NYC’s hottest new karaoke scene is at Macy’s window
Macy’s has hit a high note with its holiday windows.
Both locals and tourists are loving an interactive Christmas carol-karaoke element that’s a key part of the department store’s festive display.
“I got a standing ovation,” said Ivy Garcia, a 9-year-old New Yorker who belted out “Deck the Halls” to a crowd of about 30 people on Saturday. “Sometimes I get stage fright, but this was so fun.”
The window, located at Sixth Avenue and 35th Street, features a large, red interactive panel on its exterior. Passerby press one of three buttons to choose “Deck the Halls,” “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” or “Jingle Bells.”
Once a selection is made, background music starts to play through speakers, and the words to the song appear on a large screen inside the window. There’s a microphone attached to the control panel for carolers to sing into.
Elsewhere in the window, there’s a huge, glowing blue Macy’s department store with numbers on its doors and windows, ala an advent calendar. Several of the windows are actually monitors that show the karaoke singer live in action via an exterior camera.
“It’s the last window people look at, and we want it to be our grand ending,” Manny Urquizo, Macy’s National Windows Director, told The Post.
Urquizo and Co. had the idea to feature images of passerby in the window early in the development process.
“We always wanted to inject the audience into the window, and throughout most of the conception that was the main idea,” he said. “But when we looked at it, we thought it looked great, but there was something missing. We could do better.”
A few months prior to the window unveiling, they came up with the karaoke idea, but there was some skepticism.
“When we tested it out internally, nobody wanted to sing except for me, so I was like, ‘Ok, I hope this works,’” said Urquizo.
It’s been a hit with holiday shoppers. On the streets of Midtown, Urquizo has noticed that once one person steps up to sing, others follow.
“Somebody just needs to break the ice,” he said.
And, as with boozy bar singalongs, some performances really stand out.
“I caught this woman on camera when I was walking around and checking out the windows. She was so good,” Urquizo said. “She even started bringing people from the crowd to come up and sing with her, like a professional performance.”
But, no matter the singer’s skill level, the window makes for a rare moment of camaraderie amongst the the pushy holiday crowds.
“Strangers clapped for me,” said Sheila Burns, a visitor from San Francisco who belted out “We Wish You a Merry Christmas” on Saturday. “I felt like a star for a little bit,”
Bailey Conrad, 23 and a project manager visiting from Minneapolis, agreed.
“Everyone is clapping for each other and being so supportive,” she said. “This feels very New York.”
