YOUR COMPETITION RULES
Give judges clear categories and organizers a live view.
Set the judging categories for your event, such as Vocal Ability, Stage Presence, and Overall Performance. Choose a tiebreaker category and confirm the number of judges scoring the show.
Judges submit their category scores through StageVotes, and the host can monitor ballot progress for the current singer. Ballot safeguards help prevent advancing a judged performance before the required scores are submitted.
Plan before the first performance
- Decide which categories and tiebreaker match your published competition rules.
- Confirm the judges actually participating and select your scoring options.
- Give judges the event’s judging link or QR code, and test their access before singing begins.
- Use the host dashboard to manage singers and review ballot progress throughout the event.
Read the judging and voting guide →
OPTIONAL SCORING METHOD
Olympic scoring drops the highest and lowest judge totals.
Olympic scoring is off by default. For supported competition events with at least five judges, organizers can enable it to discard one highest and one lowest complete judge total before calculating the result from the remaining totals.
The comparison uses each judge’s total across categories, rather than dropping a different judge’s score in every category.
An example with five judges
If complete judge totals are 70, 78, 80, 84, and 92, the 70 and 92 totals are excluded. The retained totals are 78, 80, and 84.
Use the scoring method your competition rules specify. Olympic scoring requires at least five judges; confirm the judge count before launching the event.
LET THE AUDIENCE PARTICIPATE
Keep judge scoring and People’s Choice distinct.
Enable audience voting when your event calls for it. Guests participate from their phones through the show’s audience QR code or link, without installing an audience app.
Where combined scoring is configured, choose how much judges and People’s Choice contribute to the result. Communicate those weights before the event so singers understand how the winner is selected.
For a separate costume contest or another audience-voted event, StageVotes can run an independent People’s Choice contest alongside the karaoke show, with its own entries and QR codes.
BEYOND A SINGLE ROUND
Manage qualifiers and tournament progression.
StageVotes supports tournament events and rounds, venue assignments, and advancement settings. Hosts can open assigned qualifiers from their dashboard and confirm the judging configuration before launching.
Your competition still needs published eligibility, scoring, and advancement rules. StageVotes provides the event tools; organizers decide how their contest operates.
See how the singer queue supports your event →
FEEDBACK THAT SINGERS CAN USE
Written judge notes, with optional AI recaps.
Judges can add written feedback to their ballots. The host chooses whether those notes are available to singers after completed performances. Signed-in singers see their own shared feedback.
An optional AI judge recap turns the available written notes into strengths and practical ideas for the next performance. Original notes remain the source of truth, and AI does not award points, change scores, or select winners.
Hosts can also ask Host IQ about the show and review queue alerts. After the show ends, an optional AI recap summarizes the recorded setlist and participation.
Explore StageVotes AI features →
COMMON QUESTIONS
Competition setup questions
Can I run karaoke without judging?
Yes. Leave judging off for a casual karaoke night and use the same signup, rotation, and show controls.
Does AI judge the singing?
No. Human judges submit scores and notes. The AI tools summarize recorded information and offer suggestions; they do not listen to or score the singing.
Do I have to use Olympic scoring?
No. It is optional and off by default. Enable it only for an eligible event with at least five judges when it matches your rules.
Can judges’ notes stay private?
Yes. The host controls note sharing. Singer AI feedback recaps use only the written notes made available to that singer.
See a StageVotes show before setting up your competition.
Watch the host controls and singer experience in the software demo.
Watch the demo →