The best karaoke in NYC

FOR THE BONOS, THE KIM DEALS AND THE STEELY DAN FETISHISTS
We know part of the fun of karaoke is guaranteeing that for about three minutes, you own the stage, the private room, the back of the bar, whatever. But not everyone wants to be a Beyoncé—some prefer the percussive force of an entire band playing live behind them. Rock Star Karaoke (rockstarkaraokenyc.com)—a real band that makes its living backing up karaoke singers—plays all the classics, from Bryan Adams’s “Summer of ’69” to Boyz II Men’s “Water Runs Dry” to Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ on a Prayer.” “When you’re on that stage with a live band behind you, you truly feel as if you are performing,” says RSK host and backup vocalist Kelly Cooper. “You can feel the energy from our guitar player as he jumps around on the stage. That energy feeds into the performance and I think the adrenaline rush is much greater.” The band can be booked for private functions, but regularly performs Wednesdays at Hank’s Saloon (46 Third Ave at Atlantic Ave, Boerum Hill, Brooklyn; 718-625-8003, hankssaloon.com) and Thursdays at the Canal Room (285 West Broadway at Canal St; 212-941-8100, canalroom.com; $3).

FOR THE ENTHUSIASTIC AMATEURS
Wicked Willy’s (149 Bleecker St between La Guardia Pl and Thompston St, 212-254-8592; $1 per song) is not a proper karaoke bar—there are no private rooms—but it does host amateur performers Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays at around 8pm. “It’s the only place I know where you can play beer pong and sing karaoke,” says regular Alex Salazar. The extensive song list carries the latest Lady Gaga–laced pop hits (“P-p-poker face, p-p-poker face, mum mum mum mah!”), a decent selection of Spanish songs and most of the staples. Performers also get a free drink with the first song they sing—presumably to help steady those nerves. Should the caterwauling overwhelm your fancy ears, there is a large projection screen in the back for taking in the Yankees game.

FOR THE CLASSICISTS
There is one place in this cruel world where it’s socially acceptable to get wasted and croon an off-key, off-lyric version of your favorite ’80s pop song, and that spot has been christened Winnie’s (104 Bayard St at Baxter St, 212-732-2384; $1 per song). This Chinatown cave may be the most “obvious” venue for karaokeing in the city, mostly because it caters to a wide swath of the karaoke electorate, including besuited Triad-looking types and the usual hipster element. Winnie’s regular Matt Joyner calls the place “trashy fun,” but offers a warning to the Tina Turner fans: “They only have the CCR version of John Fogerty’s ‘Proud Mary.’” Winnie’s overcomes this deficiency with strong drinks and good customer service. “They did fire the karaoke machine back up for us one night after they had already turned it off,” recalls Joyner. “The ladies who run the place got sort of sassy about it, but hey, they did it.”

FOR THE ROB GORDON INSIDE OF YOU
B-side diehards and belting obscurists find their sonic ambrosia at Karaoke 17 (29 W 17th St between Fifth and Sixth Aves; 212-675-3527, karaoke17.com), which may just have every song ever written—more than 80,000 on the books, by their count, with a hundred or so added each month. You can sing at the bar ($2 per song), or rent out one of the private rooms ($8 per person per hour) to save the general karaoke public from your lovable-but-embarrassing friends, who may have developed an indie complex for the evening. Says regular Oui Wong: “It has a nice, relaxed atmosphere. You don’t get the college-student crowd here, and therefore don’t have to deal with any obnoxious people.” Hopefully, that means no Céline Dion either.

FOR THE AMERICAN IDOL HOPEFULS
Karaoke Kave (9 E 13th St between Fifth Ave and University Pl; 646-250-5670, karaokecave.com), an East Village redoubt formerly known as Lemongrass, has a great song selection, including Billy Bragg’s “Sexuality” and the masturbatory Idol anthem “Dancing with Myself.” Plus, in the words of karaoke hero Taline Ghazarian, “the stage area is pretty big, so you can really perform there, like crawling on the floor and doing the splits.” That about covers James Brown. The only problem is the occasional rogue influx of singers whose vocal chops trouble many a karaoke lover: “Sometimes these musical-theater types show up en masse and take over the place,” says one fan. “Who goes to karaoke to hear people that can actually sing?” A valid question. But now you know where to go if you do.

Sing-alongs
Your voice is just part of the chorus at these mass-singing events.

92YTribeca casts a wide net when it comes to singing along to the films that you loved, and that possibly once terrified you. A Bowie-infused Labyrinth sing-along double whammy is slated for September 25 and 26. Bring your best Goblin King impression. 200 Hudson St between Canal and Desbrosses Sts (212-601-1000, 92ytribeca.org). 11pm, $13

Michael Jackson may be gone, but he won’t be forgotten—not as long as we have hordes of people all simultaneously screaming off-key renditions of “Billie Jean” in subways and bars. Self-described “Communist karaoke” champion Michael Austin is hosting a Michael Jackson sing-along event on Friday 28 at Legion, during which prizes will be awarded for the best MJ costume. A “Live Thriller Dancer” will be present to pay homage to the King of Pop. FREE 790 Metropolitan Ave at Humboldt St, Williamsburg, Brooklyn (718-387-3797). 9pm

Every Friday and Saturday night at Sweet Caroline’s, keyboard masters Mark Weiser and Joe Valeri take audience requests, mine their vast knowledge of catchy tunes (it’s not all Neil Diamond) and bust out singable tracks on twin baby-grand pianos. 163 W 46th St at Seventh Ave (212-977-3884, sweetcarolinesnyc.com). 10pm

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