BIG NEWS! Beginning with this issue, we are proud to announce the launching of the new “digital edition” of Karaoke Scene Magazine, “Karaoke Scene DE.” This is an electronic version of our publication that will be available to everyone, everywhere, 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. The “DE” will be filled with all of the exciting features, articles and information available in the print edition, plus many new surprises. You can access Karaoke Scene DE at www.KaraokeScene.com or you can subscribe and have it sent directly to your email address where you can read it any time you wish. And here’s the best part…it’s FREE! That’s right, no charge! If you wish to subscribe, all you have to do is go to www.KaraokeScene.com and click on the “Order Magazine” link and your own edition of Karaoke Scene DE will be sent directly to your email address.

KaraokeFest 2009 is looming like a huge cloud of excitement over Southern California. By popular demand, his year’s “Fest” will again take place at the L.A. County Fair in Pomona on Saturday, September 5th. That’s right, Saturday…especially nice not having to get up the next morning to go to work so we can all party, party, party.

The Crème de la Kids Singing Competition Finals will kick things off at 12 noon. Tony DeFazio of Starlight Entertainment is once again the contest coordinator. He and his staff have done a wonderful job of looking after the youngsters and providing them with this opportunity to show off their talents…and there are some extremely talented kids this year that will be competing at KaraokeFest. This year’s show should be a great one!

At 3pm, the Crème de la King Singing Competition Finals takes center stage. We, at Karaoke Scene, are devoted Elvis fans and are really looking forward to this one. This year we welcome Julie Woodcock as the new coordinator of this exciting event. The qualifying rounds for this contest will begin on August 15th and continue through August 23rd. For more details please check out page ???????? of this issue. And we are very excited to announce that the Crème de la King Finals will be hosted by popular Southern California radio personality, Barbara Brooks. Welcome aboard, Barbara!

The Golden Achievement Award nominees are listed on page ?????? of this issue. These are individuals and venues that have been voted best in their respective categories by the Southern California Karaoke community at large from all 6 Southern California counties, from Ventura to San Diego. The winners will be announced and the awards presented at KaraokeFest by radio and television personality (and KJ extraordinaire), Manny Pacheco. However, each of these nominees are already winners just by having been selected from the many hundreds of venues and thousands of individuals in Southern California Karaoke. The “Best” and “Most Supportive” Male and Female Awards will be presented at 5pm. The KJ and Venue of the Year Awards will be presented at 8pm. It is very important that the nominees be present at the event to receive their awards. And remember, the Golden Achievement Awards are truly the “Oscars” of Karaoke and the very best way for the Karaoke community to express their appreciation. So please be on hand to show your support for these talented people and special venues.

The Crème de la Crème Singing Competition continues to rock at the 25 venues across Southern California. It looks like it’s going to be a sensational show at KaraokeFest when the 50 finalists (25 male and 25 female) will compete for thousands in cash and prizes and the coveted title of Male & Female Karaoke Singers of the Year. We are so pleased to welcome back the incredibly popular Southern California radio and television personality, Shawn Parr, as the host of the Crème de la Crème Finals Competition this year. Shawn has become such an important part of KaraokeFest and always does a fantastic job hosting this event. We can’t wait to see what surprises Shawn’s got in store for us this year.

And don’t forget, in addition to the main show, there will be multiple Karaoke stages located throughout the Fairgrounds where everybody can sing all day long. Last year a whole bunch of folks made it a point to sing at each and every stage at least once. How many of you will be able to do that this year?

Then there’s the Karaoke Expo featuring Karaoke & music industry related vendors who will be there to exhibit and/or sell their latest products. Visiting the Expo is always a great experience. The Expo will be located in very close proximity to the main stage where our show will be taking place. Be sure to make it a point to visit the Karaoke Expo.

All you need to enjoy all of the special events and activities of KaraokeFest 2009 is a ticket to the L.A. County Fair which can be purchased at many retail store locations throughout Southern California. You can also go to www.LACountyFair.com and purchase your tickets there.

Karaoke Scene would express our sincere gratitude and appreciation to our sponsors, Ace Karaoke and VocoPro. KaraokeFest would not be possible without the generous support of these fine companies so please show them your support.

