A Very Merry Friday Night Karaoke Christmas

Summary

Friday Night Karaoke Podcast: "A Very Merry Friday Night Karaoke Christmas"

Episode Date: December 23, 2025
Hosts: Mike Whiston & Joe Rubin
Episode Summary

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Overview

This festive episode of Friday Night Karaoke brings listeners a joyful, ad-free celebration of Christmas music performed by amateur artists from their thriving online karaoke community. Mike and Joe play and discuss a curated selection of holiday-themed performances submitted for the "A Very Merry Karaoke Christmas" theme, blending music appreciation with their signature playful banter, community spirit, and a few karaoke party tips.

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Key Discussion Points & Featured Performances

1. Kicking Off the Christmas Spirit – “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year”

• Performers: Community ensemble (Bonnie, Rochelle, et al)
• Timestamps: [00:13]–[02:18]
• Highlights:
  • Classic Andy Williams hit opens the episode, setting a joyful tone.
  • Hosts joke about food, drinks, and traditions as their favorite part of the season.
  • Quote:

    “That’s the most wonderful song to start the Friday night karaoke podcast with.” – Mike [02:26]

2. Community Update & Podcast Vibe

• Timestamps: [03:48]–[05:11]
• Mike and Joe discuss the size (47,000+ members) and organic, inclusive nature of the Facebook group.
• Lighthearted self-deprecation about their humble setup (dogs barking, no fancy studio), reinforcing community authenticity.

3. Karen Pavcov – “Santa Baby” (Eartha Kitt)

• Timestamps: [06:36]–[09:48]
• Karen, a long-standing moderator, brings jazzy “postmodern jukebox” flair to the sultry classic.
• Quote:

  “She’s got a killer voice, dude. She always crushes it with the crooning.” – Joe [09:55]

• Hosts humorously deconstruct the materialism in the song’s lyrics.

4. Angel Lark – “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch”

• Timestamps: [13:15]–[16:21]
• Angel nails the dramatic spirit, acting out the character with both vocal expressiveness and costume.
• Quote:

  “She acts out the entire song. She gets fully immersed into every song.” – Joe [16:34]

• Extended riff about Dr. Seuss, theatrical reading, and playful jokes about Darth Vader and creative origins.

5. Mark Cross – “Christmas Cookies” (George Strait)

• Timestamps: [20:26]–[23:43]
• Mark helps Mike discover and enjoy an upbeat country Christmas tune.
• Quote:

  “Mark Cross is single-handedly making me interested in the country genre and cookies!” – Mike [23:51]

• The hosts reflect on giving genres a real chance, comparing country music’s unpopularity to broccoli.

6. Upcoming Karaoke Meetups & Community Events

• Timestamps: [26:02]–[28:50]
• Info on upcoming appearances at South by Southwest (Austin, March) and a big karaoke party at Oh Shucks in Orlando (Jan 16).
• Quote:

  “We will be coming in like a wrecking ball in January next month in Orlando.” – Mike [26:31]

7. Daniel Cretes – “Santa’s Gone Wild” (Original Song)

• Timestamps: [31:57]–[35:13]
• Daniel debuts a humorous, well-crafted country/folk original about a runaway inflatable Santa.
• Quote:

  “That was freaking awesome. Let’s make this famous.” – Joe [35:13]

• Hosts urge Daniel to release it on streaming platforms.

8. AI & Karaoke Recording Chat

• Timestamps: [36:12]–[39:04]
• Banter about AI-generated content and how technology is transforming karaoke and performance (“Is it real or AI?”).

9. Heather Gagnari – “The Chimney Song” (Bob Rivers)

• Timestamps: [41:50]–[43:52]
• Heather demonstrates comedic voice acting skills, capturing a cartoonish, Shirley Temple-esque character.
• Quote:

  “If there was no video, you didn’t tell me who it was, I’d never have guessed that was Heather.” – Joe [44:12]

• Mike praises the group’s willingness to get playful and experiment, not just chase perfect vocals.

10. Karaoke Party Tips & Traditions

• Timestamps: [53:20]–[54:51]
• Tips on picking crowd-pleasing songs.
• Quote:

  “The single biggest mistake people make at karaoke is picking a song nobody’s ever heard of.” – Mike [54:32]

• Discussion of karaoke’s “everybody sings along” moments.

11. Patrick Holstein – “Dominic the Donkey” (Lou Monte)

• Timestamps: [49:30]–[52:07]
• Light-hearted, nostalgic take on an Italian-American holiday novelty song.
• Crowd participation and singalong potential highlighted.
• Quote:

  “There are certain karaoke songs, once you start singing them, you're no longer singing alone. Everyone jams.” – Mike [53:01]

12. Joe Rubin – “Let It Snow” (Dean Martin)

• Timestamps: [56:11]–[58:38]
• Joe’s smooth crooner vocals wrap up the official playlist with this wintry classic.
• Quote:

  “You got that Dean Martin sound... you just, you rock that. You had the presence, you had everything.” – Mike [58:46]

• Encouragement for all community members to record and participate more.

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Episode Endnotes

Theme Announcements & Community Engagement

• [61:13] Announcement of “FNK Countdown” as the upcoming theme: high-energy party songs for New Year's.
• Weekly mini-competition with playlist selection and Amazon e-gift cards—not a contest but a call for creativity!
• Mike encourages listeners to join the Facebook group and participate.

Final Holiday Wishes

• [64:13] Both hosts wish all listeners Merry Christmas, happy holidays, and invite feedback.
• Quote:

  “To all a good night.” – Joe [64:13]

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Notable Quotes & Moments

• “We’re just regular people like you... no big fancy studio.” – Joe [04:27]
• “She always crushes it with the crooning. That postmodern jukebox sound.” – Joe on Karen [09:55]
• “She gets fully immersed into every song, acts it out with her face.” – Joe on Angel [16:34]
• “Mark Cross is single-handedly making me interested in the country genre... and cookies!” – Mike [23:51]
• “She needs to do cartoon voices. Straight out of a cartoon!” – Mike on Heather [41:32]
• “The single biggest mistake people make at karaoke is picking a song nobody’s ever heard of.” – Mike [54:32]
• “You got that Dean Martin sound. You brought it home!” – Mike on Joe [58:46]

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Structure of Featured Songs

| Song & Artist | Performer | Timestamp | |-----------------------------------|----------------------|------------| | It’s the Most Wonderful... (Williams) | Bonnie, Rochelle, et al | [00:13] | | Santa Baby (Eartha Kitt) | Karen Pavcov | [06:36] | | You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch | Angel Lark | [13:15] | | Christmas Cookies (George Strait) | Mark Cross | [20:26] | | Santa’s Gone Wild (Original) | Daniel Cretes | [31:57] | | The Chimney Song (Bob Rivers) | Heather Gagnari | [41:50] | | Dominic the Donkey (Lou Monte) | Patrick Holstein | [49:30] | | Let It Snow (Dean Martin) | Joe Rubin | [56:11] |

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Tone & Style

• The hosts keep the conversation lighthearted, approachable, and positive, championing the joy and inclusivity of karaoke. Their playful ribbing, celebration of all genres, and frequent asides about group activities (and karaoke tips) reinforce a vibrant, welcoming community.

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For listeners or singers wanting to join in, the Friday Night Karaoke Facebook group promises a friendly, creative space—where all musical expressions are valued and shared for love of the song, not for perfection.

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Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays from the Friday Night Karaoke team!

Transcript

[Daniel Cretes]

Foreign.

[Andy Williams (song intro)]

With the kids jingle belling and everyone telling you be of good cheer it's the most wonderful time of the year it's the half happiest season of.

