This week´s challenge is another appropriately Halloween themed karaoke due to it´s somewhat creepy meoldy, People are strange by the Doors.

People are strange is a single from 1967 and very succesful hit of The Doors, having reached the #12 spot on the US charts. The song is, like Mad World, another anthem for depression due to its themes of alienation and being alone in the world, and was even supposedly written by Jim Morrison during one of his frequent depressions.

The song has been succesfully covered by several other groups, inclurding Echo and the Bunnymen for the Lost Boys soundtrack and also by horror rock group, Twiztid for their album Freek show. How appropriate for Halloween. My favorite rendition happens to be the live cover Evanescence frequently did during their 2007 tour.

Join in the halloween spirit and take a stab at People are strange by the Doors. If you post your version in the forum, you could be the lucky pick that appears in next week´s newsletter!

This has been quite a year for karaoke, what with the World Championships in Finland, star celebrities like Sean Kingston and Kelly Clarkson using karaoke to help promote their newest albums, and now even the Black Eyed Peas have joined in the fun.

The Black Eyed Peas have just set two new World Guiness Records with their special Mile High Karaoke. 140 fans bidded on ebay for spots on a flight between Melbourne and Perth Australia for the chance to join the Black Eyed Peas as they attempted, and were succesful, in winning the World´s Highest Live Performance and also the Highest Recorded Track.

The record, previously held by Jamiroquai, was broken in classic karaoke party style as Fergie crooned along to Led Zeppelin´s Black Dog and Will.i.am tried to channel some Manilow with his own version of Copacabana.

But the Black Eyed Peas aren´t the only people breaking karaoke records this year. Finland also had their spot in the limelite when they broke the Guiness record for the World´s Longest Non-Stop Karaoke, beating China´s measly 145 hours with a wopping 240… not to mention the Finns already hold the record for Largest Number of Karaoke Singers at any given time, a massive 80,000.

Cheers to the Black Eyed Peas, the Finns and their crazy karaoke world records… maybe Red Karaoke will have to try and top that 240 hours one day.

One of the world´s most famous, influential and just down right cool women has started her very own search for the best karaoke singers in America. That´s right, Oprah has announced her own nation wide search for microphone hugging, lyric reading, talented vocalists. That means all this time you´ve spent warming up here on Red karaoke could have finally prepared you for your shot at personal fame, ´cause let´s face it, once you´ve made it onto Oprah´s couch, you´ve made it.

Oprah is known as one of the most powerful women in the world, simply by the amazing things she has and continues to do on her show. Now she has teamed up with gospel artist Bebe Winans to look for America´s best karaoke singers, and since anything she touches (books, children with untapped talent, politicians) turns to gold, this is an opportunity you don´t want to miss out on.

You have until October 19th (thats 10 days) to go to Oprah´s Karaoke Challenge site, and upload a 2 minute video of yourself singing along to your favorite karaoke. This shouldn´t be any problem for our Red Karaoke users, well versed in recording their own karaoke renditions. Oprah and a team of judges will scourage all of the entries for the one special voice that might get to appear live on stage with Oprah herself!

This is a once in a lifetime opportunity, and I know Red Karaoke has the talent. So go check it out and give it your all, I´ll be looking for one of you next to Oprah in a few weeks.

Though Adam Lambert made this week´s karaoke challenge a recent hit for his incredible rendition of the single on American Idol this past year, the haunting Mad World has been around long before Adam was hitting high notes.

Mad World was originally written in the 80´s by one of the greatest bands from that era (at least in my opinion) Tears for fears. It was the group´s first international success, gaining them recognition on the Top 40s in more than a few countries.

Still, most people my age know the song from its resurgence two decades later, when Gary Jules turned Mad World into a somewhat creepy, but equally moving teen anthem for depression, or as Curt Smith of Tears for fears described it, a ¨voyeur´s song¨ from the ¨eyes of a teenager¨, not to mention the key component to the cult classic Donnie Darko. Jules´ version became a number 1 hit… and possibly the favorite rendition, until glam-idol Adam Lambert came along and added his enigmatic vocals to the mix.

