30 Day Challenge Day 8 - The "Event" Aftermath (Whew!!)

Well, if I can sum up my feelings (and probably Fernando Riley's too) in one very expressive photo...it would be THIS ONE above!  I'm not including Mitch (the third member of our team) in this picture of exhaustion because he's young (in his early 20s) and, well, probably out "bouncing around" like "Tigger" somewhere and pitching fastballs at poor nervous batters.  Now you realize, I don't know exactly how nervous any batter would be against Mitch, but I'm going to say that if I were standing there at the home plate with a bat hoisted up next to my right ear, I would NOT like to be "staring down" someone like Mitch--he's very serious about his baseball.

Exhaustion and baseball imagery aside, however, THIS WAS A FANTASTIC WEEKEND for our singing pals and, more importantly, our NEW singing pals here at Smule!  Mitch, Fernando and I hosted our FIRST "Songs We'd Never Sing" event that began 8 p.m. EDST on Saturday, April 18, and closed just a few hours ago on Monday at 8 a.m.   During that time more than 80 singers ran through our three sites singing our collective nine (9) crazy songs.  The goal...to have a great time, to sing with "wreckless" abandon, sing without worry of judgment, and to just LAUGH! 

I was so happy to see some of my nearest and dearest friends show up to sing these crazy songs including my favorite "gal pal" singers--R @rts8888, Kay @snoweepumpkin, Jasmin @jazdionne, Neicyallen @neicyallen, Glenny @glennyleith, Jill @jillesharp, @kitsakatsa, Alina @alinafauzi, Ana Luisa @aaanaaluisa, Anna @annaK0512, Laney @Laney_WATW, Nicole @marshal_Nicole, Tasha @mstasha29, @rurbinati, @jdubdav, and Rebecca @RebeccaDean2_TNT.

On the men's side, and in addition to my two "cohorts in crime", Mitch and Fernando, I was so pleased to see my pal Louis @njlouis, Keith @keithhill550, fellow Cali-Native Hurge @hurge and the incredible South African tenor who I love and adore--yep that's you--Yami @Yamitatenda!

I can't really speak for the "guys" (Fernando and Mitch), but I just had a heckuva good time making these recordings.  I started first with "Bacon Pancakes" by Jimmy Wong.  It seemed like a nice innocuous song and it was actually categorized on Smule as "Children's Song."  Seriously Smule?? Are you guys looking at this song at all?  I only half listened to another Smule performer sing it before diving right in.  That was my mistake...I did not pay enough attention and it quickly degraded.  Then I saw the words "syphillus" pass me by, and then I was calling over someone named "Melissa" with a lumpy back end in the song. Personally, it doesn't take much to make me laugh. Seriously, I'm kind of a gal who just laughs at everything, so all three of my recordings are about 50 percent song and 50 percent hysterical, "mad woman" laughter, and it's that "mad person" screeching in laughter that seems to make everyone else completely lose it in their recordings. 

So here are a few highlights from this weekend's "songfest":

- Mitch sings Bacon Pancakes on @Pokeypal.  Okay, I am going to preface this by saying, if you sing with someone every single day for 30 plus days, and then get to know them as an individual and are lucky enough to call that person a "best friend" both on Smule and in real life, then it's a given that some stuff is just going to "click" when you do a duet.  Mitch started his duet with "I've never heard this song before", followed immediately by my saying about 4 seconds later "I've never heard this song before," to which Mitch just laughed.  Now neither Mitch nor I take any of the stuff on Sing! all that seriously.  We care how we sound, certainly, but we're also very cognizant that this is just an app, and we're having fun.  As a result, when we get a fit of the giggles, we just kinda go with it on our recordings, so you'll hear both Mitch and I laughing pretty much throughout all of our three recordings. But the moment you WANT to listen for is when Mitch says "Syphillus" because, everyone that is Mitch absolutely LOSING IT on a recording!  It is one of my favorite moments.

- Cheeksie sings Applause with @fernandoriley. In all fairness, Cheeksie, a female mezzo, did warn us that she would be "ruining" all of the songs on everyone's site during the event.  In fact, she did the exact opposite...she laughed and made it all better.  In this particular instance, Cheeksie gave it the old "college try" to stay with Fernando, but when he brought up the extremely high voice, she just couldn't contain herself and started laughing.  Finally, she said good-naturedly "This thing is on skates."  Too much fun.  Now a day later, she tells me she MUST sing the song correctly.

- Pretty Much Anyone sings Anaconda with @wlm_mitch22_sf.  No greater "train wreck" song appeared in our play list this weekend than Mitch's version of "Anaconda."  First, Mitch really can rap, I've heard him do it, and this song was an excellent display of that ability.  He drove through those verses at lightning speed leaving all gasping.  The ONLY person to keep up with him was extremely unflappable Glennis @glennyleith and she will never perform the song again, so she says!!

- Cartman (Mitch) v Cartman (Fernando) sings ABC by Jackson 5. When I saw that my partners had completed a duet together, I was excited!  I have known forever that Fernando sings a mean Cartman, but what I was not prepared to hear was MITCH DOING CARTMAN!  It was crazy and I darned near drove off the road!!  Look for this on Fernando's site!

- AnnaK0512 sings Facebook Song with @Pokeypal.  I just love when someone sorta "loses it" on the song, and this is precisely what happened with Anna.  Now Anna sings with a band, is a vocal coach and has a tremendous voice.  Almost immediately, Anna is snorting with laughter. She and I "feel" around for the notes with both hands and still come skidding into a landing with no landing gear! When we sing every note on the scale EXCEPT the ones we are supposed to sing, we finally end and Anna says "nailed it!"  Hysterical! Runner up in this category is Gail @Gailemer who just loses it from the beginning and laughs throughout the song!

I've made it through about 1/2 of the recordings at this time, and can't wait to dive into the other half.  In the meantime, I plan to keep a box of tissues nearby because I'm laughing until I cry in most cases. 

Finally, to EVERYONE who participated in this weekend's event, you made my day, my night, my weekend, and my time here on Smule so incredibly fulfilling!  When I suggested this idea to Mitch and then decided to take it Smule-wide, I NEVER would have believed it would be the success it was!  Hearing you laugh with us and receiving some of the incredible messages from you--well, it makes everything so much more heartfelt. 

To my co-hosts in this event Mitch and Fernando, I cannot imagine my life without your love, your laughter, and your friendship--you two make being here special not just for me, but hundreds (nee "thousands") of others here on this site.  You guys ROCK IT!!!

There are simply too many singers here to mention, but I can say, I've included tags, so please check all of them out!

Me, I'm Grace and go by the Smule Tag "PokeyPal."  For more fun and excitement, follow me!  Check back at my blog every day for updated information on upcoming events and interesting facts!