[Mike Whiston]

With.

[Andy Williams (song intro)]

Those holiday greetings and gay happy meetings when friends come to call it's the happiest season of all There'll be parties for hosting marshmallows for toasting and caroling out in the snow There'll be scary ghost stories and tales of the glories of Christmas Is a long long. It's the most wonderful time of the.

[Joe Rubin]

Year.

[Andy Williams (song intro)]

There'll be much misatoning and hearts will be glowing when loved ones are near it's the most wonderful time of the year. There'll be parties for hosting marshmallows for toasting and caroling out in the snow There'll be scary ghost stories and tales of the glories of Christmases long long ago. It's the most wonderful time of the.

[Mike Whiston]

Year.

[Andy Williams (song intro)]

There'll be much mistoring and hearts will be glowing when loved ones are near it's the most wonderful time yes, the most wonderful time oh, the most wonderful time.

[Heather Gagnari]

Of day.

[Mike Whiston]

It's the most wonderful time of the year. But that's the most wonderful song to start the Friday night karaoke podcast with.

[Joe Rubin]

It definitely is the most wonderful time of the year, Mike. You wonder why that time is. It is Christmas time. It is FnK Christmas time. And it really is my favorite time of the year.

[Mike Whiston]

It really is. It's awesome. Like, food, the drinks, the drinks. More.

[Joe Rubin]

The drinks, the food. I mean, I'm like, that's.

[Mike Whiston]

I love it.

[Joe Rubin]

I love it all.

[Mike Whiston]

I love it all absolutely freaking lutely. That was starting off with it's the Most Wonderful Time of the Year by Andy Williams. And let me tell you how this little 1963 action.

[Joe Rubin]

I love that song, by the way.

[Mike Whiston]

It's kind of like the period where most of, like, the Christmas songs we all love come from, you know, like the 50s and 60s. Really. Yeah. Most of them are classic Christmas. Yeah, really. So she absolutely crushed that and, you know, brought it home. Like, she actually won the Friday night karaoke theme of the week recently. Like the Xmas theme of the week, where we're basing this entire podcast on. So this podcast is called A Very Merry Karaoke Christmas. And we are featuring songs from the Friday night karaoke community from the Very Merry karaoke Christmas theme of the week, where the community members posted their favorite Christmas songs and put on some holiday cheer and put on some holiday gear and rocked out.

[Joe Rubin]

Yep, exactly. And you can hear my dog making a guest appearance in the background. Now, see, you're nice. You got this. This beautiful studio. It's soundproof. Like, you could light like. Like have, like, 30 dogs behind that wall, and no one would hear you but me. I got my. My two dogs, and they're like, hey, when you're recording, because I've been saving up this bark.

[Mike Whiston]

Like, yeah, you know what? But it gives it some flavor.

[Joe Rubin]

It does. It does give it a sense of realism. Like, people might think that we have this big professional recording studio and this big thing, like, but we're not. We're actually just a small production. People don't know that.

[Mike Whiston]

Did any of you really think that we have some big recording studio? It's like the set of Friends, like, chose, like, right over there.

[Joe Rubin]

The laugh track in the background, like, three camera shoot. It's really good, dude. It's really. We're just. We're regular people, just like. Just like you and me.

[Mike Whiston]

Are you leaving me hanging, man? I'm trying to get high five.

[Joe Rubin]

I know what you're doing over there. Okay, you're pushing the wrong way. High five is forwards, like, towards me.

[Mike Whiston]

You're over there for me.

[Joe Rubin]

Oh, no, you're on the opposite side for me. You're.

[Mike Whiston]

Oh, this is all messed up. I don't even know how this works. We have trouble with directions. So once again, Bonnie, Rochelle, it's the most wonderful time of the year. To kick off the Friday night karaoke podcast is episode 75. Technically, we're season four, and this is the second se episode of season four. And we have a great show in store for you today.

[Joe Rubin]

Great show.

[Mike Whiston]

We have so many great songs.

[Joe Rubin]

Yeah.

[Mike Whiston]

Yeah. Remix.

[Joe Rubin]

All right, let's hear a couple before we screw this up even further.

[Mike Whiston]

So coming up next, we have an FnK moderator. Oh, man, these moderators do so much work. They just do so much work. You know, this year has been amazing. And, you know, with all these new members that have been coming into the mix and, you know, joining the group and posting up their songs, you know, they've just been keeping it negativity free, and it's been awesome. They just. They put in a ton. And this one moderator has been with us since near the beginning. She is an absolute rock star in every way. We've mentioned this a million times before, but, you know, she's like the queen of that postmodern jukebox, jazzy style singing, but she's taking that out and just bringing that holiday vibe this time around. And she's given us a little Santa baby from Eartha Kit. This is none other than Karen Pav Cough. Oh, I almost got through an entire so close without messing someone's name up. Karen Pavgov. Here it is. Give it a listen.

[Karen Pavcov]

Santa baby Just slip a sable under the tree for me Been an awful good girl Santa baby so hurry down the chimney tonight. Santa Baby A54 convertible to light blue I'll wait up for you, dear Santa baby so hurry down the chimney tonight. Think of all the fun I've missed Think of all the fellas that I haven't kissed Next year I could be just as good if you check off my Christmas lid Santa baby, I won a yacht and really that's not a.

[Mike Whiston]

Lie.

[Karen Pavcov]

Been an angel all year Santa baby, so hurry down the chimney tonight. Santa honey, one little thing I really need need the deed to a platinum mine Santa baby, so hurry down the chimney tonight. Santa cutie and fill my stocking with a duplex and checks Sign your ex on the line Santa cutie in hurry down the chimney tonight. Come and trim my Christmas tree With some decoration by that Tiffany I really.

[Mike Whiston]

Do believe in you let's see if.

[Karen Pavcov]

You believe in me Santa baby Forgot to mention one little thing A ring I don't mean on the phone Santa baby so hurry down the chimney tonight Hurry down the chimney me tonight Hurry tonight.

[Mike Whiston]

Man, I ain't saying she a go.

[Joe Rubin]

She's got a killer voice, dude. She always crushes it with the. The crooning. Sounds like you mentioned the postmodern jukebox. She's always crushing it with those.

[Mike Whiston]

Oh, the first time I. I mean, I've listened to that song 100 bajillion times, just like all of us. And yeah, of course we've all heard that song every. Every day, all the time during the season and like months before the season and. But, you know, I really listened to it this time and I just realized how horrible it is. It's just like, give me, give me more, give me more.

[Joe Rubin]

Yeah, dude, it's. It's really like, you know, you know.

[Mike Whiston]

What if Santa's gonna give me a duplex and checks in my. In my stocking, you know? Yeah.

[Joe Rubin]

A yacht.

[Mike Whiston]

You know, you can get any baby. So that was Karen Pav. Pavcov. I swear I'm gonna get this Karen Pav. It's not hard with Santa Baby by Eartha Kit and again, Karen has been a moderator for a long time. For years. I mean, I think like four years with. With Friday night karaoke and just Been massively supportive to the group as a whole and just a great singer all around. And by the way, by the way.

[Joe Rubin]

You mentioned moderator to a growing group. How big is this group now?

[Mike Whiston]

Well, I'm glad you asked. Thanks for asking. That was a full 46.9000 members, so. Wow, 47, 000 members. Yeah, whenever you're trying to tell how good things are, you round up. And yeah, whenever you're trying to minimize how bad things are, you round down exact. That's how it works. So we are at 47 freaking thousand members. That's a lot. It really is. There's hundreds of posts every single day of people just expressing themselves through music and song. And it's all negativity free. It's all ad free. You just go to Facebook, you type in Friday night karaoke, you click on that little. This little invite will be a little join button and you join. There's three questions. Just answer the question. So we know you're a real person and you are in, baby. And you have access to all this great stuff and it doesn't cost you a penny and it never will.