Lambert´s performance, though risky for the Idol contest, paid off well for him in the end, whether he won or not. Though no one can stand against Tears for fears in my book, even Jules himself raved about Lambert´s performance, ¨He totally understood the vibe of it and the power of it and delivered it in a unique and beautiful way. … I think Adam is straight-up the most interesting, for my personal taste, of anyone I’ve ever seen on the show.¨ High praise from the man who made Mad World a massive hit.

Do you think Gary Jules would have the same thing to say about your rendition? Why don´t you give Mad World a shot, be sure to post your rendition in this week´s karaoke challenge thread, and you could end up in next week´s newsletter.

Last Friday Billboard held it´s annual Women In Music Luncheon and honored the year´s top thirty women in the music business, including a couple of Red Karaoke favorites.

Lady gaga nabbed the Rising Star award. ¨Twelve months ago I never would have imagined being here,¨ she said, giving testimony to her rapidly growing stardom and new position as dance queen and most memorable fashionista. It´s clear this is just a start for the controversial celebrity, thought after massive international hits like Just Dance and Pokerface, it´s hard to imagine how much further Lady Gaga can go.

The real honor went to Beyonce whom Billboard gave the Woman of the Year Award, avoiding any Kanye West hiccups for honoring the wrong woman. Heck, Beyonce´s performances at the recent MTV Awards, from the flawless Single Ladies choreography to her classy recognition of Taylor Swift´s stolen moment, she did enough to earn the award all in one night. But it is undeniable that Beyonce has had one amazing year from top singles like Halo to her incredible choreography to even her business sense and charitable causes.

Check out the karaokes of these two amazing stars, Beyonce and Lady Gaga, and see why they are two of Red karaoke´s, not to mention the rest of the world´s, favorite artists.

This week´s karaoke challenge is by none other than the multi-talented performer Chris Isaak. Isaak, who has just released his latest album Mr. Lucky this year and currently hosts the Chris Isaak hour on The Biography Channel, has been enlisted to host The Country Music Hall of Fame´s biggest benefit, Thursday October 1st.

From his deep voice to hanging around with super models, Isaak is known for being down right sexy, and this challenge is no exception. The karaoke is a recent addition to Red Karaoke´s catalogue, the very provocative Baby did a bad, bad thing. Just a heads up, that´s not the song where he rolls around in the sand with a half naked Helena Christensen, it´s the one where Isaak watches as a half naked Laetitia Casta rolls around in a hotel room.

Baby did a bad, bad thing not only recieved loads of controversial attention for the steamy music video, it also peaked at #9 on the Billboard charts. The songs sexiness was recognized by Stanley Kubrick, who featured Baby did a bad, bad thing in the equally sultry 1999 movie starring Tom Cruise and Nicole Kidman, Eyes Wide Shut. The video was also named on VH1´s 50 Sexiest Video Moments.

Chris Isaak knows how to do sexy. Do you? Check out the karaoke for Baby did a bad, bad thing and put your own sultry twist on the song. Remember to post your rendition in the forum and you could be in next week´s newsletter.

Today brings the end of our trial run of the RK Mini Idol. It was definately an interesting experiment with alot of different input and some great participation from users.

Read on for more on the contest and our winners!

baby one more times (otro tono) - Vote for my rendition!

First place goes to Dreddzskie, whose smashing performance of Britney Spear´s Baby one more time won her the spot as the user favorite! Dreddzskie started out the competition strong with her audition entry On my own originally by Celine Dion. Her rock ´n roll themed song was something a bit different than what we´ve come to expect from Dreddzskie, but users loved her version of Elvis Presley and she was able to move on to round 2 to sing Open Arms by Mariah Carey for the love song theme. Congratulations to Dreddzskie and thank you for participating!

How Do You Do - Vote for my rendition!

Nikolett came in second place by the skin of her teeth since she posted her final entry, How do you do by Roxette, very late in the competition. Luckily for her, there actually were no deadlines on contestant submissions, though it was certainly a risky move. Still, Nikolett´s amazing voice landed her in second, beating out Suecaz´s classic karaoke selection, Blondie´s Heart of Glass.

heart of glass - Vote for my rendition!

