbrackets.bsky.social) or shoot me an email at kentmbeeson@hey.com and I’ll pass it along. I’ll do another of these newsletter announcements to get any further answers out.

Question: What do I need to participate?

Answer: We’ll be using Zoom, and at the time of this document’s creation, it seems like you don’t need an account to join a meeting still.

We will not be providing the music due to the inevitability of lag making it impossible to sync music and vocals, so you are responsible for that. There are so, so many karaoke tracks on YouTube, you’d be surprised.

You do not need any specialized equipment to participate.

We recommend testing background tracks by recording yourself ahead of time to know how the balance is. Don’t delay on this, because–

Question: How does this work?

Answer: –you will sign up for a 10-minute time slot ahead of the event and you need to be ready BY THE TIME that slot comes up. In a perfect world, you will be announced by the Emcee, unmuted by the Host, and you begin. In reality, you have five minutes to get started before we’ll likely need to move on for the sake of the schedule.

Question: If I’m busy that day, can I duck in and out without being disruptive?

Answer: Absolutely! If you want to sing but aren’t sure of what time, we can try to slot you in either at the end or if you happen to be free when someone else needs to drop/push back due to technical or other concerns.

Question: What if I have technical difficulties?

Answer: Either someone else will be slotted in or we will move to the next person, and you will receive a later slot messaged to you by the Host. Technical difficulties happen! Don’t worry, you’ll still get your chance to sing.

Question: Who is running this?

For 2001, Nanette will Emcee and Alana will be Hosting. This means Alana will message you to check in before your slot comes up to make sure you’re ready and handle any changes in the background. Please make sure you are ready for that message!

Kent isn’t doing anything but promotion, because he needs a rest.

Question: Do I have to sing?

NO. God no. I mean, it’d be great if you did, but you can just be the audience.

Question: Can I play my own instrument?

Yes.

Question: Does the song have to be from 2001?

Yes. Let’s stick to the theme. If it goes well, we’ll do other years at other times.

Question: Can I wear a costume?

Yes. In fact, I dare you to come in your best 2001 look.