[Joe Rubin]

So I'm glad you dropped the gimmick free. You say it's gimmick free. I'm like, no, it's not. This whole thing's just like, let's do a podcast and then like, let's call theme of the week. That's our gimmick. This week is Christmas. Like, and I was like, dude, we're not gimmick for you. Like, this whole. All we try to do is, like, put in like, fun gimmicks and stuff, like prizes and. And mic drop competitions. And we're always doing. Yeah, we're always doing fun things.

[Mike Whiston]

Why, I sure do. Well, thanks for asking. So coming up next, coming up next. I love this song. You know what? I. I love the original from 1966, and I love just about every version that has come out since then. And this version is no exception. This is going to be Angel Lark with. Are you ready for it? Ready or Ramin Grinch.

[Joe Rubin]

This is a classic.

[Mike Whiston]

A classic of this song. And anyway, she completely crushes it. Here it is.

[Angel Lark]

You're a mean one, Mr. Grinch. You really are a heel. You're as cuddly as the cactus, as charming as an eel. Mr. Crunch, you're a bad banana with a greasy black pe. You're a monster, Mr. Grinch. Your heart's an empty hole. Your brain is full of spiders. You got garlic in your soul, Mr. Grinch. I wouldn't touch you with a 39 and a half foot pole. You're a foul one, Mr. Grinch. You have termites in your smile. You have all the tender sweetness of a seasick crocodile, Mr. Grinch. Given the choice between the two of you, I think I'd pick the seasick crocodile. You nauseate me, Mr. Grinch with a nauseous super moss. You're a crooked nerdy jockey and you ride a crooked horse, Mr. C.R.

[Mike Whiston]

Hench.

[Angel Lark]

You are a three decker sauerkraut and toadstool sandwich with arson exhaust. You're a rotter, Mr. Grinch. You're the king of sinful sauce. Your heart's a dead tomato splotch with moldy purple spots. Mr. Grinch, your soul is an appalling dump heap overflowing with the most disgraceful assortment of rubbish imaginable.

[Mike Whiston]

Mangle dump up in tangled up nuts.

[Angel Lark]

You're vile. And, Mr. Grinch, you're a nasty whisk gunk. Your heart is full of unwashed socks. Your soul is full of gunk. Mr. Grinch, the three words that best describe you are as follows, and I.

[Mike Whiston]

Quote, stink, stank, stunk. Do you know what didn't? Stink, stank, stunk?

[Joe Rubin]

That freaking cover. Oh, man. Dude, she. I love that. She just. She doesn't sing it. She acts out the entire song. Every song she does. She is in full costume. Like full. She gets fully emerged into every song that she does and acts it out her face.

[Mike Whiston]

I want to hear her like, read a. Like a. Like a Dr. Seuss book or something. Like, you know, I read Dr. Seuss books to my son. You know, he's not like that. And you know, I do it with voices and I do it very expressive and I'm like. I was thinking like, she would rock that.

[Joe Rubin]

Yes.

[Mike Whiston]

Like, you should have like all the voices and like the different tones and like the loud and the quiet and the, the lead up and the build up. Man.

[Joe Rubin]

Oh my God, can you see so good? Can you see her in high school, like acting out like that in just biology class and like that?

[Mike Whiston]

It's like.

[Joe Rubin]

She must have been hilarious.

[Mike Whiston]

You guys both shop at the same hat store though.

[Joe Rubin]

We do, we do. I was, I was wondering. I'm like, oh my goodness, this is embarrassing. Like, I didn't realize.

[Mike Whiston]

Did you know that that song was originally written by Anakin Skywalker, I. E. Darth Vader?

[Joe Rubin]

Really? Darth?

[Mike Whiston]

He wrote that on the Death Star? Most people don't know this.

[Joe Rubin]

I did not know that.

[Mike Whiston]

He. Yeah, he did. If you listen. You can hear his voice in the original.

[Joe Rubin]

Really?

[Mike Whiston]

Yeah, or something. I don't know.

[Joe Rubin]

I'm waiting for this joke to, like, land sometime.

[Mike Whiston]

As far as I got, I don't think it's gonna. Remember we have that big studio. We just fired all. That was the problem.

[Joe Rubin]

So that was the huge issue, right?

[Mike Whiston]

That was the issue. You know, we. We got the extra space, but we couldn't afford the script writers anymore, so. Right. Like.

[Joe Rubin]

Oh, man. Remember during. Remember, like, during COVID when all, like, the comedy shows I couldn't have and they couldn't get their script writers to write, there were. None of them were funny for, like, an hour.

[Mike Whiston]

So we're hiring writers, right?

[Joe Rubin]

Yes. Send your resume to Mike at Friday night karaoke.

[Mike Whiston]

Don't do that, because that won't go anywhere. So once again, that was Angel Lark with your mean one Mr. Grinch from the Grinch who Stole Christmas and who Stole Our Hearts. Oh, oh, right, right. I try to bring it. Bring it.

[Joe Rubin]

Better than your. Than your Vader joke.

[Mike Whiston]

Yeah. You know, I. I was gonna go somewhere with it. You know, I had it in my head, and I'm like, you know what? This is a good start. Start here. And I'm just gonna figure it out as I go. And I just started down that road, and I didn't realize, you know, like, when. Like, the Roadrunner or whatever, they puts up, like, a. Yeah, yeah. A big. Or, like, a Wiley Coyote or whatever it is puts up, like, that big, like, painting of, like, a road in a. Like, a wall, you know? Well, in the Roadrunner, you know, he's hoping he's gonna run up to it and smash his face into it. That's exactly what happened to me. Like, Roadrunner knows not to run through it, but I just ran up to it. I'm like, I'm good. And I just kept going. I smacked my face right into it.

[Joe Rubin]

No, that joke got far, far away from you.

[Mike Whiston]

It did.

[Joe Rubin]

Yeah.

[Mike Whiston]

All right.

[Joe Rubin]

Wow.

[Mike Whiston]

So I've never heard this song before. You probably know it, but I've never heard this song before. And let me tell you, not just the song, but the. The artist inside Friday night karaoke here who's covering it, just completely owns it. And I don't need to hear the original ever. Forever. Like this. Okay.

[Joe Rubin]

This dude absolutely love when that happens, by the way.

[Mike Whiston]

Yeah. Crushed it. I. I'm a new fan of a. A new song here, at least for me. A new song. I mean, the song's from, like, 99, but this is gonna be George Straight with Christmas cookies.

[Joe Rubin]

All right?

[Mike Whiston]

And none other than Mark Cross from the Friday night karaoke community will be singing it. And this dude just completely owns it. Give it a listen. You're gonna love it.

[Mark Cross]

Merry Christmas, y'.

[Mike Whiston]

All.

[Mark Cross]

It's time for some cookies. Christmas preferably. I sure do like those Christmas cookies, sugar I sure do like those Christmas cookies, babe the ones that look like Santa Claus Christmas trees and bells of stars I sure do like those Christmas cookies, babe Now Christmas cookies are a special treat the more she bakes, the more I eat and sometimes I can't get myself to stop well, sometimes she'll wait till I'm asleep She'll take the ones that I didn't eat and put those little sprinkly things on top.

[Mike Whiston]

I.

