Karaoke Stream

Hold on—since when was my singing stream content with this much demand?

Seeing a bigger audience than usual, I confirmed the thought I'd been nursing for a while now. Songs really were something you did as premium content. Because I couldn't sing well, people just assumed I'd be standing there, well, singing—and yet here they all were, swarming in anyway.

"Hello, everyone."

Good grief, people in this country really have no patience.

"I'm singing today, yes, but since I was at it anyway, I went ahead and put together an actual piece of content."

It wasn't that I'd planned something special because this was my first singing stream. A genuinely good idea had just happened to pop into my head, so I decided to run with it.

…Is me showing up with something prepared really that shocking? The bar for surprise here is impressively low, which I do appreciate…

Whether they'll actually like it, though, is another question.

"Today's content is karaoke inside High-class Watch."

While digging around for what was trending these days, I'd discovered that High-class Watch was at the absolute height of its popularity. And lately, karaoke streams had been all the rage. If I was doing this anyway, why not make my first singing stream something I could upload to YouTube as well?

Hmm. Divided opinions, as expected.

"Those of you objecting, please hear me out first."

Naturally, I'd anticipated this. Some people genuinely just wanted to listen to songs, period. But plenty of others loved watching reactions. Which was exactly why I'd prepared a way to satisfy both camps!

"I run two computers, you see—one for streaming, one for gaming?"

No, I ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠said hear me out. Anyway, I carried on with the explanation.

"From now on, only the songs will go out on stream. The video that goes up on YouTube later will be the reaction version."

Even by my own standards, it was a solid idea.

Ah, right—I hadn't covered that part.

"Watch the clips or the VODs on the fan café."

Anyone not yet in the café would sign up if they wanted the songs badly enough.

With that settled, I launched the game I'd downloaded in advance.

No doubt about it—this was peak popularity season. Before my regression, it had been quite a while since the game slid out of the major leagues.

"Let me sing first, then we'll talk about matches."

The moment the game booted, the sweeping orchestral theme washed over me, and the sight of the main screen after so long stirred up a strange wave of nostalgia. Wow… has it really been over three years since I last looked at this screen? It was such a blast back then…

Of course, that warm fuzzy feeling would evaporate the instant I played a single match, so I pressed forward without lingering on it.

"I'm going into a public room."

Strangers who had no idea who I was made for far better content than a room full of my own viewers.

Ah. Blocking the screen. Completely forgot about that.

Glancing at the chat, I hastily zoomed my avatar in close, filling the frame so nobody could see which room I was entering.

Phew, close one. I'd almost thrown away a perfect YouTube clip on a silver platter, hadn't I?

After a casual browse around, I joined a room with a decent crowd. Hmm, so in this one you applied to sing and it progressed in order of applications. I'd be muting everyone who wasn't performing—no wonder I couldn't hear any chatter. But wouldn't leaving the in-game voice chat on actually make for better YouTube material? And what about all my painstaking work separating the audio channels!

After a brief deliberation, I decided to shelve the question. Hmm… I'd sing two or three songs first, then think it over.

I pressed the sign-up button and waited my turn, listening to the other performers while watching the queue. My turn is… right after this?

Hold on, why are there so few people singing?

Well, that left me plenty of time to pick a song. In that case…

Scrolling through the song list I'd jotted down beforehand, I snuck a glance at the chat window.

Huh? Can they not hear the person singing right now? Oh—right, my viewers can't hear the game. Slipped my mind for a second…

Hiding my embarrassment, I opened my mouth.

"Genre selection is entirely at my discretion."

Hmm, but what was I supposed to do while waiting for my turn? Right now it just so happened to be my turn next, but that luck wouldn't last forever—something to think about…

"And so, the first song will be 'Eclipse.'"

I'd worry about the waiting problem later. For now, this.

Ah—wait. Couldn't I just keep singing while I wait, too?

And then upload only the songs I performed on my turn to YouTube, each as its own video. I'd originally planned full versions, but this was better. Flood the channel with uploads, and if even one of them hits, people would go digging through the rest, wouldn't they?

Oh, that's actually pretty good?

Marvelling at my own brilliance, I checked the chat window.

"Might as well sing while I wait, right?"

Hmm. Universal approval, just as expected.

