by Steven King

Amidst a singing-heavy television season featuring “American Idol” and “Glee,” UK will showcase its own students’ vocal talents with Karaoke Night.

The Student Activities Board will hold Karaoke Night in the Cat’s Den at 8 p.m. on Tuesday. The admission and participation in the contest is free, and two free tickets to Kathy Griffin’s Feb. 27 performance at the Singletary Center will be the top prize for the winner of the karaoke contest.

Karaoke singers will be able to choose their songs from a variety of pop genres. Billboard Top 100, Party Tyme Karaoke, and Disney Karaoke will be the CDs offered to contestants. “Under the Sea” could easily be followed by “Hey, Soul Sister.”

SAB President Sarah Ausmus, a junior philosophy major, said that it will be a fun event.

“It will be a variety of fun songs,” Ausmus said. “If you love Glee, if you love popular music and you love singing along, this will be a great place to go.”

Some students have already been looking forward to Karaoke Night. One of those students is Lauren Letsinger, a junior integrated and strategic communication junior.

“I can’t wait for Karaoke Night,” Letsinger said. “I’m so excited to participate in the contest, because I’ve never sang karaoke before. I don’t know if I’ll embarrass myself or look stupid, but I don’t care. Win or lose, I know I will have lots of fun.”

Ausmus believes Karaoke Night will be a refreshing break for everyone who made it through the first portion of the semester.

“It’ll be really fun and a great way to blow off steam,” Ausmus said. “I know everyone’s finishing their first round of tests this week, and it’ll be a great way to relieve stress.”

“We have done this in the past, but it’s been a while since we’ve done it, so for a lot of student it’ll probably be their first time doing Karaoke Night through SAB,” Ausmus said.

Event coordinators think the grand prize tickets will be another motivation for students to enter the competition.

“We’re excited to have Kathy Griffin,”Ausmus said. “We think her tickets will be a hot commodity.”

Karaoke Night will take place Tuesday at 8 p.m. in the Cat’s Den.