[Mark Cross]

Sure do like those Christmas cookies, sugar I sure do like those Christmas cookies, babe the ones that look like Santa Claus Christmas trees and bells and stars I sure do like those Christmas cookies, babe now those sprinkly things just make things worse because it makes them taste better than they did at first and they're absolutely impossible to resist well, some disappear to who knows where But I make sure that I get my share and those kids just stand there waiting for the ones I missed I sure do like those Christmas cookies, sugar I sure do like those Christmas cookies, babe well, she gets mad when they're all gone before she gets the icing put on I sure do like those Christmas cookies, babe now there's a benefit to all of this that you may have overlooked or missed. So now let me tell you the best part of it all. Well, every time she sticks another batch in the oven, there's 15 minutes for some kissing and a hug. That's why I eat Christmas cookies all year long. Oh, take it away, boys. Go get you some cookies. There might be a few left.

[Joe Rubin]

Probably not.

[Mark Cross]

I sure do like those Christmas cookies, sugar I sure do like those Christmas cookies, babe the ones that look like Santa Claus Christmas trees and bells and stars I showed you like those Christmas cookies, babe I showed you like those Christmas cookies, babe. Now I'm hungry.

[Joe Rubin]

Me too.

[Mike Whiston]

Right?

[Joe Rubin]

Did he jazz hands at the end, did he? He didn't.

[Mike Whiston]

I did.

[Joe Rubin]

Oh, okay. I was like.

[Mike Whiston]

I'm telling you, Mark Cross is single handedly making me interested in the country genre and cookies and. Well, no, I mean, I've always been a fan of cookies. Sorry, I can't. I can't attribute my love of cookies to you, Mark Ross. I'm sorry. But, you know, I'm slowly coming around on country, you know, if you remember from earlier podcast, I was like, country, whatever, you know, but now I'm just, you know, the more I hear this dude singing these songs, I'm like, ah, maybe I like country.

[Joe Rubin]

I think you do.

[Mike Whiston]

I think a lot of people don't.

[Joe Rubin]

Like country, have never heard country.

[Mike Whiston]

Yeah. You know, I think that's a fair thing to say. Yeah. You know, they have never given it a shot. You know, it's like, you know, I don't. I don't like broccoli. And you know, you look at it and like the wool tree thing, it doesn't look good. I don't. I don't like it.

[Joe Rubin]

And then you pretend you're a dinosaur and then you're like, broccoli is awesome.

[Mike Whiston]

Well, anything's better when you pretend you're a dinosaur, to be fair. You know, it is like when I play guitar and I pretend to be a dinosaur, I'm like this.

[Joe Rubin]

Yeah, right? And you got right. You're like.

[Mike Whiston]

That was Mark Cross with Christmas Cookies by George Strait. And yeah, I had never heard that song before and I'm a fan. Like, I am totally going to learn it one day and try to sing it myself because it would be fun for a future Christmas theme.

[Joe Rubin]

You know, by the way, George crushes everything that he does again. Like, we have some amazing people. Yeah, I'm sorry.

[Mike Whiston]

All right.

[Joe Rubin]

Yeah, George street is also.

[Mike Whiston]

He's.

[Joe Rubin]

He's great. He is not a member of FnK yet. No, I don't think he's joining. But Mark Cross, on the other hand, crushes everything that he does. He's posted a lot of songs and they are all amazing. And he has over acts and like, dresses up and gets into it in full. He. He really does it. He does a great job.

[Mike Whiston]

Yeah, yeah. They're not all country. They're like all over the place.

[Joe Rubin]

You know, he's all across the map.

[Mike Whiston]

Yeah. Remember he dressed up like. Like a mad scientist or something or for something for Halloween, I think. Yeah, it was great.

[Joe Rubin]

I think just about every song has the Texas flag behind it, which is.

[Mike Whiston]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Joe Rubin]

No matter what the theme, he's got that flag behind him. Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Mike Whiston]

We'll be down in Texas. We'll be in Austin.

[Joe Rubin]

I know, a couple months. March, right?

[Mike Whiston]

Yeah, March for South by Southwest. So all you people down in Austin or down near Austin or if you're going to south by Southwest, definitely look us up or send us a note and we'll be there. We'll be there in March for the. Basically the entire event. So I'm sure we'll be running karaoke like we always do, so feel free to ping us. And we will be coming in like a wrecking ball in January next month in Orlando.

[Joe Rubin]

Oh, that's right.

[Mike Whiston]

Oh, you know what?

[Joe Rubin]

I was like, why did you pick that little thing to say, coming in like a wrecking ball? And now I see that it was premeditated.

[Mike Whiston]

Thank you. Thank you. You know, sometimes I land. You know what?

[Joe Rubin]

Nicely done. Nice.

[Mike Whiston]

You know, and if this isn't your Santa Claus, I don't care. This is.

[Joe Rubin]

No, that's. That's Santa Claus right there.

[Mike Whiston]

Yeah.

[Joe Rubin]

Actually, you know what? Looking at this video, my beard is getting so white lately. It's almost looking like that.

[Mike Whiston]

Yeah. Yeah. But you know what? You would look different swinging from the ball, so.

[Joe Rubin]

No, I would. I. I'm like five or ten pounds lighter than just a little bit Santa here. But the beard is coming in. I was referring to the beard. The beard is looking getting.

[Mike Whiston]

Yeah, yeah, you were getting there. It's getting much more white than gray. It used to be more Wolverine, and now it's more pepper, less salt, and.

[Joe Rubin]

Now it's a little more salt, less pepper.

[Mike Whiston]

Yeah, yeah. There you go. So we will be in Orlando for a big podcast conference, like always in January every year. We always announce this, and we always have had a great turnout from the Friday night karaoke community. This year, it will be on the 16th of January. So next month, on the 16th, we will be hosting a big karaoke party with like, 100 and some odd people at oh, shucks in Orlando on International Drive. It's gonna be from, like, 8pm until really, really late. Just pop into Friday night karaoke, the group, and look for Mike Whiston or Joe Rubin, you know, the. The admins in the group. And send us a quick note and let us know that you'll be in Orlando and you want to come and hang out. We got your drinks and food.

[Joe Rubin]

Drinks and food on us all night. Come sing with us. It was great. I think last year we had, like, 170, 180. It was insane. Dude, that place was packed. It was my favorite.

[Mike Whiston]

My favorite part about it is it is the preferred karaoke bar for the Disney staff members. Like the Disney cast member. They call them cast members. So when they get out of work at Disney World, they go in here and just let loose. And you have these people that have been. You know, they're like Disney singers. Like, they. They spend their day, like, singing songs, you know, at Disney. And Then they come out and, you know, to karaoke, to just let loose, drink, and sing more songs.

[Joe Rubin]

Dude, remember that first year when we did that? And like, all of a sudden, people, we're sitting there, we're like, what the is going on here? Like, this. Is this too good?

[Mike Whiston]

This is.

[Joe Rubin]

This is crap. You know? And then we figured out, we're like, oh, it was the staff. They're all singing all day. It was amazing.

[Mike Whiston]

They're so cool and supportive. Anyway, like, you know, like, you get up there and like, you know, you try your best, and they're all like, yeah, you're like, they're, you know, they're very much. Friday night karaoke. We need to, you know, this year we need to make a concerted effort to, like, sign every single one of them up.

[Joe Rubin]

I'm gonna bring a little iPad and just sign people up on the spot.

[Mike Whiston]

What we should do is the stupid QR code thing that, you know, super sucks. I hate QR codes. But we should just.

[Joe Rubin]

All right, dude. All right, we're rambling here, man. Like this. Let's talk about this offline and.

[Mike Whiston]

No, this is. This is how business gets done. You want to. You want to know how babies are made? This is how it's done. This is not idea babies.

[Joe Rubin]

Your parents lied to you, dude. This is not how it's done.

