“Swifties” came together to sing their hearts out to their favorite Taylor Swift songs during the first karaoke night held by the Swifties club at California State University, Monterey Bay on Feb 28. Around 40 Otters attended the event held in the rookery, which is located on the third floor of the Otter Student Union.
Both classics and more underrated songs from Swift’s discography were performed, including “Blank Space,” “Haunted,” “Our Son,” and fan-favorite, the 10-minute version of “All Too Well.” There was a short break in the middle of the evening, where a student performed his version of Elvis Presley’s hit song “Can’t Help Falling in Love,” which was happily received by the crowd.
Even though performing in front of a group of strangers may be daunting to some, first-year Allison Hyde said that while she was nervous and didn’t want to participate at first, “it was very supportive and I really like how everyone sings along and cheers.”
The president, vice president and treasurer of the Swifties club all attended the event and waited until the end of the night to perform. They led the recital of Swift’s critically acclaimed record “All Too Well,” which has been a go-to song for fans since its release in 2012. The music found more commercial success in 2022 when Swift released Red (Taylor’s Version) and finally released the 10-minute version of the song that fans had been waiting to hear for a decade.
“I think [karaoke night] went well with Julie, our treasurer, leading most of the efforts tonight. She did a good job of making sure all the songs were lined up properly and that people got to sing what they wanted to. It was cool to see people express themselves through the various Taylor Swift songs,” said Swifties Club President Katie Scariot.
“Like most events we hold, I get nervous that no one will come, but I kept a tally tonight and around 40 people showed up. I’m proud of everyone who decided to sing and I’m happy they came out and opened up and maybe went outside of their comfort zone,” shared Julie Ramirez, the club’s treasurer.
Ramirez also explained that these karaoke nights are “put on by the Interclub Council. Every other Tuesday, a club on campus hosts karaoke. We were just fortunate enough to have an entire artist to focus the night on.”
The Swifties club held another event the same week, with Swifties coming together in the Makerspace of the library on March 3 to make friendship bracelets and bond.
