To find people singing at family gatherings and expecting an admiring audience hideously embarrassing?

[Snoot]

I think it's attention seeking and makes me want to claw my own ears and eyes out! It's not the kind of thing my own family would do in a million years. I expect to have to watch children perform but not grown adults! As an in-law I cannot comment openly but OMG I dread it so much I'd avoid the situation if at all possible.

[Snoot]

That's the difference, isn't it? Music hall songs, great, war time songs, fine, anything designed to be joined in with is all well and good, opera types showing off in an inaccessible style and expecting applause is unacceptable!

[LongTailedTit]

We used to have big family parties every couple of years and it was the tradition for all the Great Aunts (x6) to sit around a piano and sing wartime songs - so far so good.
Great Uncles played the piano and joined in too, we would all hover about to listen, and maybe join in with the chorus.

The squirming only really kicked in when the younger generation joined in/took over as the number of Great Aunts diminished, notably The Opera Singer and my mum.
I wanted to sink through the floor on every occasion, my mum is a natural exhibitionist of the "Such fun!" variety, and you could see everyone rolling their eyes thinking "Here she goes again, fingers in ears time".

[ComposHat]

I went to a wedding where in lieu of a speech the best man didn't say anything but did an appallingly tuneless rendition of Damien Rice's the blower's daughter and then sat down again. It was never explained why that song or why he felt it was a good substitute for a speech.

[SirChenjin]

My toes are curling at that HipHop - v v funny

[Snoot]

I love being a slightly common Bennet! That could well be the answer, not enough heducation in classical music, would honestly prefer a bit of Pulp, Sting, Queen, you name it, I'd not object to a bit of Shakin' Stevens after a good evening, anything I might be able to join in with rather than observe and applaud. "This old house..."

[HipHopHooray]

I went to a wedding where the mother of the groom stood up and did a solo during the service "AS A SURPRISE". She couldn't sing. The look on the bride and grooms faces were priceless.....

[Ashoething]

Yanbu-I cannot stand people who take their shite singing seriously at a party/family do. One of my sisters is a great sister but I was sick to the back teeth of my mum making her sing My fucking heart will go on at the drop of a hat.

One of the funniest things I have ever seen was at a curryoke-my friends and I were having a great laugh singing badly when a guy got up to sing. He was ok but clearly thought he was the next George Michael. A woman demanded my friend move out the way so she could take a picture! Turns out it was his mum and she was blubbing at his talent!!

[curlew]

"You have delighted us long enough. Let some other young lady make an exhibition of herself"

[squoosh]

Her in laws are the Bingleys and the Darcys. OP herself may be one of the slightly common Bennets.

[tobiasfunke]

OP- do you live in the eighteenth century? Do you in-laws not have a telly?

[KatieScarlett2833]

Oh God, we are the random unconscious singing family. The kind that picks up a phrase,incorporates it into a song and wait for the rest to join in. Several times a day. I never knew this was weird till now

[neunundneunzigluftballons]

Yep Irish too and the best part of the night is when the instruments come out and the singing starts especially with my dads family or dhs mateslots of amazing musicians and singers.

[MummytoMog]

I was a bit worried this thread might be about me, but it's not, HURRAH. Unfortunately, most parties I go to involve singing and piano playing, and the odd bit of dancing. I freaking love it, but it must be a bit uncomfortable for the people who don't like that sort of thing. When I win the lottery, I will buy an enormous house so that the people who don't love it can get away. Into the Library say, or the Orangery....

[ComposHat]

I remember the David Brentish boss of the firm I worked at used to get his guitar out at Christmas drinks etc. When he said any requests? My supervisor offered me a tenner if I asked for 'Free Love on the freelove highway.'

[SolidGoldBrass]

Mind you, I do remember that in my own childhood days, my parents would not just allow but mildly encourage me to 'perform' at parties. I have a quite vivid memory (so vivid, all of a sudden, that my ringpiece is squeaking with humiliation) of being allowed to come downstairs after my bedtime when parents were hosting a party and demonstrating what I had learned at my farking ballet class. While wearing my flower-sprigged nightie and curlers.

[LadyHarrietdeSpook]

"...things would be reported back via the WI and the village committee..." AIBU to want to live in such a place? Just for a bit.

[Ledkr]

Why am I laughing so much at this thread?
The idea of sitting in my pils house whilst various people sing piano accompanied opera is simply surreal and hilarious to me. I would piss myself openly.
As for people who just think this is normal, do you live in downton abbey?

[curlew]

Mind you, so was most of Kent...........

[curlew]

I was within earshot of Geldof's 60th birthday party..........

[MrsSchadenfreude]

I am from a "theatrical" family, and several great aunts and a great uncle were on the stage, so as a child, this was always part of our family gatherings. Two of them used to do a duet of "You're the cream in my coffee" and lots of other Music Hall songs. Another relative often accompanied them on the piano. My great grandmother used to sing "Stille Nacht" every Christmas (she was German), and there were often impromptu renderings of German songs. Unfortunately, all of these relatives are dead now, although we did have a small sing song of Ein Prosit at a recent family gathering.

[Snoot]

Perhaps when someone describes you as singing at them rather than to them it's time to STFU?!? Oh to make some scoring paddles and hold them up

[Madmum24]

I was standing in the Ikea crèche queue several weeks ago when a grandmother announced to the queue to be quiet as her dgd was going to give a rendition of her nursery graduation song you couldn't hear the poor girl because the granny was bellowing over her voice Was rather mortifying. Granny asked dgd if she would like to sing it again!

[Groovee]

My brother's wedding had karaoke. This girl kept hogging it and she was awful. My brother's new wife got annoyed when one of her step daughters told her the girl was crap. A good laugh would have been fine but not one where if it was the Xfactor the whole room bar us would have been outraged if she hadn't got in.

[YouTheCat]

How excruciating!