[Mike Whiston]

I never learned.

[Joe Rubin]

QR code. Can I scan your QR code, baby?

[Mike Whiston]

Right. That's the new pickup line for 20, right?

[Joe Rubin]

That might be how babies are made nowadays, actually, now that I think about it.

[Mike Whiston]

Right? Yeah, you scanned me twice, right?

[Joe Rubin]

You naughty.

[Mike Whiston]

I do. I do want to say it is 9 o' clock in the morning in Japan over here, and obviously Joe's in the States on the east coast, and it is 7pm for him. But I have nothing going on today. I'm in my new studio in my house, and my wife's handling everything with the kids today, so my coffee has a little Christmas spirit inside.

[Joe Rubin]

Cheers to you, brother.

[Mike Whiston]

Quite happy about that.

[Joe Rubin]

All right, play the next song.

[Mike Whiston]

Yeah. Coming up next, we actually have a really, really interesting one. So, you know, this is obviously a Christmas week, but we didn't say that it had to be a Christmas song that everybody knows. We didn't have to say it. We didn't say it had to be a popular Christmas song. This person from the Friday night karaoke community, I believe he's new to the group, or if he's not ashamed to say that this is the first song I've heard of his. And I will Definitely be going and looking for many more. But this is Daniel Cretes and he actually wrote an original Christmas song.

[Joe Rubin]

Really?

[Mike Whiston]

Yeah, he wrote an original, wrote and sang an original Christmas song. It is called Santa's Gone Wild. And it's a festive little cautionary tale because every holiday season needs one. It's about Santa decoration that started out cheerful, well intentioned, full of Christmas spirit, and then immediately proved it could not be trusted once it was plugged in.

[Joe Rubin]

Oh, dude, I know song.

[Mike Whiston]

All right. CL it's like super exciting. So anyway, here it is. This is going to be Daniel Cretes with an original song for Christmas. Santa's Gone wild. Let's give it a listen.

[Daniel Cretes]

Somewhere down south on a frosty holiday A sweet woman set her Santa out in bright display she plucked in that big gallop Fella walked inside feeling proud didn't know her Christmas spirit was about to get real loud. Cause that wind kicked up mischief like it had a plan Tonight Santa took off rolling like get out, I'm taking flight. Sailors on the road flying fast on Jollibee Kids are chasing after rim life freak and to hit the street recycling fins I travel little dogs on terrace by she's yelling cena, get back here. You got responsibilities tonight. Oh, bless her heart she's running after him like a Black Friday sale took.

[Mike Whiston]

Life.

[Daniel Cretes]

Her neighbor's pounding on the door yelling ma', am, he's getting away. She come flying out and slipping hollering santa, you stay. That giant blown up mortar man bouncing loose through the park Taking out snowman left and right before it even gets dark now phones are out recording what no Hallmark plot would write.

[Mark Cross]

A rogue.

[Daniel Cretes]

Inflatable L taking flies is on the run heading down here with Blair Kids are gaining on him like he starts and presents everywhere He's a peppermint boat of thundering record lights and Christmas sets and she's shouting santa, slow it down. You ain't cleared for driving yet.

[Mike Whiston]

Rumor.

[Daniel Cretes]

Has it even Amazon tried to hire saying even we don't ship that fast now when you hear a whoosh of jingle bells don't panic it's just him rolling like runaway float getting unexpectedly so tie down your decorations and double check your stakes cause Santa gets like this when that southern wind br. On the run but you find a wrangle them la tackle them in the neighbor's yard like a linebacker on a tire now the whole town's laughing replaying that one that got a siding on social media he's gone viral titled set of go wild tonight. Let's Just say, not every Christmas goes as planned, but some of them turn out better that way.

[Joe Rubin]

Oh, my God, dude.

[Mike Whiston]

Who's that, man?

[Joe Rubin]

That was freaking awesome.

[Mike Whiston]

Let's make this famous.

[Joe Rubin]

That was sick, man.

[Mike Whiston]

Right?

[Joe Rubin]

Holy.

[Mike Whiston]

Like, it was, like, legit. Like, it wasn't like, just, you know, I'm gonna write a little song and, you know, just kind of, you know, throw some gimmicky stuff up there. It was, like, legit good. It was, like, legit fun. I was, like, bobbing along, feeling it, and it was funny, and it was good. It was like a. It was a great Christmas song. I. I honestly, like, I just. I just went to Spotify, looking to see if maybe it was up there, and he maybe put it out there, and I couldn't find it. So, you know, Daniel Cretes again with Santa's Gone Wild, an original Christmas song. I hope, Daniel, if you're listening, I hope that you actually put that song out there and then give me a link to where you have it out in the. Out in the wild, and we'll. We'll help you get the world to hear it before the holidays are over here. So.

[Joe Rubin]

Of course.

[Mike Whiston]

More.

[Joe Rubin]

Dude, I was thinking, like, I was like, we should have had a lot of people just write their own song. Maybe we do that for another future theme of the week. There's, like, do a song, make a song, and, like, let's just throw originals up here one week, you know?

[Mike Whiston]

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Well, we do have that. I don't even remember what I called it, but we have that, like, song generator and stuff. It's. Yeah, it'd be cooler if you just write your own, though. Like, don't use AI and just, like, write something yourself. But that was, like, legit. Like, I. Bravo, Daniel Creeds. Bravo. So good. You know, I use that. He was using Smule, obviously, to record, as most people do, and had that. That Santa face, like, where it kind of. Just kind of fun, you know, at first, when he first. You know, when I first listened to it and I was going through it, I saw, like, the Santa face. I'm like, is this AI? Is this real? And then I realized it's. Yeah, it's totally real. Like, it's, like, totally his voice, and he's totally just talking and singing and, you know, the little nuance, and it was great. He did a great job.

[Joe Rubin]

Yeah, man. I don't know. I can't really tell the difference between what's AI and real now anymore. Yeah, I know.

[Mike Whiston]

It's good, dude.

[Joe Rubin]

I'm like, oh, what the Is that? I'm like, no, that can't be.

[Mike Whiston]

I. I think when he starts talking.

[Joe Rubin]

And stuff, you know, it certainly seemed. It seemed real enough. But I mean, you know, like, you ever see some of these AI videos nowadays, dude?

[Mike Whiston]

They're. They're freakish, man. They're freakishly good.

[Joe Rubin]

I know. It's like. It's like, really. It hurts. Like, my brain. I. I don't know. But I hate.

[Mike Whiston]

I hate when they get me, though. Like, you know, they'll show, like. Like a meme of, like, you know, it's the subtleties that you. That you're not. Don't expect that will prove that it's AI. And they'll circle, like, these little things in the background and show, like, it'll be like a girl with her hands up on the table, and, like, you're just looking at, like. Like a line in, like, the. The bricks that isn't matching up or something way in the back, and they have it circled, and you're just like, oh, I see. But her hands are literally feet. But that doesn't happen anymore.

[Joe Rubin]

No, no, no. It happens on audio still. Like, I still hear podcasts or something like that where you think it's real and somebody's talking, like, man, this person's really good. Like, really reading off the teleprompter really, really well. And then they say something like. Like, the other day. Got me. They were talking about jobs and stuff, and. And they mentioned, like, H vac technicians, but they were like, if you want to be an hvac technician. And I'm like, hvac? I'm like, oh. I'm like, this isn't real. Like, come on, man.

[Mike Whiston]

I was like, it makes it sound much more glamorous.

[Joe Rubin]

I'm like, you got me, mother.

[Mike Whiston]

It was like, it's like Megaminda.

[Joe Rubin]

Yeah, exactly, right? So that's. You see, you hear things like that. That mess you up, and I'm like.

