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BIG RAPIDS — Karaoke fans at the Gypsy Nickel Lounge will no doubt recognize John Kelley’s friendly face sitting behind an elaborate DJ setup.
Born and raised in Big Rapids and living just outside the area, Kelly got his musical inspiration from his father, who was in a band, and started DJing before taking up karaoke.
“I think I’ve done every kind of DJ job you can think of,” he said.
His father had a large sound system for DJs and karaoke.
“Whenever my friends were at a party, they would bring your stuff,” he said.
A few years later, the business took off and he took over the name ‘Red Hot Karaoke’, which has been in business for 30 years now.
“At one point, I was doing six shows a week.
Kelley’s bread and butter is typically weddings, but he’s done DJ sets and karaoke everywhere from board meetings to birthday parties. With the COVID-19 pandemic largely under control, Kelly was surprised by the demand for his services.
“It went like 100 miles an hour. For the last two years, everyone was postponing weddings and everything. We were hooked on one wedding after another. I’m back,” he said.
Currently, Kelly is playing Wednesday night at Gipsy Nickel, Thursday night at Idlewild’s Peyton’s Bar, Friday night at Newwaygo’s Sportsman’s Bar, and returning to Gypsy on Saturday.
“One of the great things is when you get people who have very good voices who have never sung in public, but who have no confidence. They go up there and they’re scared to death. And they stand up and sing, people applaud, the look on their faces is shocked,” he said.
According to Kelley, having fun and not being good at singing is the name of the game when it comes to karaoke.
“Just because you sing badly doesn’t mean you can’t put on a good show. Some people know they’re bad at singing. But they’re going to be up there and have fun. Everyone loves it,” he said.
Singing in public takes guts, so Kelly makes a habit of praising everyone who steps up and tries to sing.
“Even badly, they got up and did it. They had the nerve to get up and do it. And it takes a lot of time,” he said.
Singing karaoke is more important to some people than many people realize.
“For some people it’s like an emotional release. I understand,” he said.
Kelly loves making people happy and seeing people’s faces light up when they are enjoying a performance.
“My job is to make people happy and to break out of their shells. Some people start, and then you know they’re playing in a band,” he said.
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