So there you have it! First place goes to Dreddzskie, second place to Nikolett and third place to Suecaz. As chosen by you, the users! Congratulations to all the users in the final round, and thank you to everyone who participated by singing and voting.

And now that the contest has ended, tell me what you think! What would you change? The voting process? The submission process? The amount of contestants or votes? What themes or requirements would you like to have seen of the users? I want to know what you would like to see in another contest like this.

Take the time to post your ideas and opinions in the RK Mini Idol Questions and Comments thread. And don´t forget to congratulate our three lovely ladies who won!

This week´s karaoke challenge is a recent addition to Red Karaoke, Ace of Bases´s cover of Don´t turn around.

Though I´ve heard the pop Swedish group´s Don´t turn around, and loved it (despite it sounding like every other one of their top singles) I never realized the bouncy #4 single by Ace of Base as actually a minor key version of an 80´s song originally written for Tina Turner.

Though Turner never turned the song into the popular recording it is today, many other people took their time putting a spin on the perky beat, including Kim Goody, Bonnie Tyler and Luther Ingram.

Still, the hit didn´t become one until Aswad created his own interpretation, making it a #1 in the UK.

Ace of Base  was the group that made Don´t turn around a chart topper in 1994. Let´s see if you can sing it better than them. Listen to Don´t turn around, post your own rendition in the forum and join in this fun karaoke challenge!

This week´s karaoke challenge is a tribute to the late Patrick Swayze, the American actor, dancer AND singer who lost his battle against pancreatic cancer this week. The challenge is Swayze´s self written and performed song featured in one of his biggest movies, She´s like the wind.

Named the sexiest man alive in 1991 by People Magazine, Patrick Swayze started his long and fruitful celebrity career on Broadway. While Swayze had parts in several movies including The Outsiders and North and South, his big breakthrough came with his starring role in Dirty Dancing, a film that has grossed over $300 million dollars worldwide and gave Swayze his first Golden Globe nomination. Nobody can forget the tough guy attitude and killer moves of dance instructor Johnny Castle, or Swayze´s perfect delivery of the line, ¨Nobody puts Baby in a corner.¨

She´s like the wind was a song Swayze orginally wrote with Stacy Widelitz in 1984 for another film. However, he ended up sharing the song with the producers of Dirty Dancing and they ran with it. The song was featured prominently in the film, on Dirty Dancing´s soundrtack, and the music video features scenes sexy scenes of Johnny Castle and Baby. She´s like the wind became a huge success, even gaining a #1 spot on the Billboard charts.

Swayze has had an amazing career as a performer, known for his killer body and dance moves, and he will live on through the performances he has left behind. This week´s challenge is to remember and honor his amazing life and career. Sing Patrick Swayze´s She´s like the wind and post your rendition in the forum.

This past weekend the Finns celebrated the Karaoke World Championships, inviting crooners from over twenty different countries to share their talent for a chance as the world karaoke champion in one of the world´s largest karaoke gatherings.

Representing the US were New Mexico´s Brian Scott and Koxville´s Rebecca Armstrong. Both were the finalists in the US National Competition held in Mason, Ohio a few weeks ago. Armstrong, with her rendition of It´s Raining Men, was thrilled for her chance to compete in Finland . "I've been working hard at it, and I'm just proud to be here, proud to go and represent the USA," she says. Scott won a shot at his own lifelong dream with his performance of Candle in the wind.

While we had some strong contenders in the 7th annual KWC, in the end the titles went to Nataliya Pilyutina from Russia and Adrian Kenny from Ireland. These two lovely vocalists walked away with the best prizes a singer can imagine, studio time and the chance to records their first major single, as well as a recording contract… not to mention immeasurable fame among their karaoke companions.

If you´d like to read more about the Karaoke World Championships, make sure to check out the media and all they have to offer at their own site. Also read about how you can join in the competition and find a way to next year´s championships. Who knows, maybe you´ll win the champion´s title for the USA…