Roxy’s recently became the first Nijmegen location to reverberate to the sounds of The Eagles and Grease. The karaoke bar in the Platenmakersstraat is also a big hit with international students.

‘From a phone booth in Vegas, Jessie calls at five am to tell me how she’s tired of all of them.’

With a blissful expression and his eyes fixed on the screen, a bearded young man sings along to Joshua Kadisons’ Jessie. In his left hand, he holds a microphone, in his right, a glass of beer that he sips from during instrumental intermezzos. His audience sits on long benches along the wall. The barman is a Scot. Karaoke bar Roxy’s, which opened its doors last June, is a big hit with international students. The reason? Maybe being so far away from home makes them less easily embarrassed. The fact is that most of the customers are internationals.

‘We could go to Mexico, you, the cat and me. We’ll drink tequila and look for seashells.’

At a high table sit four international students. “Karaoke was very popular during Introduction Week,” says Marlene Hellweg (21, Arts and Culture Studies) from Germany. But this is her first time at Roxy’s, she explains. “In Munster we often played Sing Star, but no karaoke. That wasn’t something cool kids did, ha ha.”

‘But tell me all about our little trailer by the sea. Jessie, you can always sell any dream to me.’

How different from Selena Soemakno’s (19, Arts and Culture Studies) experience in Jakarta, Indonesia. At her parents’ home, the karaoke machine stood in the living room. “These days, it’s mostly older people using those machines. The younger generation switched to YouTube, they don’t need a machine anymore.” Mauricio Bustamante (23, Business Administration) laughs. At home in Costa Rica he often went to the karaoke bar to sing his favourite song: the Eagles’ evergreen Hotel California. “Spanish songs were very much in demand there. There are also Spanish versions of Hotel California, but I prefer to sing it in English.”

‘She asks me how the cat’s been. I say, Moses, he’s just fine, but he used to think about you all the time.’

As the others sip their drinks, Karla Kiefer (20, Arts and Culture Studies) listens with a big smile on her face. She’s not quite sure, but she seems to remember her mother being a big karaoke fan. She wants to call her home in Harare, Zimbabwe, to find out. While Kiefer makes her call, Hellweg talks about huge sing-along sessions on a square in Munster. “I guess that’s also a form of karaoke.” Soemakno responds enthusiastically: “In Indonesia, people often organise karaoke sessions outdoors, usually in small villages. They only play local songs, much too loud, so the surrounding villages can enjoy the music too.”

Karaoke in Zimbabwe

‘Jessie, paint your pictures ‘bout how it’s gonna be. By now I should know better, your dreams are never free.’

“Hello? Mum, is it you?” Kiefer finally manages to reach her mother. “How are you? Good! Listen, a bit of an odd question, but did you use to be a karaoke fan?” She waits for the answer and burst into loud laughter. After hanging up, she explains that her mother used to go to the karaoke bar every week, mainly to watch other people sing. When she’d had a bit too much to drink, she sometimes grabbed the microphone herself. “Karaoke is really big in Zimbabwe!”

‘I love you in the sunshine, lay you down in the warm white sand.’

Although the musical tastes of the four internationals vary from Punk to R&B and tragic ballads, they all have one common denominator: ABBA! So when finally it’s the international crowd’s turn to take the podium, Mamma Mia is the obvious choice. Some sing along louder than others, but the general effect is pretty good. Bustamante is in any case coming back in two weeks’ time: he and his mentor group have agreed to meet at Roxy’s. Maybe he can perform his beloved Hotel California again.

‘Jessie, you can always sell any dream to me. Oh, Jessie, you can always sell any dream to me.’