It was a bit of a grand affair the other week at Harry & Meghan's wedding apparently. No expense was spared even when it came to their evening entertainment. DJ Sam Totolee took to the decks (with a later guest spot by none other than Idris Elba!). Sam is a popular celeb favourite among A-list celebrations worldwide so no big shock there.
No, the surprise was their first dance song choice. No smoochy Ed Sheeran sentiment here, but Whitney Houston's classic 'I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)" from 1986. I must say, what a brilliant track to pick for a first dance - so full of energy! But it was said NO CHEESE was to be played. No cheese ? Isn't that Whitney track a little bit... cheesy?
Hang on then folks. What exactly IS cheese then? Do you think it's just the likes of Agadoo, Superman, The Hokey Cokey, Timewarp etc or do you go further & say it's The Cha Cha Slide, Macarena, Saturday Night, Cotton Eye Joe? Or is it... simply any song people might want to sing along to?
Personally, I'm no fan of songs that come with ready choreographed routines. But, if you like them you can have them til they're coming out of your ears! One thing I think is important to say is that they don't come as standard in a Mr Deejay set, whether I'm playing a wedding, a birthday party, engagement or anniversary party. It's completely your call when it's your party!
Cheese is really all in the eye of the beholder. It means different things to different people. I've seen lots of parties where cheese came out to play & people only seemed to be going along with it. At the same time I've seen plenty of times when everybody really threw themselves into it & seemed to absolutely love it even all the grandparents.
There was one time I had two wedding receptions in a row at one venue & was asked if I'd DJ'd the previous night by the bride's mother. Yes, I said.... is there a problem? I was asked in quite strong terms NOT to repeat the tunes from the night before. Ah, but you should've seen them the previous night.. doing all the actions to Superman & everything, and absolutely loving it! It's not to everybody's taste, which is precisely why I only go there when I'm asked.
What do you want to hear me play at your wedding, engagement or birthday party? Get in touch & let me know