I picked out a favorite from the Japanese song list, and the moment the instrumental dropped, the bassline slammed through my whole body. Yes…! The bass in this song is just so damn delicious!

The song I'd chosen was by a famous Japanese band. Famous as an anime opening, too.

I was belting it out at full tilt when my name finally flashed up on the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠screen.

"Alright, my turn—so I'll be cutting it off after the first verse."

"Singing the same song twice would be a bit much, don't you think?"

I mean, doing the same number twice was just poor form. If I'd butchered it, sure, maybe—but that last take had actually been pretty good, if I did say so myself.

"Now then, the next song is—"

"Let's ride this energy into a girl group song, then."

Hmm… what to pick…

To milk the best possible reactions, a girl-crush anthem was probably the play. I dug up the instrumental for a song that had come up during the World Cup stream a while back and ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠hit play.

My signature low register suited this song beautifully. If even I—someone fully adapted to this voice by now—could feel how well it fit, the viewers were bound to feel it ten times harder.

The in-game chat, naturally, had gone up in flames too.

"For the third song—"

"It's a band song."

The third song was one of the staples I used to belt out in karaoke rooms back when I was a man. Back then it suited my male voice perfectly, and I loved the song itself, so I'd sung it all the time…

And no, that wasn't to say it didn't suit me now. If anything, with all the vocal training under my belt, it sounded even better this time around.

"I don't accept friend requests."

Yeah. I'd designed today's content well, no question. The strangers in-game were entertaining, the viewers were entertained—everyone was winning.

And with that, I settled the thought I'd shelved earlier. One more song, then move to a different room. I'd already demonstrated my range with two completely different vibes; from here on out, this room's chat would be indistinguishable from my own stream's.

"One more, then I'm off to find another room."

"Why would I tell them I stream? If our paths ever cross down the line, they'll find me on YouTube or somewhere."

With one more song under my belt, I left the room. After hunting around for another suitable one, this time I found a room with the mics turned on—and the moment I stepped in, singing voices and a healthy patter of cheers filled my ears.

"Right, this is the room, then."

Waiting my turn and singing a few along the way, before I knew it my turn had arrived.

"Testing, testing. Can you all hear me?"

…Excuse me? Did that guy just call me milady? He's got to be older than my biological age by a wide margin, no?

Still, milady was a mercy. If he'd called me big sis in that voice of his…

"Thank you for the donation. 'Eclipse' is always a good pick."

I switched my mic off to mouth my thanks, then flipped it back on.

NamgungSanwol?

Ah, that was the handle of the guy who'd called me milady. Wait, is he some kind of streamer? Eh, probably just someone with the same nickname. Duplicate names are allowed in this game, after all.

Enough sightseeing—time to actually pick a song. Hmm… their mics are live, so something upbeat I could get them hyped along with?

This one, then?

It was a well-known track, so the crowd's response was excellent.

Somewhere in all that singing, the first verse came to an end and the bridge kicked in.

"I know."

But seriously, I am not a milady.

Still, the mood of the room called for going casual, so casual it was.

Oh-ho! Turn on the game audio, you say!

If you're that curious, wait for the YouTube upload!

I finished the second verse and came out of it glowing. Part of it was hearing cheers aimed directly at me for once. Part of it was the viewers' reactions. But above all—it had come out absolutely perfect for YouTube!

Riding that swell of satisfaction, I glanced at the chat window—and promptly froze at the unexpected sight.

Huh? What?

And my viewer count just went up, too?

Just as I was puzzling over which community the song clip had leaked to, it happened.

The deep-voiced fellow who'd been calling me milady was ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠apologizing to me.

What? Ah—no way!

That guy was a streamer for REAL?!

I searched in a panic, and sure enough—there it was: a live broadcast with roughly ten thousand viewers, its thumbnail showing a room full of people playing High-class Watch.

…He was THIS famous?

Hmm… in that case…

After a brief weighing of my options, I moved swiftly to action.

Everyone's feeling so passionate today.

Well, in fairness, this WAS my first-ever abrupt end to a stream.

But the original promise had been a singing stream of at least one hour. I had merely honored my word, nothing more.

And naturally, I switched the stream right back on.

The fact that I'd even bother turning it back on for them… I'm honestly just too kind for my own good. Mm-hmm.