The Karaoke Scene staff looks forward to seeing all of you at KaraokeFest this year on Saturday, September 5th. Gates open at 10am and the “Fair” is open till midnight. See you there!

“LET THE COMPETITIONS BEGIN!” This is the season of KaraokeFest singing competitions, and there are 3 to choose from again this year. The hugely popular and prestigious Crème de la Crème singing competition will be held at 25 venues throughout Southern California beginning on July 5th and continuing through the month of August. This is the big one, the “mother” of all Karaoke contests everywhere, so don’t miss your chance to compete for thousands in cash and prizes, your opportunity to perform on the main stage at KaraokeFest 2009 and be named “Male or Female Karaoke Vocalist of the Year.”

We are proud to welcome back Manny Pacheco who will be coordinating the event again this year. Remember, you may qualify at as many venues as you wish in order to increase your chances for making the “Finals” at KaraokeFest 2009 hosted by Go Country 105 FM radio personality, the incomparable and ever popular, Shawn Parr. All of the Crème de la Crème venues are listed on page 15. Best of luck to all!

Then there are the “Crème de la Kids” singing competition for juniors 17 and under, and the “Crème de la King” singing competition for Elvis singers/impersonators. Tony DeFazio of Starlight Entertainment will be coordinating the “Crème de la Kids” contest and Julie Turnbaugh will be coordinating the “Creme de la King” competition. These events will take place at venues throughout the Southern California area during the months of July and August. Please see pages 13 & 16 for all of the exciting details. And we are pleased to announce that the Crème de la King Finals will again be hosted by KRTH 101 radio personality, Sylvia Aimerito. And new this year, the Crème de la Kids Finals will be hosted by Tony DeFazio and KOLA 99.9 FM radio personality, Vic Slick.

Note: Be sure to check out the special late dates for qualifying for all 3 contests at the Orange County Market Place.

Rule change note for all contests: Any contestant who has taken first place for two consecutive years will not be eligible to compete again for a period of one year. You may bring your own CDGs or CDs without restriction. No other formats are acceptable.

Karaoke Scene is excited to announce that all three contest “Finals” at KaraokeFest (“Crème,” “Kids” and “King”) will be streamed live to our website, www.KaraokeScene.com so that anyone, anywhere in the world, can enjoy the program. This is also a great way for the families and friends of contestants who cannot make it to KaraokeFest to be able to watch the show. Live streaming will start at noon, Saturday, September 5th.

KaraokeFest would not be possible without the generous support of our sponsors. I would like to take a moment to personally thank our Major Sponsors for KaraokeFest 2009, VocoPro and Ace Karaoke. We sincerely appreciate their support in making this the biggest and best “Fest” ever! We strongly encourage you to show your appreciation to these fine companies and their products.

PLEASE BE SURE TO VOTE! It’s that time of year for everyone (now including San Diego County) to support their favorite KJs, Karaoke venues and the most supportive individuals in the Karaoke community. The Golden Achievement Award voting has begun (May 15th) and you may cast you votes through June 30th. This means there is still plenty of time to show your appreciation to the venues and individuals who have helped to make your Karaoke experience a special one by voting for them. These exceptional people and venues deserve your support and your participation is very important! In the interest of fairness, only one vote per valid email address and two votes per IP address will be accepted. You can vote right now through June 30th at www.KaraokeScene.com.

We will be looking forward to seeing many of you at the numerous contest venues throughout Southern California over the next couple of months…and we want to wish you all the best of luck!

The Songburst ’09 singing competition at the Orange County Market Place (OCMP) was a huge success! More than 200 contestants turned out for the competition in both the Junior and Adult categories…and what talent! In fact, the event was so successful that we unfortunately had to turn away contestants after the first 40 sign-ups in the Adult category due to lack of time, as the OCMP closes at 4pm. We are already making plans with the OCMP to have qualifying rounds for the adults on both Saturday and Sunday to accommodate the large number of contestants.

