The Daily Swarm

New York Times:

“I used to like ‘My Way,’ but after all the trouble, I stopped singing it,” he said. “You can get killed.”

The authorities do not know exactly how many people have been killed warbling “My Way” in karaoke bars over the years in the Philippines, or how many fatal fights it has fueled. But the news media have recorded at least half a dozen victims in the past decade and includes them in a subcategory of crime dubbed the “My Way Killings.”

The killings have produced urban legends about the song and left Filipinos groping for answers. Are the killings the natural byproduct of the country’s culture of violence, drinking and machismo? Or is there something inherently sinister in the song?

People’s passion for karaoke doesn’t end in the Philippines, from the Telegraph:

In unusually dry language, the Stamford Police Department said in a press release that the six “made derogatory comments about the the other female’s singing ability (or lack thereof)”, before embarking on a sustained assault, punching, kicking and pulling the hair of Miss Alcantara.

From DNAinfo, the post-karaoke throat slash murder party:

A karaoke bar employee accused of slashing a woman’s throat after Lil’ Kim’s birthday party in Times Square pleaded guilty to murder on Tuesday.

Syed Rahman, 24, was charged with bludgeoning Ingrid Rivera, also 24, of Queens, on the rooftop of the popular Times Square karaoke club Spotlight Live after consuming shots of Patron tequila on Aug. 4, 2008, according to reports from the incident.

And, in other Guy Hands news:

Mr. Hands owns a 12th-century estate in Tuscany, where he produces wine and olive oil. He has an enormous collection of karaoke records, and, on at least one occasion, has belted out “My Way” after an exhausting day of deal-making.