By Sally Deering

 Shower-singers, car-crooners – people who love to sing – or who love to hear themselves sing – are a cult of sorts who gather at bars and restaurants on Karaoke nights to show off their inner Katy Perry and Bruno Mars.  But Karaoke’s not just for the college crowd out for a few laughs over brewskies.

With the popularity of shows like “American Idol” and “The Voice,” people who love to sing have a huge choice of places in Hudson to send up some fireworks of their own while club owners cash in on the free entertainment.

“I’m getting them from 21 to 61,” says Raul Vicente, a retired newspaperman who hosts Karaoke nights at the Blue Moon Mexican Café in Jersey City. “My younger singers will do Bruno Mars, Katy Perry and then I got guys, they’re singing Tony Bennett and Frank Sinatra.”

Vicente, who sang with a group called The Heartaches back in the day now does the Karaoke circuit for Johnny C Productions, a Jersey City-based company and brings all the necessary paraphernalia – songbooks, microphones, and TV Monitors that display the song lyrics – to turn any saloon into a nightclub.

“Its great entertainment and extremely popular,” Vicente says. “That’s why there are so many Karaoke nights right now. All across New Jersey there are hundreds of Karaoke places.”

In Hudson, especially Hoboken and Jersey City, more than 20 bars and restaurants hold Karaoke nights for local singers who run the gamut in talent from professional singers to those who can barely carry a tune. What makes a good Karaoke singer? Vicente says it’s someone who may not have a lot of professional expertise, but what they do have is a lot of heart.

“Sometimes they don’t have the best voice in the world but their hearts in it,” Vicente says. “I like them because they’ll sing their hearts out.”

Vicente usually starts Karaoke night with a song.  He says:  “I opened up last night with a fast version of ‘Careless Whispers’ by George Michael that I discovered on the Internet. I wanted to test it. I usually open up with ‘Does Anybody Know What Time It Is’ by Chicago”.

On a typical Karaoke night at Blue Moon about 40 regulars show up – some are professionals and some just love to sing.

“Karaoke is fun,” Vicente says. “Singing brings out joy and good feelings. There are people who go just to see Karaoke singers, because it’s a show.”

There are several Karaoke hot spots in Jersey City that attract singers and audiences in big numbers like The Mojo Lounge, which has Karaoke on Thursday and Saturday nights and O’Hara’s , which hosts Karaoke on Wednesdays. The Brightside Tavern & Bar on Bright Street has a beautiful dining room and Karaoke on Tuesday nights.

Donna Bostany, an actress and model enjoys singing Karaoke in the Emerald Room located in the rear of The Green Kitchen restaurant in Guttenberg. That’s where her hairstylist Danny Carmona of North Bergen brought her to sing on Friday nights and since then; Bostany looks forward to Karaoke so she can sing Cher and Melissa Etheridge songs to an adoring crowd.

“One Halloween I was dressed as a nurse and I sang the song ‘Fever’ by Peggy Lee,” Bostany says. “It was so great. The audience went wild. I love Karaoke because I’m an actress and I get to be center stage while entertaining. You’re surrounded by happiness and celebration.”

Bostany has a very outgoing personality and will burst into song just walking through a parking lot – she once sang all the lyrics to the theme song for the TV show “Laverne & Shirley”.  She enjoys singing TV theme songs at Karaoke, too, she says, but unlike some folks who may need a drink or two to screw up the courage to sing, Bostany says she prefers crooning without a cocktail.

“I know everybody else likes to get looser with alcohol, but I like to be straight,” Bostany says. “I do worse when I drink.”

It’s also a good idea to know your audience. Most folks prefer upbeat songs to ballads. Bostany says: “A ballad puts people to sleep. I’ve done ballads like Carly Simon’s ‘Nobody Does It Better’, but even though it’s a sexy, wonderful song, it’s too slow. I prefer Cher songs like ‘If I Could Turn Back Time’ and ‘Strong Enough’.  Cher’s great. I like singing upbeat songs that get the crowd going.”

Here in Hudson, the birthplace of Frank Sinatra, one of the greatest crooners of all time, Karaoke night would not be complete without someone belting out one of his famous tunes like “New York, New York,” or “My Way” and that’s just what Danny Carmona of North Bergen likes to do when he gets up at the microphone at the Green Kitchen. And unlike Bostany who prefers up tempo selections, Carmona feels comfortable singing a Sinatra ballad.

“I love Karaoke,” Carmona says. “It gives you five minutes of fame. There’s no Simon Cowell or a gong going off like on ‘The Gong Show’. You see the faces of people enjoying it and it’s a magical moment.”