Congratulations to the SongBurst ’09 winners. Taking 1st place in the adult category was Jessica Salinas winning $1,000 and taking 1st place in the junior category was Summer Cummings winning a $1,000 savings bond. In 2nd place for the adults was Smitty ($500), 3rd place Deirdre Harp ($300), 4th place Mr. Lee ($200) and 5th place Mothership ($100). For the juniors, taking second 2nd place was Madison McNamee ($500 savings bond) and 3rd place Kenneth Veal ($200 savings bond). All of the contestants were terrific and each and every contestant was truly a winner.

We would like to thank the Orange County Market Place for all they did to make this such a special event. They are a class organization and a pleasure to work with. Special thanks to Jill Lloyd of the OCMP who helped make everything run so smoothly and personally looked after the contestants to make sure everyone had a great time. The Karaoke community is fortunate to have a fine organization like the Orange County Market Place to support important events such as this.

Sincere thanks also go to Tony DeFazio of Starlight Entertainment for hosting the Junior Competition and providing the sound for the entire event. And kudos go to radio and television personality (and popular KJ), Manny Pacheco, for his outstanding hosting of the Adult Competition.

KaraokeFest 2009 is coming on Saturday, September 5th at the fabulous L.A. County Fair in Pomona. By popular demand, KaraokeFest will again be held on a Saturday so we can all, once again, celebrate during our day-long Karaoke party on Saturday and then have a whole day to relax and recharge our batteries on Sunday. And remember, the “Fair” is open longer on Saturday; the hours are 10am – midnight. All of the exciting details for KaraokeFest 2009 will be available at www.KaraokeScene.com and in our June/July issue.

As KaraokeFest 2009 approaches, we are nearing the time for the “Oscars” of Karaoke, the “Karaoke Golden Achievement Awards.” These awards are so important because they provide a way to honor those in the Karaoke community whose special contributions deserve to be recognized. These awards are actually rewards for those people and venues that rise above the norm and make a significant, positive difference to Southern California Karaoke. Whether it is being an outstanding KJ, having the fairest rotation, offering great sound, food, service or a fabulous stage from which to sing, the “extras” provided by the nominees in their prospective categories make all of our Karaoke singing experiences so much better.

Please take the time to cast your vote for the people and/or venues you think are worthy to be recognized for their efforts. And bear in mind that the more votes that are cast, the more representative the results. You may vote online at www.KaraokeScene.com. The voting begins on May 15th and lasts until June 30th. In the interest of fairness, only one vote per email address and two votes per IP address will be accepted. Again, the “Karaoke Golden Achievement Awards” depend on YOU, the Karaoke community, to participate and let those who are worthy know that you appreciate their efforts. They are there for you; you should be there for them!

Soon after the “Karaoke Golden Achievement Award” voting ends, the mother of all singing contests will begin. On July 5th, the prestigious “Crème de la Crème” singing competition will “kick off” with singers from all over Southern California (and beyond) competing for thousands in cash and prizes and the coveted title of “Male & Female Karaoke Vocalist of the Year” plus all that goes with it. Don’t miss your chance to compete and become a singing star! All of the details will be available at www.KaraokeScene.com and in our June/July issue.

We are currently in the process of selecting the venues for our 3 KaraokeFest 2009 competitions. If you would like your venue to be considered, please contact Karaoke Scene at the number or email address listed below.

KaraokeFest 2009 Expo also offers a golden opportunity for Karaoke related businesses to exhibit and sell their products. The “Expo” area will be located adjacent to where our main show will be held and totally accessible to the tens of thousands in attendance. There will be an estimated 100,000+ people at the L.A. County Fair that day so exhibitors are sure to receive maximum exposure.

Major sponsorship positions for KaraokeFest 2009 are also available to qualified companies.

For major sponsorship information, contest venue information or to reserve your “Expo” booth, please call (714) 826-2212 or email us at info@KaraokeScene.com. Space and time are limited so be sure to contact us now!

Karaoke Scene would like to welcome 2 new venues to our happy family of advertisers, Route 66 Roadhouse & Tavern in Duarte with Karaoke hosted by Lamont Johnson & Sunshine of LNJ Productions, and Silver Dollar in Chula Vista with Karaoke hosted by Mike Keough of T&B Productions. These are places well worth visiting to have a great Karaoke experience!