Luna’s Pub and Grill’s inaugural karaoke night Tuesday opened with “Unwritten” by Natasha Bedingfield — sung by a participant named “Lapis 3145.”
Following the pub’s Monday grand opening ceremony, students flocked to Norris University Center for dinner with a side of Tuesday evening karaoke. Karaoke night is one of the weekly events offered at Luna’s, alongside trivia starting Thursday and variety nights planned to start in February.
Karaoke got off to a slow start, but when Weinberg junior Imani Munene, the person behind “Lapis 3145,” noticed that no one was going up on the stage, she decided to take the first step, despite normally only singing for friends in classrooms.
“I was like, ‘You know what? Let me just sing a song in an actual karaoke place,’” Munene said.
After Munene finished, the momentum began to build. Students soon queued up songs using a QR code on flyers spread across the pub, signing up with nicknames that would be announced by the hosts.
The night’s queue spanned a variety of genres, languages and styles, ranging from ballads like “Die With a Smile” by Lady Gaga and Bruno Mars and “My Way” by Frank Sinatra, to Japanese and Spanish karaoke classics, such as “Usseewa” by Ado and “Amor Prohibido” by Selena.
Medill and SESP freshman Micaela Rivera sang “Amor Prohibido.”
“Every Latino person knows it, and it’s such an internationally known song,” Rivera said. “‘Amor Prohibido’ brings the vibes that I feel that every karaoke needs every night.”
Rivera said the crowd was “charming” and “always cheering it up.” Other singers echoed this sentiment, saying they felt supported by the crowd.
Students also performed in duos and groups. A quartet of friends harmonized on “Just the Way You Are” by Bruno Mars. Communication junior Diane Li said the stage environment helped them sing together.
“When you’re up there, and the lights are on you, and everyone’s around you, you want to be in the moment with the people that matter the most on stage,” Li said. “You just want to harmonize and make something beautiful.”
One group of friends went up to the microphone multiple times in pairs. Two members of the friend group, SESP senior Adrian Ayala-Pérez and Medill senior Will Kramer, sang “Valerie” by Amy Winehouse together. Ayala-Pérez said he went up with Kramer to support his love for Winehouse’s music.
By the end of the night, students and pub-goers were belting “Forget You” by CeeLo Green together.
McCormick sophomore Jasmine Porter, supervisor of a department overseeing programs at Norris, emphasized that Luna’s pub environment was much-needed on campus. She said the space allows “the community to get together and have some light-hearted fun on any given afternoon and given evening.”
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