AC students belt favourites at Patio Karaoke Night

As midterms were in full swing at Algonquin College, the Wolves Den and Algonquin College staff hosted a karaoke night on the Wolves Den patio at the Jack Doyle Athletics and Recreation building on June 18.

The patio was full of nervous students, but also excited students, who had the opportunity to get away from all the thoughts of looming exams. Karaoke night had many surprises from a young girl singing her heart and rocking out, to staff at the school getting involved.

Students at Algonquin College were excited to use their vocal cords and let out some energy during a hot summer day.

Adam Hadad, a web development and internet applications student, kicked off karaoke night with Under the Bridge by the Red Hot Chilli Peppers.

“I enjoy karaoke nights so I’ve done a few in the past, and I wanted to check tonight, and it was so worth it for sure. I wasn’t nervous at all especially since I was one of the first to queue up and sing. If anything I was more amped to get up there,” said Hadad.

Gonzalo Davila, who sang In The Air Tonight by Phil Collins, said it was his first time as a student to get involved in an event.

“My friends convinced me to come tonight, but it was for sure worth it, absolute blast with everyone who came out tonight,” said Davila.

Alex Larochette, a computer science student at the University of Ottawa, and Jessica Dao, a public relations student at Algonquin College, who duetted together, were enthusiastic about karaoke night.

“We’ve been to a few other karaoke nights in the past, here at Algonquin and at Ottawa U, and we will definitely be back again to other karaoke nights and other events,” said Larochette.

Larochette said Take My Breath Away by Berlin was his choice. He pushed hard for Dao to go up and sing with him.

“At first Jessica said no chance you will get me up there, however I think what won her over was the song choice. I actually heard this song on the radio the day prior and she loves Top Gun I can say it was a factor on why I was able to really convince her to sing with me,” said Larochette.

Dao, who overcame her nervousness to sing, has a message for students on future karaoke nights.

“Honestly, no one cares if you suck at singing or not, I didn’t want to sing but I still did and I don’t regret it one bit,” said Dao. “It was so much fun and I encourage others to come out to other events, especially karaoke nights down the road and even in the fall term.”

Sai Benedicto, manager at the Wolves Den, was pleased with the outcome on the patio as the afternoon went on. She estimated the turnout to be around 40-50 people on the patio along with students who walked by stop to listen to karaoke night.

“I wasn’t expecting the turnout to be anywhere near the amount of students and staff that actually showed up. Everyone crowded the patio and even got up willingly and sang in front of others, which shocked me,” said Benedicto.

Wolves Den staff member Danny Subia was impressed with just how many students decided to show up and flip the switch from school to fun.

“It’s a nice change for students who are so stressed with midterms and finals, to get out and just have fun and relieve that tension,” said Subia.