Apopka High School’s Karaoke Club is a stress-free environment where students and staff alike can sing their hearts out. Although the club just started this year, it has proven to be a hit around campus.
Seniors Courtney Lawitzke and Jesus Acuna took on the challenge of creating the Karaoke Club at APK. Starting as a joke, Jesus shares that “I wanted to prove that I could make an absurd idea a reality.” Supporting Jesus with this idea, Courtney helped the club get on its feet. At the end of last school year, both students petitioned Mr. Fairchild, the club sponsor, to start the club. It didn’t seem to take much convincing for the teacher who has “graced Gen Z” with his melodic singing since his first year of teaching. Both co-presidents share an interest in musicality. Courtney shares that she loves to sing songs by “Taylor Swift and Lana Del Rey.” Jesus, on the other hand, doesn’t sing as often, but he got to experience Courtney’s singing expertise. He shares that “she hit every note to a Lana del Rey song,” leaving a lasting impression on him. Courtney claimed that if the whole doctor profession didn’t work out, she’d try to become a singer.
From the start, it’s been clear that every student at APK is encouraged to come and sing! From my experience, the Karaoke Club is a judgment-free zone where screaming the lyrics to your favorite song (with terrible pitch) is normalized. At the first meeting, songs like “What Makes You Beautiful” by One Direction and “Problem” by Ariana Grande were performed. The entire club started singing and dancing along with those performing. Karaoke Club accepts performances ranging from novice to expert. By forming a stress-free environment, Karaoke Club hopes that students are motivated to join. As long as people come in to sing, the club will remain up and running.
Karaoke Club is set to have staff participate in the club as well. Specifically, they expect a long-awaited karaoke face-off between Mr. Russell and Mr. Blevins. An officer position is dedicated to reaching out to staff members to show up to the club. Aside from teachers, they hope to give club members as much liberty as possible while remaining school-appropriate. To request a song, there is a Google form sheet to fill out. This is done to ensure that explicit content is eliminated. Mr. Fairchild shares that his main goal is to “not get shut down.” OCPS has very strict rules on what is and is not school-appropriate. It is a priority for Karaoke Club to keep the guidelines in mind.
Cecil Pham, a club member, explained that karaoke is fun, unlike the academic activities offered at Apopka. He mentioned that singing was not a hobby of his, but he enjoys performing with his friends. Ryan Cohen, a soon-to-be club member, hopes to perform songs such as “Call Me Maybe”, “I Miss You”, and “Creep”.
After asking the members to rate their singing abilities out of ten, Ryan answered with an honest 4 out of 10. Even though his score was low, he made the point to add that he sings for fun rather than taking it as a serious hobby. Cecil shares his honest opinion that even though he cannot sing, he gave himself a 2/10 because he can stay on beat. Mr. Fairchild made sure that I mentioned his singing skills are an 11/10.
Meetings are held on Mondays after school. An October meeting was not set in place as seniors are busy with college applications. However, you can look forward to a November meeting! To get a better idea of the club environment, follow The Karaoke Club on Instagram @apk.karaoke.
Join Karaoke Club for a fun time of singing, dancing, and spectating performances. APK cannot wait to see who takes the Karaoke stage this school year.
