Karaoke Surprises (Charlotta)

[Deleted]

Keir still kept in touch with some of his muggle friends from back when he'd been working the coal mine. The group of five often met up and grabbed a few beers. Sometimes they did something a little more exciting, as all men shared a passion for music and could end up rather rowdy, especially when away from their families and drinking. Keir was much like the others in that aspect and all tended to tease and bully each other endlessly. Back in the mines they'd worked hard but often spent their time after work drinking and at times singing. The mines were a rough place to work and money wasn't something you got to see much of in return. Many of his days back in the mine had been spent in much financial stress, him and his muggle friends all shared that. Yet since getting a job at the ministry literally by accident he'd been much better off and he'd been paying it forward a little. He usually bought the rounds when he and his friends went drinking.

Tonight it was karaoke night on the town. Keir enjoyed it but didn't often opt to sing. While he knew his singing voice was decent enough he mostly just watched and enjoyed himself with a drink while his friends made fools of themselves. Tonight seemed to be one of those nights his friends just didn't take no for an answer so when he heard he'd be singing he smiled, shook his head and went up to stage, casually flipping the bird to his friends as he did so. "Hello." He said in his deep melodic voice. "My friends are trying to make a fool out of me, so I hope you all enjoy this more than they do." He said with a mischievous grin on his face and a twinkle in his eyes. The music started, and naturally Keir decided to show off a little bit just to entertain his friends. If they wanted him to look the fool, he'd do so with plenty of gusto.

Afterwards he bowed to the clapping and cheers of the crowd as he returned the microphone to the owner, who complimented him as he went off. Keir merely chuckled and went back to his friends and his beer. "Next time, at least pick a challenging song." He told the men as they sounded their bottles together. "I'm singing George up next time. Working nine to five? Sounds girly enough for him." Keir teased his friend mercilessly as the men roared just as Keir felt a tap on his shoulder. He turned around with a slight frown on his face and ran a hand through his hair. His wedding band twinkled cheerfully on his finger as he sized her up in slight confusion. "Can I help you?" He asked, not impolite, but clearly a bit unsure. He was happily married after all and not here to pick up woman. He always found it a very awkward situation to be flirted with so he hoped she just wanted ... what could she even want from him?

@charlotta

[Deleted]

February 2, 2026
@keir

Charlotta knew, from personal experience, that karaoke bars could be a very good place to find potential talent for record label. She preferred it too. People that were just having fun, enjoying a night out. Not expecting to impress a musical manager. Just being themselves. And thus singing in the most natural way possible. She also tried not to hit up the same karaoke bars too often, so that people didn't suspect what she was doing and start acting differently.

Tonight was one such night. She'd gotten a beer at the bar and was she enjoying listening to the different singers. Thus far no one had really impressed her and she was just taking a sip from the beer bottle when a man stepped up to the stage. The first thing she noticed about him was his very rugged, down to earth appearance. Unassuming, but upon closer look decently looking. She took a longer sip, only mildly curious. He spoke, and suddenly her interested was peaked. Now that was a deep voice. You didn't often hear voices like that. Too bad having a deep voice, and singing in a deep voice were very different things.

Then he started to sing and Charlotta's attention was laser focus. Oh, god. Where was her wife to hear this? His singing voice was impossibly deep, and he could actually hold a note. Sure, he wasn't trained at all, but that was no surprise. Most karaoke singers weren't trained musicians. But damn, with some voice training that was a voice that would make women swoon. Not exactly what musicians at her label were known for, but she'd make an exception for a voice like that.

She finished her beer and set the bottle on the bartop, before heading over the the man. He'd returned to his group of friends but that wouldn't stop her. She wasn't shy. She tapped him on his shoulder to get his attention. Immediately he asked if he could help her. Charlotta smirked and held out a card to him. On it was the record label's name. "Maybe. Can we talk?"

[Deleted]

The woman that had come up to him looked about a decade younger than he was and like she was more in place at a rock concert than in a karaoke bar. Not that such a thing made much of a difference but something in his mind said she looked slightly familiar, as if he might have seen her somewhere before. He had no idea if that was real or if his mind was just playing tricks on him because he'd been caught off guard somewhat. Still he could almost hear his friends eye the woman with massive interest and hear them wonder if she was hitting on him. They were well aware of exactly how useless that was. He complained about his wife being too worried from time to time but he loved her more than anything in the world. He'd never cheat on her or leave her.

