Here is an excerpt from my proposal for the Artists Taking the Lead project; a commissioning programme by the Arts Council for the 2012 Olympics.
Street Karaoke!This is a geo-located karaoke game where famous songs are placed in symbolic spaces around the country for people to belt out at their leisure. Technically Street Karaoke! would operate on a GPS enabled mobile phone or a device such as a car SatNav. When people walk into designated ‘hot spots’ a video loads on their device with a visual and audio cue to begin singing. The lyrics unfold across the screen with a change of colour as the song progresses to keep the singer synchronized.It’s a simple idea packed full of fun potential. T—Mobile’s recent Trafalgar Square karaoke stunt, part of their ‘Life’s for Sharing’ campaign is a great indication of how approximately 13,000 people love to get up and sing. I think it would be fantastic to geo-locate that moment so people can go back and partake in it again and again. This project will be accessible to the growing number of mobile phones that are GPS and video aware. It can be experienced as a family event, a school activity, a team event, a tourist trap, an office challenge, a seniors showcase or a late night fiasco. Can you imagine a Kaiser Chief’s song sung on the streets of Leeds where the residents are already so proud of their talent or ‘Penny Lane’ in Liverpool animated in such an accessible way. While I have selected the Yorkshire region in this project I feel that it could just be the starting point for a national activity, one that responds to popular karaoke songs while reflecting the awesome cultural map of the UK. The experience should be for everyone.