[Mike Whiston]

Whatever. It's all good. It's all good. So last time that was Daniel Creeds with Santa going wild and go check it out. When it actually exists on another platform, it might exist somewhere. Whatever. It's on FnK.

[Joe Rubin]

Going to FnK. Go to our platform and listen to it.

[Mike Whiston]

It. Yeah. Screw Spotify. Yeah.

[Joe Rubin]

Wait, you just listened to this podcast? You just heard it. Why are you sending people to somewhere else? You just heard it right here.

[Mike Whiston]

I'm not even being paid by Spotify.

[Joe Rubin]

What the hell?

[Mike Whiston]

No.

[Joe Rubin]

What are you doing, dude?

[Mike Whiston]

Hold on, hold on, hold on. Let me call my Spotify. I'm sending people to. You pay me money.

[Joe Rubin]

They're not gonna. They're not gonna.

[Mike Whiston]

Oh, yeah. There was nobody there.

[Joe Rubin]

We can send them 14 million people and we'll get a check for like, 13 cents.

[Mike Whiston]

You know what? That's 13 cents more than I had this morning.

[Joe Rubin]

That's true. We would be. We would be paid for this podcast. Finally. We'd be.

[Mike Whiston]

Yeah. On top of this freaking whiskey.

[Joe Rubin]

Actually, no, they. They. Dude, they got rid of the penny. We wouldn't even get paid. They'd have to round it down to zero.

[Mike Whiston]

Actually, that's a whole separate thing. That's crazy, though.

[Joe Rubin]

All right, all right. We're getting off. We're getting off track here. We got more songs.

[Mike Whiston]

We do have more.

[Joe Rubin]

It's Christmas. I don't want to talk about the penny anymore. Makes me sad.

[Mike Whiston]

It does. Wow.

[Joe Rubin]

Only happy thoughts. Happy thoughts.

[Mike Whiston]

I will say, you know that that penny collection you've been holding on to, you know that you're like, oh, not gonna be worth anything. It's just a penny. Oh, hang on to it a little bit longer, right? It's gonna be worth something. At least for your kids. It's gonna be worth something at some point, you know, And I know these don't exist.

[Joe Rubin]

Exactly. It's gonna be sick.

[Mike Whiston]

Coming up next is another Friday night karaoke moderator, and this is another moderator that's been with us for a very long time. And she's been a group member for even longer than. She's one of the best singers I've ever heard, ever, you know, and she is able to not just sing, you know, put on amazing vocal performances, but she's able to do voices. She's able to kind of just get outside the box and, you know, make it super freaking fun. And she can also be very, very serious. So she has a huge range, just an amazing person all around and a great moderator and, you know, just great contributor to the group and really supportive to everybody and really fun to sing, like, duets with. Etc. This is going to be Heather, Heather Gagnari. And she is singing Bob River Song, the Chimney song. And let me tell you, let me tell you, she puts on a voice. And I'm. I'm. We'll talk about it afterwards because I need you to hear it first. But she puts on a voice for this song and she is straight out of, like, a car. Like, she needs to do voiceover cartoons, right? Like, it's straight out of a car. Like, you're gonna be listening to this. Like, is this actually her. I mean, 100 is. It's definitely her, but, like, you're gonna listen to it and be like.

[Joe Rubin]

Is too much commentary before the song, man. Let's talk about it after the song, after we hear them.

[Mike Whiston]

Come on. All right, here it is. Heather Canary with the chimney song by Bob Rivers. Give it a listen.

[Heather Gagnari]

There's something stuck up in the chimney and I don't know what it is but it's been there all night long Well, I waited up for Santa all Christmas night but he never came and it don't seem right there's something stuck up in the chimney and it doesn't make a sound But I wish you merry Christmas. There's something stuck up in the chimney and I. I don't know what it is but it's been there all week long well, the dog keeps barking up the chimney flute and we don't know what we're gonna do? Cause there's something in the chimney and it doesn't move around and it's been a week since Christmas. There's something stuck up in the chimney and I don't know what it is but it's been there all month long well, it's jammed up tight above the fireplace now the house smells funny Such a big disgrace there's something stuck up in the chimney and it doesn't talk at all and it's been there since last Christmas. There's something stuck up in the chimney and I don't know what it is but it's been there all year long I'll be waiting up for Santa like I did last year but my brother says he's already here and he's stuck up in the chimney and he doesn't say a word and he'll be here every Christmas. And we'll have him every Christmas.

[Joe Rubin]

Dude, that was freaking hilarious.

[Mike Whiston]

Right? Right. Like the voice and like the. The. You know, the makeup and the freaking. You know, the. Just the presentation, Everything was just so freaking great, dude.

[Joe Rubin]

If you didn't tell. If. If there was no video, you didn't tell me who that was. I never in a million years would have guessed that that was Heather.

[Mike Whiston]

That's what I was trying to. I just wanted to allude to that before the actual video. I just wanted you to, you know, let it spin around your head like, what the hell is he talking about? Because that was so good. It wasn't just like, she's putting on a voice. She put on a voice and nailed it.

[Joe Rubin]

Nailed it, dude. Nailed it. And by the way, if you've never Heard Heather actually sing a song. She is fantastic. An amazing singer, like, and it is hilarious to hear her just completely do that. That was.

[Mike Whiston]

Now we kind of want to hear her do like on a good ship. Lollipop.

[Joe Rubin]

Right. Like, I'm sure she crushed that one too.

[Mike Whiston]

Little early Temple.

[Joe Rubin]

For real. Wow, that was.

[Mike Whiston]

And sorry, I was pronouncing your name Gunari before. It's Gurnari. So Heather Ganari, if you hear this, a little Shirley Temple, please. Thank you, thank you, thank you. It's my request. So once again, that was Heather Granari with the Chimney song by Bob Rivers and just, man, so much fun. And that's my favorite thing about like the karaoke group. Right? So we have all these members, 47, 000 members. They're posting hundreds of songs a day and they're, you know, just, you know, expressing themselves and having fun. You know, it's very non competitive. It's just a, a safe place to go sing music negativity free, as we said before. And I love that it's not like all serious, you know, it's not like just people getting up there and trying to get the production perfect and trying to, you know, just, you know, hit those, you know, those Mariah Carey songs, you know, and nail the notes. It's more just about like, I'm gonna go explore the limits of everything today. I'm feeling like this. This is what I'm gonna sing now. I'm feeling like this. And I'm gonna go Broadway now. I feel like heavy metal. And I'm gonna do that. And you can and they do and it's awesome.

[Joe Rubin]

Agreed.

[Mike Whiston]

You know, though, I, you know, we.

[Joe Rubin]

Did do a session a while back that was just one take. Remember that you post your first take.

[Mike Whiston]

So.

[Joe Rubin]

Yeah, there's definitely something to be said for like, damn, I screwed that up. I need to do another take and make this a little bit better and try to not.

[Mike Whiston]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Joe Rubin]

Does drinking song. I know we said this like five times, but man, that time when we did that pirate song and we're overdue.

[Mike Whiston]

We are overdue. Do you know what we should do? We should. We should do the pirate song at podfest.

[Joe Rubin]

All right.

[Mike Whiston]

For our karaoke night. Let's.

[Joe Rubin]

All right. You don't have to sell it anymore. Dude, I already said I'm in. I'm in.

[Mike Whiston]

I'm so excited. Let's do that. That would be the song that'll be like our duet.

[Joe Rubin]

I'm totally in. By the way, I hope one of the songs you pick Tonight is Mariah Carey all I want for Christmas? Because now that you said her name, now that you. Now that you invoked her name.

