To Karaoke or Not To Karaoke?

By now, you've probably heard that if you want to sing Frank Sinatra's "My Way" at a karaoke bar in the Philippines, you could be taking your life in your hands. This was the number one article on the New York Times website yesterday, and still ranked among the top 10 stories as of the time of this post.

So, as we prepare for our trip to the Philippines, it might be beneficial for us to consider a few other songs in case we find ourselves somehow in front of that terrifying microphone.

1. Christmas in Our Hearts. Okay, so it's sort of sappy, but Jose Mari Chan is the best-selling Filipino artist of all time and, although he's probably invoked in far more karaoke bars than Frank Sinatra, his songs appear to be safe.

2. Anak. Freddie Aguilar's 1978 debut recording is the most commercially successful Filipino recording to date, mixing folk with rock music and leading to the prominence of Filipino folk-rock as the protest music of the 1980s. If you're worried that you won't be able to sing it in Tagalog, don't worry; it has been translated in to over 100 other languages.

3. Anything by The Eraserheads. This 1990s pop-rock group is sometimes considered to be the top recording group in the Philippines, and led the way for hard rock, heavy metal, and alternative music to reach Filipino radio.

4. The Black-Eyed Peas or N.E.R.D. Chad Hugo and Apl.de.ap, respectively, are cited among the most successful Filipino-Americans in the music industry (and you've always secretly wanted an excuse to sing "Boom Boom Pow").

5. If We Ever Meet Again. Timabaland and Katy Perry are number one on the charts this week - assuming they stay that way for the next month, this should be a safe karaoke bet.

Good luck, stay safe, and happy singing!