By day you'll find Anthony Montius Magee at M & M Fashion Boutique in Jacksonville, working at his mother's dress shop.
But at night you'll find him at hangouts like Bogies' Bar & Grill in North Little Rock, The Hangar in Jacksonville and The Bear's Den in Conway, working a microphone.
"I don't like to sit still, I just like to sing," says the 37-year-old karaoke performer.
He's not just any karaoke performer.
He's the world champion.
Anthony, one of 44 singers from 22 countries, was named the male winner of the 2014 Karaoke World Championship in Stockholm last weekend. He's the first man from the United States to win the competition, which began in 2003. He's the second Arkansas man to compete in the world finals; 2013 national champion Carter Thomas of Little Rock competed in Finland last year.
About competing abroad, Anthony says, "I got to see part of the world I would never see. I met people that will be in my life forever. When you get into a situation and you're among people that have the same passion and drive and love for something that you do it's magic. ... It's indescribable.
"This is absolutely a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity."
Anthony knows there are karaoke haters out there who have sat through one too many painful beer-soaked bar renditions of "All By Myself" and think "Karaoke World Championship" is an oxymoron.
"They think we're just mimicking the singers," he says. "But if you watch my performance, I never mimic anything. I try to make everything my own. They've already made it famous, so why do I want to sound like somebody who has already made it famous?"
Anthony first tried karaoke with the encouragement of his brother.
"He's a singer and he had a karaoke show and he knew a lot of people in karaoke, and he was like, 'Dude, you've got to hear my brother sing.' So he brought me in front of his friends one day at karaoke, and I've been an addict ever since. ... The big one that really got me doing it was Debbie T. ... I was going to Slick Willy's, just all over the place. I was a Debbie T junkie. I went to all her shows. It's just been on ever since."
In 2012, he competed in the nationals, but didn't make top five and almost quit. But in 2013, he tried again, placing second in the nationals (behind Thomas). Last month he won this year's nationals in Fort Worth.
Then it was on to Sweden, where he earned the nickname "the teddy bear," performing songs like Kenny Rogers' "Lady" ("That one hurt like, really, really bad; I got off the stage and shook for an hour. I just put my all in it. I was singing for my life.") along with Stevie Wonder's "Superstition" and Radiohead's "Creep."
And then there was his most risque number, Prince's "Darling Nikki" about the hotel lobby sex fiend with the, um, magazine.
"You laugh, but that was a show stopper," Anthony says. "They didn't know how to take it. I'm in all leather, and I'm all over the place. I end that song in the splits, like full-on splits."
But he says don't expect to see him perform those songs much: "I don't want to get burned out on them." And besides, "I see people at karaoke shows and they sing the exact same songs. We have all these songs to choose from; can we please try something different?"
Are there any karaoke staples that make Anthony squirm at the opening notes?
"I don't really cringe per se," he says. "But there are songs that have been overdone. Oh God, the list is too long. 'My Heart Will Go On.' 'I Will Always Love You.' ... I don't talk crazy about the people at karaoke because it takes a lot of b***s to get up on that stage. ... I don't really cringe.
"I may buckle at a bad note or two."
As his prizes, Anthony won a trophy, flowers, a karaoke machine (which he gave to the second-place winner, as he already has one) and a trip to next year's world finals in Singapore.
But, "Honestly the biggest prize they gave me was the opportunity to sing on a world level among all those people," says Anthony, who has sung at events ranging from the Miss Arkansas competition to Little Rock Pride Fest.
"Music is what I want to do."
Video from the competition can be found on karaokeworld.championships.com (where the full final round could be found via the live stream link as of press time) and by searching Anthony's name on YouTube.com.
Do-Re-Mi-Email:
jchristman@arkansasonline.com
Spin Cycle is a weekly smirk at pop culture.
Style on 11/23/2014