[Mike Whiston]

Do you know how much you can't stand Celine Dion? That's how much I can't stand Mariah Carey.

[Joe Rubin]

Shut up, dude.

[Mike Whiston]

Yep. I'm sorry. You don't like Celine Dion. I don't like Mariah Carey. I. I think she could just, you know, stop singing forever and I'll be okay.

[Joe Rubin]

All right, that's fair.

[Mike Whiston]

Yeah. So if you hear me put on a Mariah Carey song, we're putting on the Power of Love after that.

[Joe Rubin]

Wow.

[Mike Whiston]

All right, all right.

[Joe Rubin]

You know what? I'll trade you A sweet, sweet fantasy for the power of love. Any.

[Mike Whiston]

You know what? Let's do a mashup. The Power of Christmas.

[Joe Rubin]

Fine. Let's do it.

[Mike Whiston]

Our trading cards. Who wins? Right?

[Joe Rubin]

Okay.

[Mike Whiston]

Remember, like, real rap battles from history. Like real rap battles from history. Royal Carrie versus Celine Dion.

[Joe Rubin]

Nice.

[Mike Whiston]

That would be great. I would love to see that battle.

[Joe Rubin]

That would be awesome.

[Mike Whiston]

Yeah. So coming up next, we only have two songs left, unfortunately. It's, you know, we're at the 47 minute mark and it's a sad time. Actually, before we get into that, it is 47 minutes in, and I have neglected to acknowledge our lovely sponsor, Shure Microphones. See these lovely microphones? There's the black one, there's the gray one, and we have the gray one and the black one right there. Those are our microphones. It's MV7s. We love them. You can hear the sound quality. Sounds amazing. And if it doesn't, don't blame the microphone, blame Streamyard or us. Yeah, no, don't blame us. We're actually perfect at everything that we do. We are amazing. We have this beautiful friend style studio that we spent all this money on. We fired the. The writers, but we, you know, up the studio. So we're perfect. So unless Streamyard decides to sponsor us, we're blaming them. Streamyard's full anyway. MV7s definitely. Go check them out if you want to sound awesome. And that's short microphones. All right, so coming up next, our second to last. This is. I want to go with another fun one here. You know, we just did the chimney song. Let's go with another fun song. You know, unfortunately, nobody that I could find in the group saying grandma got run over by a reindeer. I was really hoping to hear that one and I. I was really hoping to feature that because it's just one growing up. But this is another one that I liked when I was growing up. This is about the Italian Rudolph. Can you guess what it is?

[Joe Rubin]

Yes.

[Mike Whiston]

All right, this is gonna be a little Lou Monty. Dominic the Donkey. All right. From our lovely group member, Patrick Holstein. Let's give it a perfect.

[Patrick Holstein]

Hey, it's Christmas.

[Daniel Cretes]

I'm shopping here.

[Mike Whiston]

I don't know.

[Patrick Holstein]

Hey, jingity ching, it's Dominic the donkey Jingity ching Italian Christmas donkey La la la la la la la la la la la la la la. Santa's got a little friend his name is Dominic Cutest little donkey you never see him kick. When Santa visits his pyzons with Dominic he'll be. Cause the reindeer cannot climb the hills a bit to leave hey, jingity ching, it's Dominick the Donkey Jingity Italian Christmas donkey La la la la la la la la la la la la la la you la Jingle bells around us feeding presents on the sled hey, look at the mayor's derby on top of Dominic's tent A pair of shoes for Lou and a fe the label on the inside says the maiden Brooklyn hey ching ching, it's Dominick the donkey Jingy jing they tell you Christmas donkey La la la la la la la la la la la la. Children sing and clap their hands and darn it starts to dance they chuck the tiger to a Mandy even understands Kumaris and koomparis do they dance of taranto and when Santa Nicola comes to town he brings a chuchiril hey, jiggity chee paw me all. It's Dominic the donkey Jiggity chee, it's dying Christmas donkeys la.

[Joe Rubin]

Christmas ass Christmas.

[Mike Whiston]

I'm with you, brother. We got it. What a great rendition of that song. And yeah, I. I agree with your sentiment at the end there, Patrick. Yes. It's a Christmas ass Christmas Christmas. Sure.

[Joe Rubin]

That was. I like that. That was fun. And you know what? It is a classic song, and it was funny. And I think that I feel like if he's in Florida, he needs to come down and meet you. Like, a group version of that song. That needs to be, like.

[Mike Whiston]

The whole place would do, like, six.

[Joe Rubin]

Or seven people or eight people. Like, a whole thing. Just everybody just singing the whole thing. He needs to come down to Podfest.

[Mike Whiston]

There wouldn't be. It would be the entire six, but it would.

[Joe Rubin]

It would turn into, like, 60. Yeah.

[Mike Whiston]

The entire place would sing that song from the beginning to the end. There are certain songs at karaoke that once you start singing them, you're no longer singing the song. Like, everybody. You know, you could totally botch. It. It doesn't matter. The entire karaoke bar with you. That's one of the songs that everybody was like, oh, I remember that when I was a kid. And they're all going to be singing it, right?

[Joe Rubin]

Try to sing, like, don't stop believing at a karaoke bar and have nobody else sing, like, meet Caroline. Yeah, exactly. Living on a prayer. Like. Like every. If you want everyone to sing with you. And like, that's. Those are the songs, by the way.

[Mike Whiston]

That's. That's the trick. If you're afraid of singing karaoke live in front of everybody, just sing one of those songs that you know that everybody is going to sing along with you, and it doesn't matter. It's just you up on stage and you're just, you know, guiding everybody, you know, that's all it is. Like, you're. You're just there. You're like, I picked the song, and you're all just singing together. Yeah. Yeah. You know, the. The single biggest mistake people make at karaoke, I think, is picking a song that meant a lot to them as a kid or something that nobody's ever heard of. Because at live karaoke, that's cool. That, you know. Cool story, bro, that you like that song, but nobody cares. Like, you know, people are there because they want to hear cool. That they, you know, that they remember, and they want to sing along and they want to jam along, and nobody cares about a song that they've never heard before. In most cases. I mean, there's rare exceptions, but in most cases, nobody cares. So.

[Joe Rubin]

In every case.

[Mike Whiston]

Yeah, in every case. Yeah.

[Joe Rubin]

Yeah.

[Mike Whiston]

For live karaoke, pick songs.

[Joe Rubin]

Pick an awesome song that everybody's gonna jam to.

[Mike Whiston]

Yeah. Make them fun. And. And, you know, most. Most times, unless you are literally like Aretha Franklin, you know, don't. Don't pick the songs that are, like, just, like, all about the vocal, you know, don't.

[Joe Rubin]

Don't overshoot.

[Mike Whiston]

Right. Yeah. All right, that's.

[Joe Rubin]

That's enough karaoke tips for a night.

[Mike Whiston]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Joe Rubin]

We should do, like, a weekly karaoke tips.

[Mike Whiston]

I don't know if I'm qualified for that.

[Joe Rubin]

Sure you are.

[Mike Whiston]

Well, I've made all the mistakes myself, so I certainly can.

[Joe Rubin]

Exactly. You know. You know, definitely what you've.

[Mike Whiston]

Once again, that was Patrick Holstein with Dominic the donkey from lou Monty little 1960s, the Italian Rudolph, so.

[Joe Rubin]

All right.

[Mike Whiston]

Yay. So we only have one song left. All right.

[Joe Rubin]

Who is it?