Yet she extended a card to him and he looked at it as she said maybe and asked if they could talk. Keir wasn't quite sure why but by now his brain was almost hardwired to look for some sort of problem. Since Brigh had been behaving irrational of late his brain took a leap and figured she'd contacted the label to see if she could quit school to start a career as a rock star. With her more recent antics it did not seem impossible, even if he felt it was a little bit far fetched, even for her. He pulled a face for a moment as the insane idea took hold and he motioned to his friends. "I'll be right back." He said, clearly a little distracted and worried. Maybe it wasn't that bad. Maybe she'd just been stalking some famous singer, although he wasn't sure how on earth that would land him in this situation. He motioned for the woman to follow and led her to a more quiet corner of the bar.

As he paused with a frown on his face he looked at her. "Please tell me this is not because my daughter has been making trouble or is considering dropping out of school to be a rock star..." He said, unable to stop himself from getting that idea out of his mind. The idea that she was in any way interested in him for his voice had completely skipped his mind. He had been singing lullebies for his kids for many years and generally loved singing karaoke. He'd spent a lot of his free time singing for as long as he could remember simply because he enjoyed doing it. He never thought of making a career of it and still did not have that idea anywhere in his mind. It simply did not add up to the life he was currently living and pursuing.

@charlotta

[Deleted]

February 2, 2026
@keir

Charlotta ignored the man's companions. None of their own singing had been noteworthy and thus of little interest to her. It was rather harsh, but Charlotta had a habit of ignoring people that she wasn't keenly interested in unless there was some benefit to involving them in the conversation. As it was? She was positive ignoring this man's companions would have little to no consequence. Thus, far below her attention.

It took him a moment, but he finally responded, speaking to his companions first before getting up and heading to a more secluded corner and she followed. He looked concerned, which was odd, but perhaps he didn't understand what the card she had tried to hand him was. Finally though, when they were alone, he turned back and spoke again, still frowning... and going on about a daughter. Ah. Now she understood. Charlotta laughed. No doubt she received letters and singles from quite a few people wanting to be a "rock star". It was no surprise they came to Charlotta, considering her reputation. Charlotta had been in the rock genre before stepping into management. She shook her head. "No, that is definitely not why I'm here," she started to answer, pausing the brush her hair off her shoulder before extending her hand to his to shake, should he be willing. "Please, let me introduce myself. I'm Charlotta Holopainen. I'm one of the owners of HR Records." Depending on the right circles, she knew her name still carried quite a bit of weight, and not just as a musician manager. She'd only stopped producing her own music a few years earlier, so quite a bit of her music was still circulating the airwaves. "You have a unique voice. Have you ever considered doing more then just karaoke?"

[Deleted]

He was relieved to hear that it wasn't Brigh that was trying to be a rock star now. He had no idea how he was supposed to handle that kind of news. There had been far too much on his plate of late that he was pretty sure he couldn't handle much more insanity on top of it. It was crazy to imagine the year he'd had already and well, he had the faint feeling that this was about to be one of the things he could add to the list of crazy things to add to the year after today. Still, now knowing that whatever at least didn't involve his daughter he calmed down quite a bit and had a far more relaxed stance as she introduced herself. A moment of recognition registered on his face as he realised how he knew her. He had listened to her music from time to time, although it wasn't quite his genre. "You used to be rock star." He said with a faint smile on his face. He had no idea why he was being approached by her but he figured that maybe it something to do with her job, since she brought that up so clearly.

Then she dropped the reason of her approach and his eyebrows instantly rose quite a bit in surprise an sceptisism. She was asking him if he ever considered more than karaoke? He knew his friends joked from time to time about him becoming a musician but well, that had mostly been during their time in the mines when they all had their daydreams of a better life. It just seemed like a crazy kind of thing for him to consider, especially when he had very little to actually complain about in terms of his current professional life. Hesitantly, mostly because he didn't really want to insult her, he spoke in order to deliver the news to her. "No." He said said rather slowly. "I'm actually quite happy with my current job, although I suppose I'm flattered that you ask." He said, his resonant voice rumbling even through the confusion. "If you don't mind I think I'll stick to singing karaoke and occasionally sing for local halloween celebrations." Well, not to mention that he did miss singing lulleby's for his kids, although he figured that perhaps in due time he'd have grandchildren he could sing for. Not that he hoped those were coming around any time soon. He dreaded he idea, as he considered both his children quite a bit too young to be starting that part of their lives.

@charlotta