Sophomore Ilan Goldstein had never been to karaoke night at the College Park Applebee’s on Route 1, but the civil engineering major said it seemed like a great way to celebrate his 21st birthday Tuesday night.
“It sounded fun to get drunk and sing and maybe make a little bit of a fool of myself,” he said. “It’d be fun to do that on my 21st birthday, now that I’m legally allowed to do that.”
Instead, Goldstein encountered a surprise: Karaoke night had been moved for the second time this semester, returning to its original Thursday evening slot at 9 p.m.
“I was upset that it had been moved back to Thursdays,” Goldstein said. “But in general, the waiter said Thursday was much more … ‘lit’ in terms of karaoke.”
This city’s Applebee’s had moved its beloved tradition to Tuesdays early last month to avoid conflicts with Thursday Night Football, according to a September Diamondback article.
Junior Ashling O’Connell, who had previously enjoyed karaoke about twice a month, said she stopped going entirely after the Tuesday switch.
“On Tuesdays, no one that usually goes was really available anymore,” the English major said. “I enjoyed going because on Thursdays there’s typically not too much going on that’s really for people who aren’t freshmen.”
An Applebee’s employee contacted on Wednesday denied the football connection and said the switch had no effect on popularity.
“We just moved it,” said the employee, who did not give her name. She confirmed karaoke night is now back on Thursdays.
O’Connell said she’s “very happy” karaoke night is back to its original day, saying she plans to go again, and just as often.
“It gives me something to do again, and all my friends are available,” she said. “It kind of makes the weekend feel longer, because we get to start a day earlier.”
The change back won’t dampen Goldstein’s newly of-age spirits, though, as he said he plans to try out the hallowed Route 1 tradition at some point, too.
“I’ll probably go at least once in the future,” he said.