[Mike Whiston]

Time of night, you know, we had this lovely podcast. The podcast was a very merry karaoke Christmas. And we had seven wonderful singers kind of leading us up to this last moment. And I thought we should probably end with, like, a nice, good, wholesome, Christmassy song, you know, not something funny. There's something nice and wholesome and great and, you know, something to. To leave us with a nice, good feeling as we get out of here. So, finishing up the podcast. Our last song of the evening is going to be some 1953 Dean Martin. It's gonna be Let It Snow by none other than Joe Rubin.

[Joe Rubin]

Oh, no, you didn't.

[Mike Whiston]

I sure did. I sure did. There it is. Let's give it a listen.

[Joe Rubin (singing)]

Oh, the weather outside is frightful but the fire is so delightful since we've no place to go Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow it doesn't show signs of stopping and I brought some corn for poppin the lights are turned way down low Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow when we finally kiss good good night How I'll hate to go out in the storm but if you'll really hold me tight all the way home I'll be warm the fire is slowly dying and, my dear, we're still goodbyeing as long as you love me so Let it snow, let it snow, let it.

[Mike Whiston]

Snow doesn't care if the sun he sitting by the fire Cozy glow He.

[Heather Gagnari]

Don'T care about the cold and the.

[Mark Cross]

Winds that blow he just says let.

[Mike Whiston]

It snow, let it snow, let it.

[Joe Rubin (singing)]

Snow, let it snow.

[Mike Whiston]

Why should he worry when he's nice and warm he's got by his side and the lights.

[Mark Cross]

Turn low he just says there's no.

[Joe Rubin (singing)]

There'S no, I don't care. Oh, the weather outside is frightful but that fire is delightful since we've no place to go Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow it doesn't show signs of stopping and I brought lots of corn for pop the lights are all way down low Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow when we finally say good night How I'll hate going out in the storm but if you'll only hold me tight all the way home I'll be warm the fire is slowly dying and my dear here we're still goodbye as long as you love me so Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow.

[Mike Whiston]

Yeah. You did it. You did it, you son of a. You did it. All right.

[Joe Rubin]

I guess that was pretty good.

[Mike Whiston]

Yeah, it was pretty good. You got. You got that Dean Martin sound. You got that. Yo, man, you just. You rock that. You. You had the sound. You had The. The presence. You had everything. Yeah. The. All the ingredients to make a great Christmas song, and you brought it home. So there's a lesson in how to karaoke for all you karaoke newbies out there.

[Joe Rubin]

Oh, I do. I do love the crooners. I do love crooning. It's been a while.

[Mike Whiston]

I haven't.

[Joe Rubin]

Haven't recorded a song in a while, but I know.

[Mike Whiston]

I like featuring a song every now and then just to remind you that, you know, you should do this sometimes because you're good at it.

[Joe Rubin]

I should do it every now and then.

[Mike Whiston]

All right.

[Joe Rubin]

Yeah, yeah, yeah.

[Mike Whiston]

You know what? If you don't have a fancy new studio. That's why.

[Joe Rubin]

You know, that's why. Like this. You know this. I mean, I do got the short microphone, which is.

[Mike Whiston]

You do have the shore microphone, and you have the Yoda freaking Christmas shirt.

[Joe Rubin]

I do that.

[Mike Whiston]

I do, yeah. Yeah. I got all the ingredients, the season and alcohol. Oh, alcohol is my favorite. Right?

[Joe Rubin]

The secret ingredients.

[Mike Whiston]

I know. So once again, that was Joe Rubin with Let it Snow by Dean Martin to round out the Friday night karaoke podcast. This was episode number 75. It's technically season four and our second episode in season four. We have been doing this for a long time now.

[Joe Rubin]

Yeah.

[Mike Whiston]

Wild. You know, we try to shoot for once a week, and that hasn't happened in a very, very long time. So, you know, we're trying to get a little bit more consistent with it. So hopefully you'll be hearing these more regularly. You know, just kind of weekly or at least bi weekly or month a year, some type of regular schedule. We'll figure it out. Yeah, at least three times exactly. If you're lucky. So thank you to all the wonderful artists that. Yes, here. You guys were absolute rock stars. And thank you to everybody else that posted to the theme of the week and Friday night karaoke. Once again, if you're not in the group and you're just listening to this on any of the major platforms like Apple Podcasts, iHeartRadio, Spotify, Castbox, Google Podcasts, Amazon, Audible, any of those, and you don't know the group exists, just go to Facebook, type in Friday night karaoke, click join, and you are in. And you are with the best online negativity, free ad, free group of karaoke and music enthusiasts anywhere. So agreed.

[Joe Rubin]

So anyway, Merry Christmas, wishing you and your family an amazing holiday season. Have a great, great evening.

[Mike Whiston]

No, no, no, no, no. You missed the most important part of the end of the podcast.

[Joe Rubin]

I'm sorry.

[Mike Whiston]

Yeah. New theme oh, yeah. All right, so we do a theme of the week in the group, if you don't know. We do a new theme of the week every single week. We post it on Fridays, and you have until Thursday at 11:59pm Eastern to post up your theme of the week songs. And you just hashtag it, your post with the theme of the week hashtag. And that's how you get in the running. We Give like a 10Amazon gift card to, you know, a quote unquote winner. And, you know, we kind of list the first, second and third place singers or submissions every single week. Very much not a competition, but very much just a fun way to engage and try some new things and, you know, try songs outside of your comfort zone that match the theme. So obviously this week that we just played was fnk. Xmas was the hashtag. And we on the podcast in the past have always come up with the next theme at the end of the podcast. So Joe and I will usually come up with something, you know, each and then we'll debate it. And, you know, it's a little fun, but I think it's pretty straightforward. It's the end of the year, you know, we just did our Christmas theme. We're coming up on New Year's, and I think. And maybe you can fight me on this one, but I think FNK Countdown is the. The hashtag. And it's just like party songs to bring in the new year, you know, high energy. Or like, or maybe, you know, just. It could be a countdown, actually, FnK Countdown. And it would just be party songs. Nice and easy.

[Joe Rubin]

I like that. Yeah, just party songs. High energy, fun party songs. Things that you're listening to New Year's Eve and not if you're like, okay, I'm gonna, you know, just sleep on the couch and listen to something like a lullaby. I'm talking like, you're going out, you got people over, you're going to other people's house, you're doing the party, you're in Times Square, you're somewhere awesome. What's the party song? What are you playing?

[Mike Whiston]

Right, exactly. The, the songs that you're gonna hear while the ball's dropping.

[Joe Rubin]

Yes.

[Mike Whiston]

Like, like, you know, it's not going to be like, you know, some, like, lame, boring. And I'm not saying all slow songs are boring, but if the ball's dropping, you're not gonna listen to that.

[Joe Rubin]

Exactly.

[Mike Whiston]

All right, so. So high energy, something exciting, something fun, something. Those champagne bottles popping.

[Joe Rubin]

Yes.

[Mike Whiston]

You know?

[Joe Rubin]

Yes.

[Mike Whiston]

That's what we want to hear. So it's going to be hashtag FNK Countdown. And then the theme of the week name will be countdown to 2026.

[Joe Rubin]

All right. Outstanding.

[Mike Whiston]

Yeah, Done. All right. Okay, great. So from Friday, you'll see that posted in the Friday night karaoke group. And as Joe was mentioning before, from both of us, Merry Christmas, happy holidays. Thank you for being with us. Thank you for listening to us. And if you did listen, we would love to know that you listened, especially if you listened all the way and you're hearing me say this right now, feel free to send us a note and just in the group, be like, hey, Mike and Joe, Love, loved your episode. Anything so that we know that you listen to the whole thing.

[Joe Rubin]

Agreed. And to all a good night.

[Mike Whiston]

Cheers. Good night.