Its the day of the work social and a Japanese style Karaoke bar has been selected as the activity and you on the sly think your the next Amy Winehouse, but your a bit nervous of the pressure of singing in front of everyone, don’t worry this is a perfectly usual response. Always be wary that there is a possibility of having a total disaster with the new 22 year old from HR stealing your signature song and her cleavage stealing the whole evening as that whiskey and cigarette you just finished off, helped you resemble Louie Armstrong than beloved Mariah!

So be sensible, take time the day before the karaoke night to pick up to four, five of your best songs, just in case someone steals your song, make them all ones you know the lines to fairly well and preparation makes perfect. Spend an evening on practicing them the week before, ask a mom to take note to prevent your nerves and get some good advice.

Although let someone choose a music track too it maybe their way of helping you avoid embarrassment with over stretching your vocal chords, try to pass up songs that stretch your voice beyond its natural range especially with some of the more technical ballads. Your performance will be greater if you pick a anthem that you really like, this is a good tip so try to do this.

Stay hydrated by drinking lots during the course of the day, having a nicely hydrated throat and vocal cords is critical to have a high quality performance and if you smoke try and steady the tension through deep breathing rather than ten cigarettes as that too can distort and alter your vocal talents. Have a little warm up by singing along to a few songs is also a good hint but clearly avoid notes out of your vocal range and no straining or it will ruin your performance.

The other tip to circumvent cracking up on the boards is not to shout. If you are in a loud arena with your friends around and that guy from payroll you like, then ignore all talk that will make you shout and just get into performing mode. If you spend the twenty minutes before you sing sipping Jack Daniels, smoking twenty cigarettes and yelling at your mate about how evil that man from accounts appears, then by the point at which you get on the mic your all ready going to struggle.