The “My Way”killings are a social phenomenon in the Philippines, referring to a number of fatal disputes which arose due to the singing of the song “My Way“, popularized by Frank Sinatra (peaking at #27 on Billboard Hot 100 in 1969),[ in karaoke bars. A New York Times article estimates the number of killings to be about six up to 2010. Another source estimates at least 12 between 2002–2012. Opinions differ over whether the possible connection is due to the coincidence that the song was simply frequently sung amid the nation’s karaoke bars where violence is common or to the aggressive lyrics of the song itself.
In the decade up to 2010, about a half-dozen incidents occurred in the Philippines in connection with strenuous complaints over the singing of the song, prompting Filipino newspapers to name the phenomenon the “‘My Way’ killings”.[
On May 29, 2007, a 29-year-old karaoke singer of “My Way” at a bar in San Mateo, Rizal, was shot dead as he sang the tune, allegedly by the bar’s security guard, who was arrested after the incident. According to reports, the guard complained that the young man’s rendition was off-key, and when the victim refused to stop singing, the guard pulled out a .38-caliber pistol and shot the man dead.
Some Filipinos, even those who love the song, will not sing it in public in order to avoid trouble. As of 2007, the song reportedly had been taken off of the playlists of karaoke machines in many bars in Manila after complaints about out-of-tune renditions of the song resulted in fights and deaths.[ According to a 2007 Reuters news report, the “My Way” killing phenomenon had started a few years before.
Filipinos who can afford to do so often get private rooms at karaoke bars. Violence in some bars has led owners of the establishments to employ bakla (gay or effeminate men, or trans women), who use humor in defusing conflicts between male patrons over women, since the bakla are seen as neutral. The same bakla are used to smooth over conflicts over karaoke singing.
Is the song cursed? Or does it just piss people off? better to be safe than sorry..