Fun Time Karaoke: A De-Stressing Potion
Have you ever been tired of the same old, continuous routine in university life that never seems to change? Like a repeated cycle of waking up, attending classes, lunchtime with friends, going home, doing assignments, rinsing, sleeping, and repeating. Not to say that there is anything wrong with this lifestyle, but it just seems to lack some element of fun in it. And in time, this stressful life cycle can become quite a burden to students, like me.
My first year at UCSI was spent doing the exact same thing as what I mentioned above. Boring, lifeless, and no fun at all! So it’s quite safe to say that I got bummed out pretty quickly about university life. There were a few other options to spend some relaxing time with friends, but they were not the best ideas in the sense that they were either too far away, too expensive, or even just uninteresting. So, life went on, and I got stressed pretty quickly, especially with the never-ending assignments.
Seeking comfort in hobbies has always been the top recommendation, or so to speak, the first choice most people would look into to loosen up. Singing or karaoke is one of the many hobbies that people, especially students and young adults, indulge in to de-stress. I love singing, even though my skills in singing are not up to par with my love for the hobby, but hey! Who said that you have to be good at it to love it? So I took to singing during my first year at UCSI as a way to let loose. I sing in my bedroom, in my bathroom, and even downloaded a karaoke app on my phone that got me battling out my singing skills with people all around the world. I sang so much that I got a noise complaint and a red flag warning from my sister about my bad vocals. Oops. Oh well, the karaoke club instantly became my second home.
The point is that karaoke clubs see many benefits over normal singing or karaoke sessions at home. The microphone settings, dim lighting, and surround sound system of karaoke clubs get people in the mood way better than singing in the shower with the showerhead as a microphone. There seems to be little downside to karaoke as a de-stressing method or hobby other than the expensive price for a session, which is the main issue that students are not able to treat karaoke clubs as a regular retreat from stress.
But fret not, as students of UCSI, you get to enjoy the wonders of karaoke at a discounted price, especially for you. A Japanese-styled karaoke club named Manekineko is located at EkoCheras Mall, merely a 5-minute drive or 15-minute bus/train ride from UCSI. You can find the homey karaoke club tucked away in a corner on the 2nd floor of the mall.
UCSI students are able to enjoy a 3-hour karaoke session at a price of RM14.90 upon showing either their white or red UCSI student ID during check-in. If you think that’s all, then you’re in for a surprise as the karaoke club offers a bag of snacks as well as an unlimited refill of drinks, which is, in my opinion, of utmost importance as 3 hours of continuous singing, will most probably leave you with a hoarse throat.
Of course, if you’re a karaoke fanatic like me, you’ll probably be wondering about their selection of songs. I mean, you won’t want to get pumped up and all only to be annoyed by the fact that they don’t have the songs that you prefer. I personally feel that Manekineko has quite a diverse selection of songs when sorted according to language. There are many Malay, Chinese, English, Japanese, and Korean songs that span pages in their song library. They do also have a lot of new songs, especially hits from Tiktok, that are available to sing. The only downside I have encountered was that we aren’t able to know if the song we selected has romanized lyrics, especially Korean and Japanese songs, which will be difficult to sing for people who do not read Korean or Japanese.
So come along and have some fun karaoke that you won’t ever regret. Go party with friends and have an epic karaoke showdown, or even better, bask in your own spotlight and enjoy a private room for some alone time. Because karaoke is definitely my top recommendation for de-stressing.