Who Will Represent Texas at the Karaoke World Championships?

We’d say that Robert Olivas was a singular type of competitor, but that would be all wrong. This weekend, he’s hosting an event where he’ll select his roster of teammates for a hotly contested national championship. There’s scoring, rules, judges and 109 people from all over Texas are on their way to compete for a place on his team.

The sport in question? Competitive karaoke.

You heard that right, and it’s nothing new. In fact, Olivas’ Texas squad is entering the 2025 campaign as reigning champions after a heroic performance from Duncan Wallace, taking home the 2024 United States Karaoke Association Championship, of course.

Last year, Olivas led the team to the national title in his first year as captain, with a 16-person roster made up of mostly North Texans. This year, as a result of exposure from the win, he’s hosting potential competitors from Austin, Houston and San Antonio, but he’s not satisfied.

“I want to get Amarillo. I want El Paso. I want Corpus Christi,” he says. “I want every little karaoke joint and dive bar. I want whatever has karaoke to be part of this.”

Once upon a time, Olivas himself was a performer, although captains aren’t allowed to compete in the formal scoring rounds. His first song was “Little Red Corvette,” and he worked in plenty of Prince, George Michael, Journey and Rascal Flatts songs, according to him.

This weekend, he’s hosting the official Texas State Finals and building his team to compete in the national championships in Las Vegas this November. On Saturday, he’ll judge 109 applicants from around Texas on a rigorous set of scoring rules set by the USKA, selecting 32 performers to advance to a second round of judging on Sunday, where his team of 16 will be finalized.

The scoring breaks down pretty simply. It is divided in half between a technical score and an artistic score to create a composite score of up to 100 points. For the technical score, USKA cites things like pitch accuracy, rhythm, vocal range, articulation and tone. For the artistic score, intangible traits like originality, stage presence and “emotional impact” reign supreme.

Judges are given up to 50 points to score between the technical and the artistic scores each. The USKA uses guidelines set by the International Karaoke Foundation’s (IKF) International Scoring System (ISS), and no, acronyms are not worth any points. Here’s how the points break down.

20 & under – Low
20 – 24 – Poor
25 – 29 – Average
30 – 39 – Very Good
40 – 44 – Excellent
45 – 49 – Outstanding
50 – Perfect

Of course, all judging is subjective to a degree. If you’re planning to audition on Saturday, here’s what Olivas says wins him over.

“A standout is one that brings together the vocal ability and the presentation to a point where they become someone else,” he says. “It’s really cool to see somebody you think you know get up there on stage and just become a completely different person.”

Of the 16 competitors that will be selected, Olivas will choose five returning members plus seven new faces that weren’t on the championship-winning team last year. In addition, a duo will be added to perform together as a duet, as well as two wild card selections.

The first is the fan favorite selection, which can be voted for online at $2 per vote. The money raised will go towards paying for the team’s trip to the nationals in Vegas. Whoever raises the most money gets an automatic bid to the team. The second is a golden ticket fundraiser, where raffle tickets are sold, and one person will win the chance to select any of the applicants to join the team.

If you want to see the fun up close, general admission tickets to the Texas State Finals, which will be held at LOOK Dine-In Cinemas in Bedford, are available online for $15.

“The eyes of Texas are upon me,” Olivas says. “I do feel the pressure and being the rookie champ from last year. They're wondering what Texas is bringing to the table.”