In the Philippines, We Take Karaoke Seriously

Me singing some accordion-enhanced karaoke.

Unlike here in North America, even the toughest bar in the Philippines — even the ones with real-life pirates — are likely to have karaoke. That’s how hardcore we are about it. In my immediate family alone, we collectively own 4 karaoke machines (6 if you count my PlayStation 2 and XBox with their karaoke-based games).

And believe me, that’s nothing. Here’s a story from ABS-CBN news…

Man slain for singing off-key in videoke bar

For singing out of tune, a jobless man was shot dead by a security guard of a videoke bar at the height of an argument in San Mateo, Rizal Tuesday night.

The victim, Romy Baligula, 29, was shot in the chest and was pronounced dead on arrival in a local hospital.

Senior Superintendent Felipe Rojas, acting Rizal police director, said the suspect, Robilito Ortega, 43, was arrested by responding policemen and yielded a caliber .38 revolver with five live bullets.

Rojas said Baligula and his companions were having a drinking spree at the Jullives KTV bar where Ortega worked as a security guard.

Prior to the incident, Ortega approached the table of Baligula’s group and shook hands with each of them, apparently in a show of friendship.

When Baligula started to sing, Ortega even danced to the tune. But when the song progressed, the suspect reportedly commented that the victim was out of tune, triggering a verbal tussle.

At the height of the argument, Ortega pulled out his service firearm and opened fire at Baligula before fleeing.

Rojas said policemen patrolling the area heard the gunshots and responded to the scene and eventually arrested Ortega.

Dave, who sent me the link to this story, wrote “I will never do karaoke in the Philippines,” to which I responded “Lightweight.” They should try to incorporate firearms-assisted judging into American Idol.