Freshers Party......help!

[Bj the Dj 0]

Hi Guys, I have been ask (with my arm up my back) to do a two hour set for a freshers party the kids are 11-12 years old and I like my 80's 90's and a few oldies. My question to you kind people is just what tracks are these kids listing too these days???????? Help I got until the 12th july to get 2 hours worth of tracks together and I'm a fish out of water on this one................would be even better if I was getting paid lol

 

Thxs in advance Ben

[BigBen 0]

Hi Ben. It may have been a while since I last DJ'd but I do have two kids aged 11 and 12 so I know what they like to listen to.

 

Interestingly, they both enjoy different genre's - the boy is a fan of more urban music, including rap whilst the girl prefers dance. So even in my own household I can't please two people with one track - that's 50% of my audience unhappy every time I put something on!

 

My first bit of advice is to use the Now albums. They carry a lot of the popular tracks, as well as a ton of dross, but the real benefit for me is that they are radio edits so no swearing, etc. I believe the majority of kids hear popular music most - on the radio and on the TV. Now albums cover this.

 

You could take requests, too, but some kids will just reel off song after song whereas others are pompous gits who will make a request for a specific version of a song nobody has ever heard of.

 

My second nugget is to play many, many tracks. If the floor fills or the room is bouncing then leave a track on but, invariably, I find kids of this age are more interested in showing off so will dance and sing to the first verse and chorus before becoming aware of what they are doing, get all self-conscious and just stop. Get the next track ready for after the first chorus, just in case.

 

My most important advice is the trigger tracks. I imagine the most obvious one in recent times is Gangnam Style. Pure DJ Gold. Play a few seconds of it and then move on to something else a few times - have a laugh and a joke with them over the mic and watch the energy increase with every play. When you do finally play it the room should explode. You can play these tracks more than once, too.

 

Finally, I used to enjoy getting the kids to have a sing song that we would practice for when the parents arrived to pick them up. Something to really hurt the parents ears. Something the kids could scream at the top of their lungs so everyone goes home on a high. Amarillo was the one when I was DJ'ing. Can't think of anything modern that fits the bill - sorry!

 

Most of all, enjoy yourself. You are controlling the room so the kids will only have as much fun as you allow them to have. Be confident and know what your plan is before you in. Use the mic a lot to communicate with them as they will probably stand in groups and not mingle.

 

It should be an easy night and a fun one, too.