

If you’re not, you’ll be given brownie points for trying. If you’re good at singing, you’ll be popular. If you, the reader, have been in a Filipino household, I’ll bet money that you were even given the chance to share your vocal muscles as well. It doesn’t matter if it’s someone’s birthday or just a regular night of the week.īecause karaoke is extremely fun! It brings people together, and creates great memories with friends, family, and lets new guests integrate and be a part of the family. If you’ve ever been in a Filipino household, chances are that karaoke has been part of the festivities at some point. It goes hand in hand, and there’s hardly ever a time where there isn’t one without the other. No one really understands why this song just keeps leading to murders.Filipinos and karaoke are just like peanut butter and jelly. Some have said that the message of the song, which is about a man being a man and doing it his way kind of brings out a lot of masculine energy amongst people that are listening to it and it can apparently prompt people to just suddenly start acting violent. No one really understands why this song somehow elicits all this violence in people in karaoke bars in the Philippines, but it does. Reasons unknown, but it just keeps on happening.

Sinatra’s fans have refrained from singing the song in order to protect themselves from any kind of danger.Ī YouTuber named Mr Ballen in one of his videos explained, “The reason this song is so forbidden is because since 1998 people have begun being murdered for singing it. A Filipino barber, Rodolfo Gregorio, shared his personal experience, stating that he used to enjoy singing Frank Sinatra’s song but stopped due to the troubles associated with it.ĭue to the multiple violence associated with My Way, numerous karaoke bars in the Philippines have chosen to exclude it from their song lists. Others suggest that there could be a hidden message that triggers negative reactions. Some believe that it might be linked to individuals singing the song poorly, which is considered disrespectful in the Philippines.

The New York Times article suggests various theories regarding the violence associated with the song My Way. Tragically, the young man died instantly, while an off-duty police officer at the scene detained Ortega, who was later taken into custody by the authorities. This infuriated Ortega, who, in a fit of anger, took out his pistol and shot the 29-year-old in the chest. Despite several warnings, Romy continued to sing. The security guard was irritated by his performance and criticized him for ruining the song. This eerie connection between the song and violence has left many puzzled.Īs reported by Ladbible, Romy was singing the song out of tune, which is a violation of Filipino karaoke etiquette. One well-known case occurred in 2007 when 29-year-old Romy Baligula was shot by a 43-year-old security guard, Robilito Ortega, during a karaoke session at a bar in San Mateo, Rizal. These incidents have reportedly left nearly a dozen people dead.

#SING ALONG KARAOKE PHILIPPINES SERIES#
The song My Way by Frank Sinatra has been linked to a series of violent incidents since 1998, leading to what is known as the My Way Killings. Karaoke is often seen as a fun and stress-relieving activity, but in the Philippines, there’s a darker side to this popular activity.
