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Host Setup

Running the queue

The gig screen has two lists. Request Pool is incoming slips. Active Queue is the running order — who is singing and who is up next. You choose what moves across. Nothing auto-plays from the pool unless you turn on Auto Host (Fair / current pool order, not a separate Suggested pick).

Request Pool vs Active Queue

On a laptop, Active Queue is the left column and Request Pool is the right. On a phone they stack.

  • Request Pool — singer requests and walk-ups you add yourself. Subtitle: Incoming requests from singers.
  • Active Queue — tonight’s performance order. Subtitle: Currently singing and up next. Drag to reorder. Status on a row is singing, next, or waiting.

Move a song into Active by dragging the card, or by the left-arrow on the row. In Fair that arrow peels the armed song (see below). In Time, Last Sung, and Custom the same arrow is Add to Queue and moves that whole row.

If you pulled someone too soon, Return to Request Pool (right-arrow on the Active row) sends them back. Mark as Played when they finish — that is what counts as sung tonight.

Do not drag every request into Active at once. The pool is the backlog; Active is the short list you are actually running.

Fair (the default)

Fair is the first pool view and the usual way to run a night. You see one card per singer, not one row per song.

  • Peel one song — drag the card into Active, or use the left-arrow. Only the armed song moves; their other requests stay in the pool.
  • Multi-song stacks — a stack (layers) icon appears when someone has more than one request. Hover it on a laptop or tap it on a phone, then pick the title that should be armed. That is the song that peels.
  • Suggested — a green chip on the singer Fair thinks has waited longest (and is eligible this pass). It is a hint. It never moves a song by itself.
  • New Singer — a walk-in who has not had a turn yet, held while people already in tonight’s rotation still have a song owed. You can still peel them. Admit to this round clears the hold for that singer if you want them now.
  • In queue — they already have a slot in Active. Fair will not suggest them again until that slot is gone.

Queue a round (Fair only, next to the filter) peels one armed song per eligible singer into Active. Confirm the list first. New singers on hold and singers already in Active are skipped. Use it to seed a pass; you can still reorder Active afterwards.

Fair assist never locks you out. Peel anyone, admit a walk-in early, or bump the landlord — the chips inform, they do not block.

Time, Last Sung, and Custom

These views show every request as its own row (no piles).

  • Time — oldest request first (when it was submitted).
  • Last Sung — people who have gone longest without a turn (or have not sung yet) rise to the top.
  • Custom — your dragged order. Reordering the pool in Time or Last Sung switches you to Custom. Fair stays on Fair when you peel into Active.

Above the list: Active Singers and Waiting Requests counts, a Waiting longest (or Longest without a turn in Last Sung) highlight, and Filter singer, song, or artist…. Filtering hides non-matches; it does not delete requests.

Walk-ins (host Add)

Both columns have Add. That opens Add New Request (Singer Name, Song Title, optional Artist and Song Code). Add on the pool puts them in the Request Pool; Add on Active puts them straight into the running order.

Add from history… (on the modal, or from the info icon on a signed-in singer) picks a returning singer’s past songs. Host-added rows are not a linked singer account — if that person later requests from their phone, those phone rows carry their history.

Type the same display name again and Karaoke Name stacks the songs on that walk-in. Two different people both called Doug: add the second as Doug 2 (or similar) so they do not share a pile.

Already sung tonight

When a title matches a song someone finished at this gig, the pool row shows a quiet Sung earlier badge. That is a warning, not a block.

In Gig Settings:

  • Block Songs Already Sung Tonight — off by default. Singers see a warning and can still request. Turn it on to refuse that title for the rest of the night.
  • Block Duplicate Requests — different setting. Stops the same singer requesting a song that is still in their queue.

You can still peel or Add a Sung earlier song; the badge is there so you notice.

During the song

On the Active row (hover on a laptop; always visible on a phone): Mark as Played, Delete, and Return to Request Pool. Click a song or artist to edit the request (title, notes, key).

Playback (Play Track / Enqueue Track) needs The Rig and a karaoke folder mounted on the playback machine — Songbook and player folders. Play Track from another logged-in host screen (phone, tablet) runs on that machine while its gig page is open. Auto Host from that screen also starts playback there and opens the player on the phone so you can see time, control the shuttle, and change house settings (not lyrics). Auto-advance and night-start: Auto Host.

Up-next and on-now phone alerts: Request window and singer notifications. Rotation craft (1-1-1, pacing, room energy) is in the Academy Hosting Guide. This page is the product: pool, Fair, peel, walk-ins, and already sung.

If you are evaluating Karaoke Name, see what we have available for hosts.

Need a hand?

If you run into any issues — or just want someone to walk you through a step — please feel free to reach out. Support is happy to help you directly.

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