February 10, 2010 22:32

Karaoke versions of 'My Way' blamed for Philippines killings

Song made famous by Frank Sinatra removed from songbooks to halt murders

Photo: PA Photos

Karaoke versions of Frank Sinatra's 'My Way' are being blamed for a series of killings in the Philippines.

There have been at least half a dozen murders over the past decade allegedly triggered by people singing the song so badly in the country's many karaoke bars. The problem has become so bad that the local media has dubbed the slayings the "'My Way' killings".

"The trouble with 'My Way' is that everyone knows it and everyone has an opinion," amateur crooner, Rodolfo Gregorio told The New York Times. "I used to like 'My Way', but after all the trouble I stopped singing it. You can get killed."

The paper reports that, as a result of the murders, many karaoke bars in the country have removed the song from their songbooks to avoid any further violence.

Bad karaoke has been blamed for other deaths in southeast Asia. In the last two years a Malaysian man was fatally stabbed for hogging the microphone at a bar, while a Thai man killed eight of his neighbours after they sang John Denver's 'Take Me Home, Country Roads'.

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